“She’s got more Grammys than anyone and never won AOTY. That don’t add up,” Jay-Z.
After a 26-year hiatus since Lauryn Hill’s groundbreaking win, and decades of repeated disappointments, Beyoncé has not only secured the Album of the Year Grammy but has triumphantly restored the crown to a Black woman’s head.
Natalie Cole made history in 1992 as the first Black woman to obtain the prestigious accolade, followed two years later by Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack. The 26-year anchor was set with Lauryn Hill’s 1999 masterpiece The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. However, 2025 could not deny the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer the award. Beyoncé’s long-awaited Album of the Year win goes beyond the hits spawned from Cowboy Carter.
Cowboy Carter is not just another Beyoncé album, despite the Queen Bey’s own assertion. This album represents a yelp, a scream, a reminder, a cultural shift, a risk—a moment in history. As the second installment of her act trilogy, Cowboy Carter is a country-themed jingle box representing Beyoncé’s successful break into the country music genre. This act boasts a cultural revival, with Black men and women in America reclaiming the genre’s cultural origins.
Cowboy Carter is a communal call led by Beyoncé to refine the genre in its most void areas. It pays homage to unsung pioneers like Linda Martell, one of country music’s pioneering Black females. It encourages unity by recruiting Black country artists such as Shaboozey, Rhiannon Giddens, Tiera Kennedy, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and Willie Jones. Moreover, it calls out the genre’s historically limiting boundaries, as evidenced by Beyoncé’s own experience.
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” Beyonce shared on Instagram 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.”
Let’s make a quick analogy. If Beyoncé decided to retire tomorrow, the chokehold she has spent the last three decades developing and maintaining would remain, continuing to stand as the blueprint for many. The Texas native has garnered a now whopping 35 Grammys, making history as the artist with the most ever, alongside a billion-dollar empire and reigning accolades from all over the world.
Beyoncé’s legacy is not limited to a single hit or viral moment. The first phase of her legacy begins with Destiny’s Child, where she was the lead singer of an all-Black female R&B group. They produced hits like “No, No, No” from their self-titled debut, and “Bills, Bills, Bills” and “Say My Name” from their 1999 sophomore album The Writing’s on the Wall, defining the turn of the millennium.
Despite changes in the trio’s lineup, Destiny’s Child was recognized as one of the greatest female R&B acts by the World Music Awards and Billboard, leaving an indelible mark on Black female singing groups. Even during her time with Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé was already considered an icon, foreshadowing her illustrious solo career.
Her solo career has been marked by historic achievements, including the 2016 Lemonade phenomenon, which revolutionized music videos in structure and marketing. Lemonade was praised for its innovation, diversity, and quality, offering a daring portrayal of the Black female experience amid the rise of police brutality awareness and Black Lives Matter.
The album’s loss for Album of the Year at the Grammys raised questions about the Recording Academy’s metrics and whether the album’s radical nature affected its consideration. This era marked Beyoncé’s most eye-opening period, where she took risks and subtly challenged the status quo, echoing the spirit of artists like Nina Simone.
Rather than compromising after such snubs, Beyoncé continued to push boundaries, leading to the coming of “Cowboy Carter.” It’s clear that the album wasn’t created merely in hopes of snagging Album of the Year. This is the act of an artist with potent creative juices, a trait that’s becoming increasingly rare. While many artists today fixate on virality, Beyoncé sought to fill a creative void.
The creation of Cowboy Carter wasn’t just a marketing-savvy project, but a cultural definer and grand experiment. Even without its chart-topping success and record breaks, the album holds historic relevance in Black American music history. Beyoncé, who has already achieved longevity as a global musical enigma, continues to be praised for her efforts to bring justice to the role Black artists played in country music and the global music apparatus.
Communal history will always trump the relevance of an accolade. With or without an Album of the Year recognition, Beyoncé’s impact on music and culture remains undeniable.