Beyonce hugs her daughter Blue Ivy after her Grammys win. Photo: AMY SUSSMAN
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
Somewhere Adele may have been crying Sunday night, though we know for sure that Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish shed some tears, when Beyoncé finally won the Grammy for album of the year on Sunday.
Her "Act II: Cowboy Carter" album took home the biggest award of the night, earning excitement from attendees and the audience online, but also vindication for Queen Bey.
Photo: AMY SUSSMAN
Back in 2017 at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Adele's "25" beat out Beyoncé's "Lemondade" for album of the year, where Adele used her acceptance speech to honor Bey.
"The artist of my life is Beyoncé and this album, to me, the 'Lemonade' album, was just so monumental," a teary Adele said to Beyoncé, who mouthed "I love you" from the audience.
The perceived snub kicked off plenty of discussion as to whether racism within the Recording Academy was to blame. Prior to Sunday, only three other Black women had won the Grammy for album of the year: Natalie Cole in 1992, Whitney Houston in 1994 and Lauryn Hill in 1999. Beyoncé's win in the category came for her fifth nomination for the event's top prize.
Last year, while accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award with their daughter Blue Ivy by his side, Beyoncé's husband, Jay-Z, called out the Academy for the oversight.
"I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone, and never won album of the year," he said of Beyoncé. "Even by your own metric that does not work. Think about that, most Grammys, never won album of the year, that doesn't work."
Bey became the most-awarded artist in Grammys history in 2023, when she earned her the Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album for her celebrated record, "Renaissance."
She went into the Grammys this year with a career total of 99 nominations, making her the most nominated artist in Grammy history. But some thought an album of the year win seemed like a longer shot this time around, potentially, given the musical genre debate over her "Act II: Cowboy Carter" album.
Drawing on country music, folk, R&B, gospel and more, the album wasn't fully embraced by the country music community. The project was hotly debated in November 2024 when she was not nominated for a single Country Music Association Award.
Country music star Luke Bryan weighed in on the debate, saying "Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album."
"Nobody's mad about it. But where things get a little tricky and you know if you're gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit," Bryan said in an interview on "Andy Cohen Live." "Like Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to. She's probably the biggest star in music. But come to an award show and high-five us, and have fun and get in the family, too. And I'm not saying she didn't do that."
"Country music is a a lot about family," he added.
Beyoncé has gone on record that she hasn't always felt welcome in that corner of the music family.
After dropping "Cowboy Carter," she posted on social media about the racist backlash she received after performing her song "Daddy Lessons" with the Dixie Chicks at the 50th Annual Country Music Awards (CMAs) in 2016.
"The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me," the Grammy-winner wrote in a social media post last year. "act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work."
On Sunday, she also won the Grammy for best country album.
She dedicated her album of the year win to Linda Martel, the first commercially successful Black female country artist. Beyoncé's "The Linda Martell Show" interlude on her "Cowboy Carter" album also serves as a tribute and has helped introduce more people to the now 83-year-old singer and her music.
After the Grammys, Beyoncé invited listeners to her forthcoming Cowboy Carter Rodeo Chitlin Circuit Tour.
The cities listed are Los Angeles, Chicago, London, New York, Paris, Houston, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas.
- CNN
