- Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" won album of the year Sunday at the 2025 Grammys.
- It marks the first time Beyoncé has won the top award, after racking up five nominations.
- She was previously nominated for "Renaissance," "Lemonade," "Beyoncé," and "I Am... Sasha Fierce."
Beyoncé won album of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards, a milestone win for the legendary singer and performer.
She received the top prize on Sunday for "Cowboy Carter," her critically acclaimed eighth studio album. She dedicated the award to Linda Martell, whose 1970 album, "Color Me Country," was the first by a Black woman to appear on Billboard's country charts.
Martell is featured on two "Cowboy Carter" songs, "Spaghettii" and "The Linda Martell Show," and acts as a symbolic guide through the track list alongside other country legends, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.
"Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they?" Martell says to introduce the country-hip-hop fusion "Spaghettii," which also features Shaboozey and earned a Grammy nomination for best melodic rap performance. "In theory, they have a simple definition that's easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined."
Earlier in the evening, Beyoncé two more awards: best country duo/group performance for "II Most Wanted," which features Miley Cyrus, and best country album, becoming the first Black woman to win the latter.
"I'd like to thank all the incredible country artists that accepted this album. We worked so hard on it," Beyoncé said during her acceptance speech for best country album, which was presented by Taylor Swift.
"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," Beyoncé added. "Wow. I'd like to thank my beautiful family, all of the artists that were collaborators, thank you. This album wouldn't have been without you."
Despite becoming the most-awarded artist in Grammy history in 2023, Beyoncé had never won album of the year. She was previously nominated for "Renaissance" in 2023, "Lemonade" in 2017, "Beyoncé" in 2015, and "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" in 2010.
In fact, she had won a general-field award (sometimes called a "Big Four" award) only once before in her career, taking home song of the year for "Single Ladies" in 2010.
Last year, when Beyoncé's husband, Jay-Z, accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, he criticized the Grammys onstage, saying the ceremony had a history of snubbing Black artists.
"She has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year, so even by your own metrics, that doesn't work," Jay-Z said of his wife.
"You have to keep showing up. Just keep showing up until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve, until they call you genius, until they call you chairman, until they call you the greatest of all time," he added. "Feel me?"
Beyoncé also referenced her long-awaited win for album of the year during her acceptance speech, saying, "It's been many, many years."
Beyoncé is only the 12th Black artist to win album of the year and the fourth Black woman, joining Natalie Cole (1992), Whitney Houston (1994), and Lauryn Hill (1999).