--- title: Grammys 2017: Adele Beyonce Speech description: Last night's Album of the Year oversight was so egregious it resulted in Adele breaking her trophy in two so that she could share it with Beyoncé. canonical: https://time.com/4669085/grammys-2017-beyonce-album-of-the-year-adele/ author: Maura Johnston article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-13T16:31:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:17:58.480Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Beyoncé's Grammy Snub Isn't Just an Oversight—It's a Real Problem og:description: The singer was overlooked in multiple categories og:url: https://time.com/4669085/grammys-2017-beyonce-album-of-the-year-adele/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5301844de3e13069/6988ba0ff887dc6faee990c3/adele-beyonce2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: adele-beyonce og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Beyoncé's Grammy Snub Isn't Just an Oversight—It's a Real Problem twitter:description: The singer was overlooked in multiple categories twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5301844de3e13069/6988ba0ff887dc6faee990c3/adele-beyonce2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Beyoncé's Grammy Snub Isn't Just an Oversight—It's a Real Problem > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Maura Johnston](https://time.com/author/maura-johnston/) ## Maura Johnston Feb 13, 2017 4:31 PM UTC  Chris Pizzello—Invision/AP(2) by [Maura Johnston](https://time.com/author/maura-johnston/) ## Maura Johnston Feb 13, 2017 4:31 PM UTC Adele’s post-Grammy [press session](http://time.com/4668693/grammys-2017-adele-beyonce-award-press-room/) was notable for one reason: The British soul singer, who racked up five awards including Album, Record, and Song of the Year on Sunday night, was talking about how she didn’t deserve at least one of those accolades. “I felt like it was her time to win,” the disarmingly honest belter said backstage. “What the f— does she have to do to win Album of the Year?” The “she” Adele was referring to was Beyoncé, who for the second time played the bridesmaid role in the Big Four category despite releasing a critically acclaimed album that showcased her artistic breadth and all-encompassing vision. Beyoncé is hardly the only artist whose of-the-moment artistic achievements have been under-heralded by the Academy. Take the case of David Bowie, who finally [won a Grammy](http://time.com/4664551/grammys-2017-see-winners/) for his musical output last night for _Blackstar_. That it took the boundary-pushing, shape-shifting Bowie so many years—and, more notably, his death in January 2016—to finally be given his due also speaks to one strand of the conservatism that has plagued the Grammys for decades. But there are other factors that make the _Lemonade_ snub troubling. [_Lemonade_](http://time.com/4631309/beyonce-lemonade-impact/)_,_ which came out last April via HBO special, Tidal stream, and iTunes Store download, topped multiple critics’ best-of lists, sold a boatload of copies in an increasingly stream-reliant moment for the music industry, incorporated music and literature and film references from across the pop spectrum, and spoke about black womanhood in a way that reframed the mainstream. It had the ambition of the most grandiose albums without its songs collapsing under the weight of its intentions; it had ballads and rockers and down-home country songs about growing up. It seemed like a shoo-in for Album of the Year, particularly after the outcry following her last album, 2013’s _Beyoncé_, losing out on that trophy to Beck’s perfectly fine _Morning Phase_. Yet Adele triumphed, for reasons that probably make sense to individual Grammy voters but paint a depressing picture in the aggregate. _25_, which came out in November 2015, has been a blockbuster since the moment its first single, the Song and Record of the Year winner “Hello,” was released. It’s an able showcase of Adele’s formidable voice, with a slew of top-flight songwriters (Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Ryan Tedder) and producers (Kurstin, Martin, Danger Mouse, The Smeezingtons) aiding its trip to the top. It topped the year-end _Billboard_ 200 (_Lemonade_ came in at No. 4, behind Drake’s hyper-serious _Views_ and Justin Bieber’s post-teen-idol apologia _Purpose_) achieved the Recording Industry Association of America’s Diamond certification, which marks 10 million copies shipped in the U.S.—the second record to do so since 2004, with the only other album to match that feat being Adele’s _21_. It was held back from streaming services until seven months after its release, giving a shot in the arm to sellers of physical product and breaking the iTunes Store’s first-day sales record that had been set by Beyoncé’s self-titled album two years prior. But the Grammys rarely value pure sales over craft—just look at Beyoncé’s loss two years ago. _Lemonade_‘s loss speaks to a more troubling trend that has plagued the awards show since its beginning. It consistently undervalues artists operating in R&B and, more recently, hip-hop—particularly if those artists are black. In the past five years, Beyoncé has lost the Album of the Year trophy to Adele and Beck; the pyrotechnic MC Kendrick Lamar has been passed over in favor of Taylor Swift’s pop makeover and Daft Punk’s salute to session men; and R&B polymath Frank Ocean fell to roots revivalists Mumford & Sons. The only black women to win Album of the Year were Natalie Cole (_Unforgettable… With Love_, 1992), Whitney Houston (the soundtrack to _The Bodyguard_, 1994) and Lauryn Hill (_The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill,_ 1998). The last black artist to win was Herbie Hancock, whose Joni Mitchell tribute _River: The Joni Letters_ won in 2008. What’s especially puzzling is that this year’s slate of R&B and hip-hop categories spoke to the strong years the genres enjoyed overall—the captivating Rihanna’s late-night rumination _Anti_ (which was arguably overlooked in the Album of the Year category), the R&B trio KING’s love letter to vintage synths _We Are KING_, the boisterous MC/singer D.R.A.M.’s ebullient “Broccoli” and the hip-hop upstart Chance the Rapper’s gospel-tinged _Coloring Book_ were only a few of the nominees in those categories, which evinced bite and quality that their genre-category counterparts [lacked](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/06/arts/music/grammys-best-rock-performance.html?%5Fr=0). The way the Grammy voting body for the cross-genre Big Four categories, in which [voting](https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/grammy-awards-voting-process) is open to all members of the Recording Academy in good standing, has consistently slighted the achievements of current hip-hop and R&B artists is troubling. To echo Adele, What does Beyoncé—or Kendrick, or Chance, or Frank—have to do? Artists beyond Adele have long noticed these consistent oversights as well. “You know what’s really not ‘great TV,’ guys?” Ocean wrote in a pre-Grammys [Tumblr post](http://frankocean.tumblr.com/post/157125310721/ok-ken-and-david-as-much-as-i-hate-to-make-you) rebuking Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich’s [assertion](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/grammy-producers-respond-to-frank-ocean-criticism-w466347) that his 2013 performance of “Forrest Gump” wasn’t worthy of that honor. “_1989_ getting Album of the Year over _To Pimp A Butterfly_. Hands down one of the most ‘faulty’ TV moments I’ve seen… If you’re up for a discussion about the cultural bias and general nerve damage the show you produce suffers from, then I’m all for it.” Perhaps decades from now, the Grammys will finally catch up with Beyoncé the way they finally did with Bowie last night. But last night’s Album of the Year oversight was so egregious it resulted in Adele breaking her gramophone trophy in two so that she could share it with Beyoncé. This is extreme enough that it might actually spur the Academy to make some changes: More nominees? Revamping the voting procedures or voting body? Whatever it takes, something should be done to make them seem relevant to all listeners, or at least less open to such obvious questions from all sides—even those in the winners’ circle. 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