Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, popularly known as Beyoncé, has made history at the 2025 Grammy Awards again, securing 11 nominations and winning two awards, bringing her career total to an unprecedented 34 Grammys.
In a groundbreaking achievement, she became the first Black woman to win the Best Country Album award for Cowboy Carter.
The superstar, most awarded and nominated artist in Grammy history, had been up for the Best Country Album category four times before, with many believing she had been overlooked for the prestigious award.
With her win for Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé becomes the first Black woman to win Album of the Year in the 21st century, following Lauryn Hill’s victory for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 26 years ago. Before Hill, Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston also won the honor. Beyoncé is now only the fourth Black woman to win this award in Grammy history.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department presented Beyoncé with the trophy, part of the ceremony’s recognition of the recent wildfires that devastated thousands of homes.
“It’s been many, many years,” Beyoncé said in her acceptance speech. “I want to dedicate this to Ms. Martell,” she said, referencing Linda Martell, the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. She added, “I’d like to thank all of the incredible country artists that accepted this album. We worked so hard on it. I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about, and to stay persistent.
