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By Nick LevineFeatures Correspondent
fake imagesAs her husband Jay-Z referenced in his speech Sunday night, despite winning 32 Grammy Awards, Beyoncé has never won the coveted album of the year award.
Sunday night Grammy awards, Jay-Z highlighted a surprising snub hidden in the Recording Academy’s recent voting history. Despite winning 32 Grammy Awards throughout her remarkable career – more than any other artist – Beyoncé has never taken home the most prestigious award of all: album of the year. “Even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work,” Jay-Z saying accepting the Dr Dre Award for Global Impact. “Think about that. Most Grammy Awards never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
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When the camera panned to Beyoncé, she did not visibly respond to her husband’s comments, but there was some supportive applause from the audience at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. In X, the user @MJFINESSELOVER aware: “Jay-Z is absolutely right. The fact that Beyoncé has never won album of the year… is embarrassing.” Another user, @spicebae, wrote: “We just have to go ahead and applaud Jay-Z for saying what everyone’s been thinking about the nominations and that Beyoncé never won album of the year.”
This lasting snub becomes even more egregious when you consider that Beyoncé has been nominated for album of the year on five separate occasions: first in 2010 for I Am… Sasha Fierce, then a year later as a featured artist on Lady GagaIt is the monster of fame. Each of Beyoncé’s next three nominations in this category: for Beyoncé’s 2015 feminist missive, genre-blending concept album Lemonade in 2017 and the intoxicating dance work Renaissance in 2023 – could have turned into deserved victories.
fake imagesLemonade, in particular, seemed like a sure winner for album of the year. It explored the emotional impact of Jay-Z’s rumored infidelity through the prism of generational pain and racial inequality, making it culturally relevant and musically accomplished. Across 12 tracks, Beyoncé effortlessly combined genres including reggae, rock, hip-hop, soul, funk, country and electronica. She also made a stunning accompanying visual album. When Adela Instead, she won that year for her hit third album 25, the British singer she said in her acceptance speech: “I can’t accept this award. And I feel very honored and very grateful and kind. But the artist of my life is Beyoncé. And this album for me, the Lemonade album, is so monumental.”
While it’s never helpful (or fair) to compare female artists too much, it’s inescapable that Jay-Z’s comments came on the same night that Taylor Swift won album of the year for the fourth time. Her relatively low-key tenth studio album, Midnights, beat off stiff competition from SZA, Olivia Rodrigo and King’s wool, among others. Since 2000, several other female artists have won album of the year: Norah Jones, Dixie Chicks (now called The Chicks), Alison Krauss (along with Robert Plant), Kacey Musgraves, Billie Eilish and Adele (twice). But, as @MJFINESSELOVER pointed out in her viral tweet, the last time a Black woman triumphed in this category was in 1999, when Lauryn Hill won with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Is some kind of racial prejudice to blame for Beyoncé’s exclusion? It’s definitely awkward that only one of his 32 Grammy Awards has come in the so-called “big four” category (to use the colloquial term that groups the coveted trophies of album of the year, record of the year, song of the year). year and best new artist). Beyoncé’s only major win came in 2010, when Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) was named song of the year.
Her other wins have been in genre categories, including a record five for best R&B song. Any Grammy win is a sign of widespread industry recognition, but as Jay-Z pointed out, something about the fact that Beyoncé never won album of the year just doesn’t add up. Especially over the last decade, she has made music that has defined the respective genres she has worked in: from R&B and rap to dance/electronic. But she’s also made albums that transcended those genres to become pop culture touchstones. For that reason, she should have already won album of the year. Fortunately, her creativity remains so intact that the Grammys should get many more attempts in the future to correct this oversight.
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