At the 67th Grammy Awards, Beyoncé made an unexpected yet historic win, taking home the award for Best Country Album with her latest project, Cowboy Carter.
The recognition marked a milestone in her genre-defying career, especially given that the award was presented by Taylor Swift, another artist who has famously crossed genre lines. Swift, who was also competing with Beyoncé for the prestigious Album of the Year award, added extra significance to the moment.
Upon winning, a visibly surprised Beyoncé shared, “Wow, I really was not expecting this,” before thanking “all the incredible country artists” who supported her and voted for the album.
This moment of victory followed Beyoncé’s earlier snub at the Country Music Awards, despite making history with her song Texas Hold ‘Em, which became the first number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart by a Black woman.
Texas Hold ‘Em was also nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys, where Beyoncé is up against notable artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, and Chappell Roan.
The category is further complicated by the inclusion of Now and Then by The Beatles, a song pieced together from an old John Lennon demo and released in 2023. Now and Then already won Best Rock Performance during the Grammy’s premiere ceremony.
Beyoncé entered the night with the most Grammy nominations—11 in total—and has the most Grammy wins of any artist in history, boasting 32 trophies. However, despite her accolades, she has never taken home the coveted Album of the Year award.
With her Best Country Album win, Beyoncé’s chances for that prestigious title are now stronger than ever, though stiff competition remains from other nominees such as Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, a four-time winner in the category.
Beyoncé’s success at this year’s Grammys further cements her status as a boundary-pushing artist, and her ongoing pursuit of the Album of the Year award could very well lead to a new achievement in her already legendary career.
