"Persona 5's 'Last Surprise' Earns Grammy Nod, Elevating Game Music"

Jazz orchestra The 8-Bit Big Band's cover of 'Last Surprise' from Persona 5 has been nominated for a Grammy award! Discover the exciting details about this remarkable achievement for the talented artists involved.

Persona 5’s “Last Surprise” Gets Grammy Nod for 8-Bit Big Band’s Jazz Rendition

The 8-Bit Big Band Scores Second Grammy Nomination with Persona 5 Battle Theme Cover

The 8-Bit Big Band's orchestral jazz cover of Persona 5’s battle theme "Last Surprise" has earned a prestigious Grammy nomination. This rendition, featuring Grammy Award-winning musician Jake Silverman (professionally known as Button Masher) on synth and vocals by Jonah Nilsson (keyboard and vocalist for the band Dirty Loops), is competing for "Best Arrangement, Instruments, and Vocals" at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

"Just nominated for my 4th Grammy IN A ROW!!!," exclaimed The 8-Bit Big Band leader Charlie Rosen on Twitter (X). "LONG LIVE VIDEO GAME MUSIC!!!" Rosen's statement highlights his personal achievements in theater, but this is not the first time The 8-Bit Big Band has been recognized by the Grammys. The ensemble previously won a Grammy for "Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella" in 2022 for their cover of "Meta Knight’s Revenge" from Kirby Super Star, marking Last Surprise as their second Grammy nomination.

The 8-Bit Big Band’s cover of Persona 5’s Last Surprise will face strong competition from artists like Willow Smith and John Legend in the same category at the upcoming 2025 award show on February 2nd.

The 8-Bit Big Band’s Grammy-nominated cover of Last Surprise honors the original while infusing it with fresh elements. By transforming it into a jazz fusion arrangement, the cover showcases the unique style of Jonah Nilsson’s band, Dirty Loops. The music video's description notes that the group enlisted Button Masher to enhance the arrangement with the sophisticated harmonic sensibility characteristic of Dirty Loops’ sound.

2025 Grammy Nominations for Best Video Game Score Announced

The Grammy Awards have revealed the nominees for the "Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media" category. This year's nominees are:

• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, composed by Pinar Toprak
• God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, composed by Bear McCreary
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, composed by John Paesano
• Star Wars Outlaws, composed by Wilbert Roget, II
• Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, composed by Winifred Phillips

Notably, Bear McCreary has made Grammy history as the only composer to be nominated every year since the category's inception. His previous nominations include Call of Duty Vanguard in 2023 and the base game of God of War Ragnarök in 2024.

The award was first won by Stephanie Economou for her score for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök, and last year, Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab took home the honor for their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Video game music has always resonated deeply with fans, and innovative covers like The 8-Bit Big Band’s demonstrate how these classic compositions can inspire new interpretations, reaching and captivating new audiences.