At the beginning of this year, I thought that 2025 would be a music desert. After all, it would be hard to top 2024, which was full of successful new albums like Gracie Abrams’ “The Secret of Us,” Charli xcx’s “brat,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” and Billie Eilish’s “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.”
By the time March rolled around, I figured it would be a lame year for music. I’m excited to say that I was completely wrong!
So, to recap this year in music, I asked students to share what they thought was the best album of this year, best song, best breakout artist, and best overall artist.
Best Album: Man’s Best Friend (a previous Prowler review can be found here)
Sabrina Carpenter has truly cemented herself as a mainstream pop princess with the release of her seventh studio album, “Man’s Best Friend.” Her emotional yet sharp lyricism and amazing production have won the hearts of 26% of Wildcats who responded to a survey.
For sophomore Avery Diette, there is no choosing any one song as a favorite from the album.
“‘Man’s Best Friend’ was my favorite album of the year because Sabrina’s witty lyrics and catchy choruses made it a no-skip album! It’s a great hype album and my mom and I love listening to it,” Diette said.
“I’m The Problem,” released in May by Morgan Wallen, nearly won Album of the Year for Wildcats, and certainly deserves an honorable mention. The tracklist contains 37 songs, including features from other mainstream artists such as Tate McRae, Post Malone, and ERNEST.
Best Song: back to friends by sombr
Overwhelmingly, sombr’s chart-topping track “back to friends” won the Best Song of the Year. Although it was released at the tail end of 2024, the song experienced wild success this year. The song has spent 35 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.
The lyrics depict the wreckage that comes after a casual romance. Sombr, whose real name is Shane Michael Boose, asks “how can you look at me and pretend / I’m someone you’ve never met?” Students also chose “back to friends” as 2025’s ‘‘Song of the Summer’,’ so it is no surprise that it was a popular choice for the best song of 2025.
Other popular songs this year included “Manchild,” the lead single from Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” and “Die With a Smile,” which Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars collaborated on.
Best breakout artist: sombr
Not only has sombr won hearts from “back to friends,” his other three popular singles, “12 to 12,” “we never dated,” and “undressed” also gained significant popularity this past year.
The release of his debut album, “I Barely Know Her,” including powerful tracks like “i wish i knew how to quit you” and “crushing” helped to push him into mainstream indie pop and indie rock circles.
Sombr has also been nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist, and it seems Wildcats agree with that, and overwhelmingly so.
Sombr wasn’t the only new artist making noise this year. Artists like Alex Warren and Olivia Dean had incredibly popular music that dominated 2025 Wildcat playlists.
Alex Warren, whose song “Ordinary” was nearly picked for Best Song of 2025, was inescapable this past year. Evidently, others thought so too, earning 26.1 percent of votes for Best Breakout Artist.
Olivia Dean, a British singer-songwriter who just released her sophomore album, “The Art of Loving,” originally experienced success after the revival of interest in the songs “Ladies’ Room” and “Dive” from her debut album, “Messy.” Her new songs “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” are reigning atop the Billboard Hot 100. Her heartfelt lyrics are sure to win any listener over.
Best overall artist: Sabrina Carpenter
The opinions on the best overall artist of 2025 were nearly evenly split between Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter, but ultimately, Sabrina Carpenter took the winning spot. It’s not surprising, considering she’s riding the wave of her success with “Espresso” last summer from her “Short n’ Sweet” album and her newest work, “Man’s Best Friend,” which Wildcats considered to be the best album of 2025.
Coming in close second, with 19% of the vote, was Morgan Wallen. He was runner-up in both this category and the Best Album category. His success as a country artist is not soon to be forgotten.
Overall, 2025 was a year of new, exciting music and thrilling artist breakouts. With artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, and Guns N’ Roses teasing potential releases or tours next year, there’s lots to look forward to in 2026.
