Beyoncé finally wins Album of the Year for ‘Cowboy Carter’—and yes, I teared up
OPINION: The Grammy voters finally got their act together and awarded Beyoncé the much-deserved accolade that’s eluded her for years.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Honesty box moment: I didn’t see the moment during the 67th Grammy telecast where it was announced that Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (finally) won Album of The Year (AOTY). I didn’t see it because I went to sleep. I live on the East Coast and the award shows already run long but I also didn’t think that the Grammys were going to get it right; I assumed that Beyoncé, whose latest album “Cowboy Carter” was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, was going to lose (again) in the one category she has yet to own after a series of high concept, musically flawless projects since 2013’s self-titled surprise album drop. But it’s February 3, 2025, in African America and Beyoncé finally got her AOTY.
I suppose I should have known something was up when Beyoncé, much to the surprise of everybody but Blue Ivy, won the award for “Best Country Album.” The video of her realizing that she won was definitely me as well; I figured she had a shot at the AOTY, but country album? No way. The entire country music machine seemed to be out on Bey’s foray into what they believe isn’t her lane so the win seemed almost like an accident. But there she was winning in a category she didn’t even probably prepare to win, speaking about not being boxed in by labels and genre. Amen. If you want to see what a crash out looks like, the comments on a post that CMT posted about Beyoncé’s win should fill your “I knew racism was alive” quota for the year.
AOTY, though, she had a real chance to win, I just didn’t expect it. Beyoncé was up against albums by Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX, Chappell Roan, Jacob Collier, André 3000, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift. I’ve heard all of the albums in this list save for the one from Jacob Collier, and while there were some amazing albums in the running, you cannot convince me that Beyoncé’s album didn’t matter more. It wasn’t just an amazing body of musical work (which it is) but it was also political and symbolic and risk-taking.
While people love Beyoncé, many of those same people do not love the country music genre, or any other genre adjacent to it. I know this because I listened to “Cowboy Carter” on repeat for days and somehow that act put me in the top 1 percent of Beyoncé listeners in 2024 according to Spotify. There is no universe where that should be the case. The only logical conclusion is that people may love Beyoncé but “Cowboy Carter” was not getting the spins of prior records.
But you know what, none of that matters now. Beyoncé won and it felt like such a truly genuine moment. Even the award presenter who read out her name seemed so excited that she flubbed the album title. The AOTY Grammy was presented by representatives from the Los Angeles Fire Department, a group among other first responders who have been doing the hard work of assisting with fires that decimated several communities in the Los Angeles area. The first responders have worked tirelessly over weeks trying to contain the fire and help those impacted. As fire chief Anthony Marrone and Captain Sheila Berkoh stood up there, Captain Berkoh opened the envelope and then hugged it like it mattered to her that Beyoncé won, too.
Listen, I felt that elation even a day later re-watching the moment on YouTube. I don’t want to be too sentimental here, but I teared up a little. I realize how ridiculous it is to care this much about an artist who has no idea I exist, but you can appreciate the moments when people who work hard for the thing, get the thing, especially when you know it matters. I’m sure even the artists who lost to her, while not happy they lost, are probably happy that she finally was acknowledged by the Grammys with the award. Especially for a body of work as intentional and as well constructed as “Cowboy Carter.” Every choice made on the album was done with a purpose and that purpose was realized with every listen.
Knowing Beyoncé the way that we do, this win is likely to have her working even harder. Her “Cowboy Carter” tour dates and cities were just announced and there’s an “Act III” on the way to follow, “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter.” She has never seemed the type to rest on her laurels and now that she’s finally broken through her AOTY ceiling, perhaps she is going to hit the gas on the way to more exemplary bodies of work. For today, though, I hope that Beyoncé enjoys the win as much as the rest of us do. I’m proud of her like she’s my family.
I guess since we’re all Black, we kind of are. Shouts to my family and kudos to Queen Bey.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
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