Online Reporter
LOS ANGELES. — Bey-lieve it or not: The 2025 Album of the Year category was the most high stakes Grammys race in years.
The ceremony was held in the early hours of today.
But let’s back up.
The category had a little something for everyone this year – from the pink-drenched newcomer Chappell Roan’s velvety vocals in her debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” to André 3000’s flute-centric “New Blue Sun.”
“It’s a phenomenal slate of nominees. It’s jam packed. I think it can hold its own with any year in history in terms of the albums that are going up against each other,” Rolling Stone senior writer, critic and author Rob Sheffield told CNN.
“It’s an all-time slate of classic albums all happening at the same time.”
But Beyoncé’s genre-bending smash “Cowboy Carter” in particular was the one album out of the versatile crop of nominees that seemed to hold the highest stakes – not for the artist herself, but for the Grammys.
The Recording Academy had consistently overlooked Beyoncé in this specific category, with the singer losing four times for her albums “Renaissance” (2023), “Lemonade” (2017), “Beyoncé” (2015) and “I Am… Sasha Fierce (2010).
For the most part, Beyoncé has remained unglazed.
She even referred to her unsuccessful bids in the category on the “Cowboy Carter” song “Sweet Honey Buckin,” singing in part that she takes the losses “on the chin.”
While Beyoncé had seemingly accepted her losses with a gracious smile, each time showing the utmost respect for the winner, her husband Jay-Z – and her millions of supporters known as the Beyhive – have been more vocal, calling out the Recording Academy, the group behind the Grammys, for overlooking an artist that is widely considered to be one of the most influential of our time.
“She knows she’s an artist who knows that the art itself is the legacy,” Sheffield said.
“I think she cares about making these genius records one after another… But there’s a sense that for this particular Grammy category to matter, Beyoncé has to win it.”
The album of the year category is regarded as the top prize of the Grammys, akin to the esteemed best picture category at the Oscars.
It’s part of what’s become known as “the big four” categories, which includes best new artist, record of the year and song of the year.
Despite the losses for album of the year, Beyoncé has won more Grammys than any other artist in history.
Instances where supporters feel Beyoncé was egregiously overlooked were fuelling the tide for her to win this time around.
Sheffield pointed to Beyoncé’s loss to Beck’s “Morning Phase” in 2015 as a moment that “seemed like the biggest upset in Grammy history at that point.”
Ever since then, he said, the Grammy’s album of the year race has always been about whether Beyoncé is winning the category.
“Everything else has become a sideshow,” Sheffield added.
Adele’s win of the prestigious award for her album “21” at the 2017 Grammys further fanned the flames of agitation.
Adele made certain to acknowledge the significance of “Lemonade” during her acceptance speech.
“I can’t possibly accept this award,” she tearfully said, addressing Beyoncé directly. “I love you and I always have and I always will.”
In many ways, “Lemonade” got the last laugh.
The album sits atop many “best of” lists, including claiming the No. 1 spot on Rolling Stone’s “250 greatest albums of the 21st century so far” list, published last month.
Lauded for its cultural resonance and visual storytelling, it’s widely considered the Beyoncé album for the ages. — CNN.
Mathew Masinge