Global superstar Beyonce claimed the spotlight as the Grammy Awards unveiled their 2024 nominees on Friday, earning 11 nominations.
Part of the nominations include a highly anticipated nod for Album of the Year for her country-inspired project, Cowboy Carter.
The album, praised as a tribute to the legacy of Black artists in country music, has been celebrated both critically and commercially, marking a historic achievement by becoming the first album by a Black woman to top the Billboard Top Country Albums chart earlier this year.
Following closely behind Beyonce, music heavyweights Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone each received seven nominations. Taylor Swift, along with rising stars Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, earned six nominations each.
With these new nominations, Beyonce has set a record-breaking career total of 99 Grammy nominations, surpassing all other artistes.
She previously shared the record with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, who has garnered 88 nominations to date.
The competition for Album of the Year, the Grammys’ most prestigious honor, is notably female-dominated this year. Beyonce, despite her record-setting career, has yet to win this category—a point Jay-Z highlighted at last year’s ceremony, calling for greater recognition of Black artists by the Recording Academy.
Swift, a four-time winner of Album of the Year, is also in contention again this year with The Tortured Poets Department, an introspective breakup album that has resonated widely with fans.
Other contenders include Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, Charli XCX’s Brat, Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, and Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Representing male artists in the Album of the Year category are rapper André 3000 with New Blue Sun and jazz musician Jacob Collier with Djesse Vol. 4.
The Recording Academy, comprising approximately 13,000 members from across the music industry, will cast votes to determine the winners, with the organization emphasizing its commitment to diversity.
Since 2019, the Academy has increased its representation of people of color by 65%, now accounting for 38% of its voting members.
Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter has been lauded as a groundbreaking album, with experts recognizing it as both a homage to and a reclamation of Black Americans’ influence on country music and culture.
Fans and industry insiders alike will eagerly await the awards ceremony in February to see if this trailblazing artist will finally take home the Album of the Year trophy.
