Beyoncé wins album of the year Grammy for 'Cowboy Carter'

The wait is over.

The Grammys named Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” album of the year Sunday, filling one of the few remaining gaps in her otherwise legendary career.

“I just feel very full and very honored,” Beyoncé said after she accepted the award. “It’s been many, many years.”

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammys history, had previously lost the award — considered the most prestigious handed out by the Recording Academy — four times.

“Cowboy Carter” dropped in March to broadly positive reviews, though it was met with some resistance from the country music scene. The album was shut out of the Country Music Association Awards nominations last year.

Beyoncé won hours after she announced the Cowboy Carter tour on social media early Sunday. 

Her daughter, Blue Ivy, took the stage with her to accept the award. She started out by thanking and acknowledging firefighters for keeping Angelenos safe amid the area's wildfires.

She thanked "the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all of the hard work."

She then dedicated her win to Linda Martell, a country music pioneer for Black women. Martell is also featured on the album.

"I want to dedicate this to Miss Martell, and I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors," Beyoncé said.

She explained the inspiration behind “Cowboy Carter” in March, saying the album was created from backlash she faced trying to come into the genre. 

She wrote on Instagram at the time that she had been working for five years on “Cowboy Carter,” a project “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed.”

“Cowboy Carter” is the second installment of a three-part project that started with the release of the 2022 dance music album “Renaissance.” Many believe the project is Beyoncé's attempt to reclaim genres of music pioneered by Black artists.

The album was teased during the 2024 Super Bowl, and its name was officially revealed in March. “Cowboy Carter” was released March 29 and featured a long list of guest performances, including Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Shaboozey, Dolly Parton and a number of other country artists. 

Beyoncé was up against a slate of fierce competition for Sunday’s most coveted award: André 3000, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Jacob Collier, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift — who was gunning for her second win in the category in two years. 

She was also nominated for a slew of other awards tonight — a total of 11, including best country album, song of the year and record of the year — and held the title of most nominated at the 2025 Grammys. 

Album of the year was Beyoncé's third win of the night. In the preshow, she won best pop duo/group performance for her song "II Most Wanted" with Cyrus and then won best country album during the main broadcast.