Beyoncé Makes History at the 67th Grammy Awards

On February 2, 2025, at the 67th Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Beyoncé (44) was the star of the night. She received the prestigious Album of the Year award for her eighth studio album, a country genre project titled Cowboy Carter. This win makes her the first Black woman to receive this honor in 26 years, following in the footsteps of Natalie Cole (1992), Whitney Houston (1994), and Lauryn Hill (1999). In addition to Album of the Year, Beyoncé also took home awards for Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for her collaboration on 'II Most Wanted', achieving a total of three Grammy wins.

Released in March 2024, Cowboy Carter has been praised for presenting the country genre from a Black perspective, a genre often seen as predominantly white in the U.S. Born in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé grew up listening to country music and has been challenging the genre since her sixth album, Lemonade, released in 2016.

This marks Beyoncé's first win for Album of the Year, despite her record-breaking 99 nominations and 35 wins at the Grammys since her debut in 1997. However, she had not won in any of the four major categories, known as the General Fields, since her 2010 win for Single Ladies (Song of the Year). This has led to discussions about the perceived bias against artists of color at the Grammys, often referred to as the 'White Grammys'.

Other major awards of the night went to Kendrick Lamar, who won Song of the Year and Record of the Year for his track 'Not Like Us', as well as Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video, totaling five wins. The Best New Artist award was given to Chapel Roan for her hit song 'Good Luck, Babe', which explores her journey with gender identity.

The ceremony also included tributes and fundraising messages for the victims of a recent large-scale wildfire in Los Angeles. A posthumous award for Best Spoken Word Album was presented to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024. He received the award for his sermon 'Last Sunday in Plains: 100th Anniversary', delivered shortly before his death. Notably, no K-pop artists were nominated for awards this year.