At the Grammys 2025 Sunday in Los Angeles, Beyoncé nabbed her first-ever win for album of the year for Cowboy Carter, her country concept album. She has been nominated four times prior for her albums I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, Lemonade, and Renaissance.
Though she’s been waiting a long time to hear her name called—her first nomination in the category was in 2010—Beyoncé kept her speech short and sweet, bringing daughter Blue Ivy up to the stage with her as the audience gave her a standing ovation.
“It’s been many, many years,” she said. “I just want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, all of the hard work.”
She dedicated the win to “Miss Martell”—that would be country music pioneer Linda Martell, the first Black solo female country artist to play the Grand Ole Opry, and whom Beyoncé featured on two tracks on Cowboy Carter. “I hope we just keep pushing forward opening doors,” Bey said.
Going into the night, Beyoncé was both the year’s most-nominated artist, with a whopping 11 nods this year, and the most-decorated artist overall in Grammys history, with 32 of the statues to her name. At the 2024 Grammys, Bey’s husband, Jay-Z, alluded to her overflowing trophy cases—with a notable exception—from the stage while accepting the organization’s Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone, and never won album of the year,” he said, referring to his wife in the audience. “So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
She even referenced her decade-and-a-half losing streak in the category, beginning with losing to Taylor Swift in 2010, on the Cowboy Carter track “Sweet Honey Buckiin’.”
“AOTY, I ain’t win (That’s cool) / I ain’t stuntin’ ’bout them (Woo-woo) / Take that shit on the chin / Come back and fuck up the pen (Yeah),” she sings.
Like a track from a previous album of the year winner, Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, it’s a little bit ironic—don’t you think?—that Bey scooped up her first AOTY win for a project with that particular lyric.
Beyoncé also scooped up the best country album award, and another duo performance award she shares with Miley Cyrus. She is the first Black woman to win the Grammy for country album of the year.
Cowboy Carter won the year’s honor over albums by André 3000, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Jacob Collier, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift. Swift, in a piece of historical symmetry, won Album of the Year for her Fearless the first year that Beyoncé was nominated in the category for I Am…Sasha Fierce. Swift, with four career Album of the Year Grammys, most recently in 2024 for Midnights, holds the all-time record for most wins in the category. Swift was seen clinking glasses with Jay-Z in the audience Sunday after Bey’s win.
Want more Grammys 2025? See the complete winners list, revisit every red carpet look, and see who made Vanity Fair’s best-dressed list.
