Berklee Alumni Recognized at the 2025 Grammy Awards

Winners took home trophies in 12 categories, including Album of the Year, Best Rock Song, and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical.

February 3, 2025
Amy Allen

Amy Allen ’15

Image by Justin Higuchi

The 67th annual Grammy Awards were held last night on Sunday, February 2, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and Berklee alumni once again made their mark with an impressive array of wins.

Amy Allen ’15 earned the Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical award for cowriting all 12 tracks on Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet as well as hits for Olivia Rodrigo, Tate McRae, and others. St. Vincent (Annie Clark ’04) captured awards for Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Music Performance, and Best Alternative Music Album, while Gillian Welch ’92 and David Rawlings ’92 took home the Best Folk Album award for the duo's 2024 release, Woodland. Additional winners included Hotae Alexander Jang BM ’13, an engineer for Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, which won Album of the Year; Jared Solomon ’15, who cowrote SZA's "Saturn," the Best R&B Song winner; and Lucky Diaz ’97, who won Best Children’s Music Album for Brillo, Brillo!, which featured pianist Lannie Battistini ’82.

Several alumni played key roles on Grammy-winning projects: Jack Rochon ’15, a musician and producer on Cowboy Carter; Julian Bunetta ’01, a producer and songwriter on Short n’ Sweet; Ryan K. Williamson (Rykeyz) BM ’13, a producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist on Bob Marley: One Love—Music Inspired by the Film, named Best Reggae Album; and Manuel Lara ’14, a producer on Rawyana’s Quien Trae Las Cornetas, the winner for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. Matt B's Alkebulan II, which won for Best Global Music Album, featured the contributions of Jett Galindo BM ’12 (mastering engineer) and Matthew Sim BM ’14 (immersive mix engineer).  

Alumni also contributed to Dune: Part 2, which won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Omer Benyamin ’15 (additional music), Steven Doar BM ’14 (additional music and vocals), Taurees Habib BM ’11 (digital instrument preparation), Alejandro Moros ’17 (score technical engineering), Stephanie Olmanni BM ’08 (vocals), Oscar Senen PD ’13 (orchestration), and Soya Soo BM ’15 (additional engineering).

Highlights from the broadcast included a generation-spanning tribute to Quincy Jones ’51 ’83H, the legendary Berklee alumnus who passed away late last year, and Chappell Roan's performance of "Pink Pony Club," featuring Allee Fütterer BM ’12 on bass. Cheche Alara BM ’94 served as the music producer and music director for the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony.

Watch Amy Allen's acceptance speech after winning the Grammy for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical: 


Overall, 11 alumni won 13 Grammy Awards across 12 categories. The list below is subject to change as winners are verified with the Recording Academy.

Album of the Year

Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé

  • Hotae Alexander Jang BM ’13, engineer, mixer

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical

Amy Allen ’15

  • “Chrome Cowgirl” (Leon Bridges)
  • “Espresso” (Sabrina Carpenter)
  • “High Road” (Koe Wetzel and Jessie Murph)
  • “Please Please Please” (Sabrina Carpenter)
  • “run for the hills” (Tate McRae)
  • “scared of my guitar” (Olivia Rodrigo)
  • “Selfish” (Justin Timberlake)
  • “Sweet Dreams” (Koe Wetzel)
  • “Taste” (Sabrina Carpenter)

Best Rock Song

“Broken Man,” St. Vincent (Annie Clark ’04)

Best Alternative Music Performance

“Flea,” St. Vincent (Annie Clark ’04)

Best Alternative Music Album

All Born Screaming, St. Vincent (Annie Clark ’04)

Best R&B Song

“Saturn,” SZA 

  • Jared Solomon ’15, songwriter

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence, Dan Pugach Big Band

  • Dan Pugach BM ’08

Best Latin Jazz Album

Cubop Lives!, Zaccai Curtis

  • Luques Curtis BM ’04, bass

Best Folk Album

Woodland, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

  • Gillian Welch ’92
  • David Rawlings ’92

Best Children’s Music Album

Brillo, Brillo!, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

  • Lucky Diaz ’97

Watch Lucky Diaz's acceptance speech after winning the Grammy for Best Children’s Music Album:


Best Instrumental Composition

“Strands,” Akropolis Reed Quintet, Christian Euman, and Pascal Le Boeuf PD '10

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

“Alma,” säje

  • Erin Bentlage BM ’14, arranger

Listen to a playlist featuring this year's Berklee's Grammy winners, curated by Alumni Affairs:

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