Beyoncé’s record-breaking 99 Grammy nominations, including 11 for her genre-blending country album Cowboy Carter, sparked intense reactions. While some celebrated her achievement, critics argued that the nods reflected favoritism from the Recording Academy, noting her recent Country Music Awards (CMA) snub. Her husband Jay-Z’s vocal criticism of Grammy bias and the recent negative publicity around Diddy added fuel to discussions.
Highlights
- Beyoncé sets a record with 99 lifetime Grammy nominations, surpassing Jay-Z.
- Beyoncé's new album 'Cowboy Carter' earns 11 Grammy nods, sparking mixed reactions.
- Critics accuse Grammy nominations of favoritism towards Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
- Jay-Z criticized the Grammys for bias, adding to the Grammy nomination debates.
- Beyoncé’s Grammy nods follow being snubbed by the 2024 CMAs despite chart success.
Beyoncé just made Grammy history with 99 lifetime nominations after her new country-inspired album, Cowboy Carter, earned 11 nods for the 2025 awards, including Record, Song, and Album of the Year.
Cowboy Carter marked Beyoncé’s fifth Album of the Year nomination, though she has yet to win this top award despite holding a record 32 Grammy wins.
Beyoncé’s record-breaking 99 Grammy nominations, including 11 for her genre-blending country album Cowboy Carter, sparked intense reactions
Image credits: beyonce
Upon the Recording Academy announcing its Grammy Awards nominations on Friday (November 8), a slew of fans and critics were left divided.
A Facebook user commented: “That's hysterical because that entire album is absolutely terrible.
“And I love Beyoncé. Lemonade deserved to be in there. This one does not. And I know these people understand the difference.”
Image credits: Beyoncé
A person wrote: “They're scared of her and her husband, of course, she got tons of nominations.
“Won’t it be fun to watch all those other artists who win ‘her’ awards thank her in their speeches though...lol.”
Someone else penned: “Well thank goodness!! She was real sad over the CMA snub!”
While some celebrated her achievement, critics argued that the nods reflected favoritism from the Recording Academy
Image credits: Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
“Of course she didddddddyyyyy!!!” a netizen quipped.
“Think this will cause even less ppl to watch,” a netizen added. “No one wants to see these [artists] win anything but a spot in prison. Which is where many belong, especially her and her husband!”
Image credits: beyonce
A separate individual chimed in: “We THANK YOU BEYONCÉ especially her husband for being so loud about this and pre-ordering the awards for his wife, I know you know she knows we know all the creatures on this planet know she will win them all, the world is in peace.”
Beyoncé’s latest accomplishment comes months after her husband called out the Recording Academy at the 2024 Grammys for snubbing his wife in the Album of the Year category, E! Online reported on Friday.
Some noted Beyoncé's recent Country Music Awards (CMA) snub
Image credits: beyonce
"We want y'all to get it right—at least get it close to right," Jay-Z said on stage while accepting the Dr. Dre Global Award.
He added: "Obviously it's subjective because it's music and it's opinion-based. But some things, you know, I don't want to embarrass this young lady—but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won Album of the Year."
Beyoncé’s new Album of the Year nomination also comes after she was notably left out of the 2024 CMAs despite her country album Cowboy Carter charting for weeks on Billboard’s Top Country Albums list.
Image credits: beyonce
The 43-year-old singer had reportedly created the album partly in response to feeling "not welcomed" by the country music community years ago.
She wrote on Instagram back in March: "But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.
"It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history."
Her husband Jay-Z’s vocal criticism of Grammy bias and the recent negative publicity around Diddy added fuel to discussions
Image credits: beyonce
Despite being excluded from the 2024 Country Music Awards, Beyoncé now leads the Grammy nominations with 11 nods for Cowboy Carter.
The songstress’s record-breaking Grammy nominations for Cowboy Carter reignited criticism over her and Jay-Z’s alleged ties to recent scandals involving Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z are linked to Diddy through decades-long professional and personal connections within the music industry, as all three have been influential figures in hip-hop and business.
Jay-Z and Diddy, in particular, share a reputation as powerful moguls who have shaped industry standards and collaborated on ventures, events, and mutual endorsements over the years.
Recently, however, Diddy faced accusations of sexual assault, abuse, and misconduct, with several women alleging incidents spanning years.
Behind Beyoncé’s new Grammy nomination, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone tied with seven nominations each, The Daily Mail reported on Friday.
This year’s Grammy nominations prompted various reactions on social media
Moreover, Taylor Swift and newcomers Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter reportedly scored six each.
This year’s Grammy nominations prompted various reactions on social media, as a Threads user commented: “Billie Eilish with seven Grammy nominations finally some good news.”
A person wrote: “Sabrina Carpenter being nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist is mind-boggling.
“She’s not a new artist why is she even in that category? I think she very much deserves every other nomination but I feel like she’s going to win Best New Artist over smaller artists that deserve that specific Grammy more.
“Also if my girl Billie doesn’t win any Grammys for this fire *ss album I’m raising hell.”
A commentator penned: “Please imagine telling yourself in 2021 that Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli Xcx have nominations for album of the Year [at] the Grammys.”
A separate individual chimed in: “The Ariana Grammy snub is outrageous eternal sunshine is perfection and deserves some recognition.”
Below is a list of some of the key 2025 Grammy nominations.
Check out the full list of nominees for the 2025 Grammy Awards
Album of the Year
André 3000 - New Blue Sun
Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter
Sabrina Carpenter - Short n Sweet
Charli XCX - Brat
Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 4
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft
Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department
Record of the Year
The Beatles - “Now and Then”
Beyoncé - “Texas Hold ’Em”
Sabrina Carpenter - “Espresso”
Charli XCX - “360”
Billie Eilish - “Birds of a Feather”
Kendrick Lamar - “Not Like Us”
Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe!”
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone - “Fortnight”
Best New Artist
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Raye
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Khruangbin
Teddy Swims
Song of the Year
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry and Mark Williams - songwriters (Shaboozey)
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas - songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Die With a Smile” - Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Andrew Watt - songwriters (Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars)
“Fortnight” - Jack Antonoff, Austin Post and Taylor Swift - songwriters (Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone)
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro and Justin Tranter - songwriters (Chappell Roan)
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar - songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
“Please Please Please” - Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff and Sabrina Carpenter - songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“Texas Hold ’Em” - Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro and Raphael Saadiq - songwriters (Beyoncé)
Best Country Album
Cowboy Carter - Beyoncé
F-1 Trillion - Post Malone
Deeper Well - Kacey Musgraves
Higher - Chris Stapleton
Whirlwind - Lainey Wilson
Best Country Song
“The Architect” - Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves and Josh Osborne - songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry and Mark Williams - songwriters (Shaboozey)
“I Am Not Okay” - Casey Brown, Jason DeFord, Ashley Gorley and Taylor Phillips - songwriters (Jelly Roll)
“I Had Some Help” - Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, Morgan Wallen and Chandler Paul Walters - songwriters (Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen)
“Texas Hold ’Em” - Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan - “Cowboys Cry Too”
Beyoncé featuring Miley Cyrus - “II Most Wanted”
Brothers Osborne - “Break Mine”
Dan + Shay - “Bigger Houses”
Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen - “I Had Some Help”
Best Country Solo Performance
Beyoncé - “16 Carriages”
Jelly Roll - “I Am Not Okay”
Kacey Musgraves - “The Architect”
Shaboozey - “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Chris Stapleton - “It Takes a Woman”
Best Melodic Rap Performance
Beyoncé, Linda Martell & Shaboozey - “Spaghettii”
Future, Metro Boomin & The Weeknd - “We Still Don’t Trust You”
Jordan Adetunji Featuring Kehlani - “Kehlani (Remix)”
Latto - “Big Mama”
Rapsody Featuring Erykah Badu - “3:AM”
Best R&B Album
Chris Brown - 11:11 (Deluxe)
Lalah Hathaway - Vantablack
Lucky Daye - Algorithm
Muni Long - Revenge
Usher - Coming Home
Best R&B Performance
Chris Brown - “Residuals”
Coco Jones - “Here We Go (Uh Oh)”
Jhené Aiko - “Guidance”
Muni Long - “Made for Me (Live on BET)”
SZA - “Saturn”
Best R&B Song
“After Hours” - Diovanna Frazier, Alex Goldblatt, Kehlani Parrish, Khris Riddick-Tynes and Daniel Upchurch - songwriters (Kehlani)
“Burning” - Ronald Banful and Temilade Openiyi - songwriters (Tems)
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” - Sara Diamond, Sydney Floyd, Marisela Jackson, Courtney Jones, Carl McCormick and Kelvin Wooten - songwriters (Coco Jones)
“Ruined Me” - Jeff Gitelman, Priscilla Renea and Kevin Theodore - songwriters (Muni Long)
“Saturn” - Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon and Scott Zhang - songwriters (SZA)
Best Rap Performance
Cardi B - “Enough (Miami)”
Common and Pete Rock featuring Posdnuos - “When the Sun Shines Again”
Doechii - “Nissan Altima”
Eminem - “Houdini”
Future and Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar - “Like That”
GloRilla - “Yeah Glo!”
Kendrick Lamar - “Not Like Us”
Best Rap Song
“Asteroids” - Marlanna Evans - songwriter (Rapsody featuring Hit-Boy)
“Carnival” - Jordan Carter, Raul Cubina, Grant Dickinson, Samuel Lindley, Nasir Pemberton, Dimitri Roger, Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West and Mark Carl Stolinski Williams - songwriters (¥$ [Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign] featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti)
“Like That” - Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Kobe “BbyKobe” Hood, Leland Wayne and Nayvadius Wilburn - songwriters (Future and Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar)
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar - songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
“Yeah Glo!” - Ronnie Jackson, Jaucquez Lowe, Timothy McKibbins, Kevin Andre Price, Julius Rivera III and Gloria Woods - songwriters (GloRilla)
Best Rap Album
Might Delete Later - J Cole
The Auditorium, Vol 1 - Common and Pete Rock
Alligator Bites Never Heal - Doechii
The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) - Eminem
We Don’t Trust You - Future and Metro Boomin
Best Alternative Music Album
Wild God - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Charm - Clairo
The Collective - Kim Gordon
What Now - Brittany Howard
All Born Screaming - St. Vincent
Best Rock Album
The Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards
Fontaines DC - Romance
Green Day - Saviors
Idles - Tangk
Jack White - No Name
Pearl Jam - Dark Matter
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
Best Pop Dance Recording
Ariana Grande - Yes, And?
Billie Eilish - L’Amour de Ma Vie [Over Now Extended Edit]
Charli XCX - Von Dutch
Madison Beer - Make You Mine
Troye Sivan - Got Me Started
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica - “The Boy Is Mine – Remix”
Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone - “Levii’s Jeans”
Charli XCX & Billie Eilish - “Guess Featuring Billie Eilish”
Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift - “Us.”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - “Die With a Smile”
Best Pop Solo Performance
Beyoncé - “Bodyguard”
Billie Eilish - “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe!”
Charli XCX - “Apple”
Sabrina Carpenter - “Espresso”
Best Pop Vocal Album
Short n’ Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter
Hit Me Hard and Soft - Billie Eilish
Eternal Sunshine - Ariana Grande
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan
The Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift
Best Dance/Electronic Music Album
Brat - Charli XCX
Three - Four Tet
Hyperdrama - Justice
Timeless - Kaytranada
Telos - Zedd
Best Rock Performance
“Now and Then” - The Beatles
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” - The Black Keys
“The American Dream Is Killing Me” - Green Day
“Gift Horse” - Idles
“Dark Matter” - Pearl Jam
“Broken Man” - St. Vincent
Best Metal Performance
“Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)” - Gojira, Marina Viotti and Victor Le Masne
“Crown of Horns” - Judas Priest
“Suffocate” - Knocked Loose featuring Poppy
“Screaming Suicide” - Metallica
“Cellar Door” - Spiritbox
Best Rock Song
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” - Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney, Beck Hansen and Daniel Nakamura - songwriters (The Black Keys)
“Broken Man” - Annie Clark - songwriter (St Vincent)
“Dark Matter” - Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder and Andrew Watt - songwriters (Pearl Jam)
“Dilemma” - Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool - songwriters (Green Day)
“Gift Horse” - Jon Beavis, Mark Bowen, Adam Devonshire, Lee Kiernan and Joe Talbot - songwriters (Idles)
Best Americana Performance
“Yaya” - Beyoncé
“Subtitles” - Madison Cunningham
“Don’t Do Me Good” - Madi Diaz featuring Kacey Musgraves
“American Dreaming” - Sierra Ferrell
“Runaway Train” - Sarah Jarosz
“Empty Trainload of Sky” - Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Best Reggae Album
Take It Easy – Collie Buddz
Party With Me – Vybz Kartel
Never Gets Late Here – Shenseea
Bob Marley: One Love — Music Inspired by the Film (Deluxe) – (Various Artists)
Evolution – The Wailers
Best Comedy Album
Armageddon – Ricky Gervais
The Dreamer – Dave Chappelle
The Prisoner – Jim Gaffigan
Someday You’ll Die – Nikki Glaser
Where Was I – Trevor Noah
Best Music Video
“Tailor Swif” (ASAP Rocky) – Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, video directors
“360” (Charli XCX) – Aidan Zamiri, video director; Jami Arceo and Evan Thicke, video producers
“Houdini” (Eminem) – Rich Lee, video director; Kathy Angstadt, Lisa Arianna and Justin Diener, video producers
“Not Like Us” (Kendrick Lamar) – Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jack Begert, Sam Canter and Jamie Rabineau, video producers
“Fortnight” (Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone) – Taylor Swift, video director; Jil Hardin, video producer
Beyoncé's Grammy nominations continued to prompt heated debates
