Four.
The magic number of losses Beyoncé has gained over the years in the Album of The Year (AOTY) category. As a Beyoncé fan, I wanted her to finally win AOTY after being nominated four times and losing each time. She has technically lost a total of 56 Grammys given her 88 nominations, but she’s managed to win 32, which amounts to her current status as the most Grammy-awarded artist of all time. Now I want to preface this article by stating, this accomplishment is legendary, and it’s not something to be dismissed. This is also in no way, shape or form intended to be an attack to the winners of previous AOTY; many of whom are incredibly talented and have a unique impact on the music industry on their own.
However, Mrs. Knowles-Carter has shifted the cultural landscape with her art in a way that no other has and is unlikely to be replicated in the future. She has changed the music industry with the surprising release of her self-titled album. She shined a light on Black southern culture in a monumental manner when she released Lemonade. While also inspiring a new wave of Black pride across the world, especially among black women. She did all that and told a story of sorrow, anger, healing and forgiveness that resonated with millions who have shared her feeling of heartbreak.
Most recently, she released Renaissance, a love letter to the black and brown queer community as she made her mark on the house genre. It featured the work of queer icons such as Honey Dijon, a Black trans woman who won her first Grammy alongside Beyoncé on Sunday night and honored her Uncle Johnny who passed at the start of her career due to complications with AIDS. It is a bold album, vastly different from her past releases and highly experimental with a sound that many including the Academy themselves are unfamiliar with. Despite these risks, it paid off and became a huge success earning her three Grammys, and her new title of most awarded of all time on Sunday night.
So why are so many people angry she didn’t take home one more Grammy: the award for Album of the Year?
Well, let’s put Beyoncé’s Grammy wins into perspective. Despite experimenting with a magnitude of genres in her works, from jazz to country, out of the 32 Grammys she has won 19 of them are in the R&B category, three of them are in the rap category, and two in the both urban and dance category. She has also taken home one for Song of The Year, and her other five have been awarded due to her performances and her production.
Out of her 32 Grammys, only one was in the main four categories which are as follows: Song of The Year, Record of The Year, Album of The Year and Best New Artist. She is not eligible for Best New Artist given the several albums she has released. However, she has released three albums that have had a significant impact on the masses and the majority of the industry as a whole. Most of which see her as an inspiration themselves.
It’s hard not to see it this way when some of the voters explained why they did not vote for her. “With Beyoncé, the fact that every time she does something new, it’s a big event and everyone’s supposed to quake in their shoes— it’s a little too portentous.”
It seems that preconceived notions of how this award ceremony should play out have rendered an artist’s actual impact and artistry obsolete in favor of what seems fair. Another voter says, “I also look at who’s been there and go, ‘OK, Adele, Beyoncé—they always win; it’s the same people over and over again.’”
This bias the voters withhold, the secret deals that may or may not happen behind the scenes and several other factors have played into denying Beyoncé the win of a category she is more than proven herself capable of excelling.
It is true, she is the most awarded artist in Grammy history, but that does not make her immune to unconscious bias present when it comes to awarding her excellence. Especially when it comes to the main categories presented and when it comes to denying her influence, dedication and creativity in crafting an art— an album— most believe she’s perfected. Particularly her last three which have left a lasting impact on pop culture and Black American culture as we know it.
Yet despite how awarded she is, despite her undeniable talent and her ever-growing impact, many of her fans can’t help but feel frustrated she is seemingly dismissed in a category she should be celebrated in.
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