Beyoncé breaks record for most nominations – DW – November 9, 2024

Beyonce is the most Grammy-nominated artist of all time after the Recording Academy announced her nominations on Friday.

Beyoncé surpasses her husband Jay-Z’s record of 88 nominations and has a whopping 99 nominations thanks to her debut country album, “Cowboy Carter,” which she released last spring.

The album earned the 43-year-old megastar 11 nominations, putting him at the top of all other artists competing this year.

The awards ceremony will take place on February 2nd in Los Angeles.

Who else made the cut?

Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone followed closely on Beyonce’s heels, securing seven nominations each.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter scored six nominations each. The latter two compete, among other things, for the highly acclaimed “Best New Artist” category.

Women dominated the Album of the Year category.

Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” Charli Beyonce’s Compete. Other artists competing for the prestigious category include Andre 3000 and Jacob Collier.

But perhaps the most unexpected nomination came for The Beatles. The legendary English band competes in the top record category with “Now and Then”, a track reconstructed using artificial intelligence based on John Lennon’s raw demo.

Beyonce’s complicated relationship with the academy

Despite a lead in Grammy nominations and wins (an unrivaled 32), Beyonce was never awarded the album trophy, the Academy’s most prestigious category. Artists who snatched the award from her include Adele, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.

Jay-Z called out the academy during a speech at the most recent awards ceremony earlier this year, arguing that its constituents had failed to give black artists their due recognition.

Approximately 13,000 singers, songwriters, producers, engineers and others make up the Recording Academy and select the winners of its awards each year.

After years of criticism of its decisions and accusations of racism, the academy has taken steps to diversify its ranks. The company boasts that 38% of its decision makers are people of color, an increase of 65% since 2019.

Experts and fans view “Cowboy Carter” as a return to and homage to the often-overlooked legacy of black Americans in country music and culture.

The album was the first by a black woman to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Still, it was rejected from the Country Music Awards.

rmt/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters)