Beyoncé Knowles-Carter made history at the 2025 Grammy Awards, becoming the first Black woman to win the prestigious Best Country Album award for Cowboy Carter.
The win marks another milestone in her career, bringing her total Grammy count to an unprecedented 34.
The award was presented to Beyoncé by Taylor Swift, creating a powerful moment in both the singer’s career and for the country music genre.
In addition to this historic win, Beyoncé received 11 nominations at the 2025 ceremony, including nods for Album of the Year and Best Country Album.
“Wow, I really was not expecting this,” Beyoncé said as she accepted the award, visibly overwhelmed. “I wanna thank God — Oh my God! — that I’m able to still do what I love after so many years. Oh my God!”
The singer also expressed her gratitude to country artists who supported the album, noting, “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.”
Beyoncé’s remarks continued as she thanked her family and collaborators. “I’d like to thank my beautiful family, all of the artists that were collaborators… thank you! This wouldn’t have been this album without you. I’d like to thank God again and my fans, and I still am in shock. So thank you so much for this honour.”
Cowboy Carter, released in March 2024, spotlighted the contributions of Black artists to the country music scene. Beyoncé, who has spoken about her earlier experiences of not feeling welcomed in the genre, celebrated this Grammy win as a personal victory.
At the 2025 Grammys, Beyoncé’s nominations also included Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Country Song for Texas Hold ‘Em, while 16 Carriages and Ya Ya were nominated for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Americana Performance, respectively.
