Ladies and gentlemen, at long last a historical wrong has been corrected. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, Beyoncé finally won album of the year
. It’s been a long time coming for the pop juggernaut who has a grand total of 99 nominations and 35 wins, none for album of the year – until now.
“Cowboy Carter,” the album that gave Beyoncé the accolade, is an audacious artistic endeavor that serves as a genre-bending anthology of Black contributions to country music. With contributions from the likes of
Linda Martell, Rhiannon Giddens, Willie Jones and Dolly Parton, the Houston-born singer casts a wide, yet exacting net of inspiration. Throughout “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé uses country music as an expansive backdrop to traverse themes of love, motherhood, rejection and the farce of the American Dream.
“Cowboy Carter” being Beyoncé’s first album to win the Grammys’ top prize may come as a shock to many given the breadth of Beyoncé’s career and her consistently stellar artistic output for the past two decades. If you’ve followed her career as closely as I have, you’ll know that she should’ve collected this accolade many times before.
Grammys’ ‘Lemonade’ snub broke my heart
Watching Beyoncé lose album of the year in 2017 was true heartbreak. She was nominated for “Lemonade,” a monumental, politically charged album that shifted culture when it was released in 2016. She lost the award to Adele, who famously
after her acceptance speech and dedicated it to Beyoncé, calling her “
.”
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‘Beyoncé’ by Beyoncé. Need I say more?
When Beyoncé said she “
changed the game with that digital drop
” she certainly was not lying. On the evening of Dec. 13, 2013, Beyoncé did, in fact, change the game with a digital drop. The drop in question? A surprise, visual album appropriately titled “Beyoncé.” Upon its release, the album sold
617,000 units in its first three days on iTunes
.
“Beyoncé” was brassy and explicit and saw Beyoncé explore sonic realms she hadn’t before. It was her first foray into political messaging through music as the album included a feminist message from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the track “
.”
Despite the broken records and artistic daring, Beyoncé lost Album of the Year to “Morning Phase” by Beck, which prompted Kanye West
almost to recreate his 2009 VMAs stunt.
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‘Renaissance’loss made me lose faith in humanity
After witnessing the Recording Academy snub “Lemonade,” I saw Beyoncé’s 2022 album “Renaissance” as a chance for the Grammys to redeem themselves. In true Grammys fashion, they didn’t. “Renaissance” was Beyoncé’s first solo album since “Lemonade” in 2016 and saw her explore the genres of house and dance music. “Renaissance” was more than just another artistic exploration, it was a celebration of Black, queer culture and music, and the sweaty, euphoric grit of club music.
At the time I still had hope that the Grammys had a modicum of sense to them and would award this body of work that existed miles above anything else that was nominated.
I was wrong.
“Renaissance” would lose to “Harry’s House” by Harry Styles. OK.
Are the Grammy Awards ready for change?
Beyoncé’s monumental win was one of a few moments from
that make me believe the awards body is finally taking a turn for the better.
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Newcomers like Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii and Chappell Roan took home big awards and had stellar performances.
The awards didn’t shy away from addressing the political moment either. Shakira, Lady Gaga and Chappell Roan spoke up for the trans community and immigrants. Roan performed her queer anthem “Pink Pony Club” and, in her acceptance speech for best new artist, tasked labels to do better in standing by their artists. During an acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre global impact award, Alicia Keys defended diversity and DEI initiatives calling them a gift, not a threat as many have recently claimed.
The Grammys have a sordid history and the Recording Academy is far from a perfect institution, but last night’s show left me surprisingly satisfied and gave a glimpse of what the future of these awards could look like. Have the Grammys turned a new leaf? Only time will tell.
Kofi Mframa is a columnist and digital producer for USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network. His pitchfork has been laid to rest now that Beyoncé finally won album of the year.
