--- title: Beyoncé and Grammys' History of Snubbing Black Women Artists description: Beyoncé's Album of the Year loss is part of a long history of the Recording Academy failing to recognize the achievements of Black female musicians. canonical: https://time.com/6253244/beyonce-grammys-album-of-the-year-history/ author: Moises Mendez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-02-06T17:25:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:25.456Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Beyoncé's Album of the Year Snub Is Part of a Long History at the Grammys og:description: The Recording Academy has long overlooked Black women og:url: https://time.com/6253244/beyonce-grammys-album-of-the-year-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte62dafea803ef63f/698a3a20e6e84a47912afcf8/GettyImages-1463292778.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 65th GRAMMY Awards - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Beyoncé's Album of the Year Snub Is Part of a Long History at the Grammys twitter:description: The Recording Academy has long overlooked Black women twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte62dafea803ef63f/698a3a20e6e84a47912afcf8/GettyImages-1463292778.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Beyoncé's Album of the Year Snub Fits Into the Grammys' Long History of Overlooking Black Women > 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. ## Video: Stars Walk the 2023 Grammys Red Carpet [Watch (HLS stream): Stars Walk the 2023 Grammys Red Carpet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/k4AcOnem.m3u8) (1:58)  _Published 2023-02-06. See some of the best red carpet looks from the 2023 Grammys._  by [Moises Mendez](https://time.com/author/moises-mendez-ii/)  ## Moises Mendez Feb 6, 2023 5:25 PM UTC  Beyoncé accepts Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Renaissance” during the 65th Grammy Awards Beyoncé accepts Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Renaissance” during the 65th Grammy AwardsEmma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy  by [Moises Mendez](https://time.com/author/moises-mendez-ii/)  ## Moises Mendez Feb 6, 2023 5:25 PM UTC If you tuned into [the Grammys last night](https://time.com/6253081/grammys-recap-2023/) without realizing what you were watching, you might have mistaken the program for a three-and-a-half hour Beyoncé tribute. Seemingly every celebrity in the Crypto.com Arena basked in her presence, fawned over her, and thanked her for being the artist of their lifetime in their speeches. But the Recording Academy has long ignored Beyoncé when it comes to the Big Four Categories—Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. She’s only won once in these categories—in 2010, for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”—and has lost all four times she was nominated for the coveted Album of the Year trophy, including last night. > [](https://twitter.com/beyonceparkwood/status/1622629116569681922) At [Sunday night’s ceremony](https://time.com/6253188/iran-grammys-shervin-hajipour/), Beyoncé was [expected by many to win](https://time.com/6251940/grammys-2023-predictions-who-should-will-win/) with her incredible sonic masterpiece _Renaissance_, her 2022 album that topped many a best-of-year list. Earlier in the night, she had broken a major record, becoming the artist with the most Grammy awards ever after bringing her total up to 32 trophies with four new wins. There was a noticeable hush in the room right after host Trevor Noah announced the nominees for the night’s biggest award. When Harry Styles was announced as the winner, there was what appeared to be a brief pause before the room erupted into applause. Over on Twitter, meanwhile, things immediately devolved into chaos as critics and fans expressed a range of reactions to the perceived snub for Beyoncé and _Renaissance_. Among those emotions were anger, frustration, and resignation at the Recording Academy’s history of overlooking Black artists, and specifically Black women, in this major category. In Beyoncé’s case, each of the four times she has been nominated for Album of the Year, she has lost to a white artist whose album many argued was less culturally significant than hers. (Even Adele famously tried to reject her own win over Beyoncé’s _Lemonade_ in 2017.) Styles’ album _Harry’s House_ was well-received by critics, who hailed him for stepping up his production, with [an average score of 83 on Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/harrys-house/harry-styles). In his acceptance speech, he said that he was very grateful for the award, and that “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often.” This remark prompted many to ask what meant by “people like \[me,\]” given his privilege as a white, cisgender man and the irony of how infrequently this kind of win happens to, well, people like Beyoncé. > [](https://twitter.com/evanrosskatz/status/1622585240182038529) The Recording Academy’s repeated awarding of other artists over Beyoncé has not taken place in a vacuum. Only three Black women have won Album of the Year in the ceremony’s 65-year history, the last time being when Lauryn Hill won for _The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill_ in 1999\. Before Hill, Natalie Cole won for _Unforgettable…with Love_ in 1992 and Whitney Houston won for the soundtrack to _The Bodyguard_ in 1994\. Throughout the history of the awards, there have been other upsets with Black women nominated for Album of the Year. TLC’s _Fanmail_ lost to Santana in 2000; U2 beat out Mariah Carey’s _Emancipation of Mimi_ in 2006; and Janelle Monáe’s _Dirty Computer_ lost to Kacey Musgraves’ _Golden Hour_ in 2019\. Since Hill’s win in 1999, Beyoncé has been the frontrunner for the prize after submitting her albums _I Am… Sasha Fierce_, _Beyoncé_, _Lemonade_, and _Renaissance_. When Beyoncé failed to win for her self-titled 2013 surprise album, with the award instead going to Beck for _Morning Phrase_, many pointed to how her album had disrupted the music industry with its unconventional release strategy and beaten streaming records on top of being a cohesive, thoughtful album. Her sixth studio album, _Lemonade_, was a culture-shifting moment. The single “Formation” generated controversy because of the song and video’s staunchly anti-police perspective. She performed the song at the Super Bowl Halftime Show with her backup dancers dressed in an homage to the Black Panthers, inspiring debate on the world’s largest stage. Her most recent album, _Renaissance_, is an amalgamation of the Black queer experience in all of its joy and sonic treasures. The Recording Academy has [come under fire](https://time.com/5770558/deborah-dugan-grammys-controversy/) in recent years for issues relating to gender and diversity. The institution’s leaders have vowed to make changes on the diversity and inclusion front, including by [expanding the membership](https://time.com/5415630/grammys-new-members/) of its [12,000-plus body](https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/recording-academy-new-voting-members-invitations-1235108187/) of voting members in an effort to diversify its ranks, as well as shaking up its leadership. Changing the direction of a ship that big is, as we’ve witnessed with other entertainment industry efforts over at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, among others, almost always a slow, creaking process. 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