Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter has won best country album at the 2025 Grammys ceremony on Sunday (Feb. 2). The triumph makes Beyoncé the first Black woman to win in the best country album category.
Taylor Swift presented the trophy for best country album, telling the audience, “They say you never forget where you came from, and I will never forget standing here right on this spot almost exactly 15 years ago, accepting the award for best country album. It’s an honor that has gone to great artists that I admire so much, like The Chicks, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, George Strait, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Shania Twain.”
Swift announced Beyoncé as the winner, with the audience cheering as Beyoncé rose from her seat in the crowd, hugging her husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, and then taking the stage to accept the honor.
After greeting Swift, Beyoncé addressed the audience. “Wow. I want to thank God — oh my God — that I’m still able to do what I love after all these years. I’d like to thank all of the incredible country artists that accepted this album. We worked so hard on it. I think sometimes ‘genre’ is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists. I just want to encourage people to do what they are passionate about and to stay persistent.”
She thanked her family as well as her collaborators on Cowboy Carter. “This wouldn’t have been this album without you,” Beyoncé said, thanking God and her fans.
“I still am in shock, so thank you so much for this honor,” she concluded.
Cowboy Carter spent two weeks atop the all-genre Billboard 200 when it debuted in April. The project featured an array of artists including Country Music Hall of Famers such as Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but also, crucially, the project paid homage to Black country trailblazers such as Linda Martell (who appears on the tracks “Spaghettii” and “The Linda Martell Show”), and put a spotlight on modern-day Black country artists. Shaboozey appeared on multiple songs on the project, including “Spaghettii” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin,” while Black women country artists Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts traded harmonies with Beyoncé on “Blackbiird.”
Earlier in the evening, Bey became the first Black female artist to win a country Grammy in the past five decades, when she took home the trophy for best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted,” her collaboration with Miley Cyrus. The Pointer Sisters had previously won a Grammy for best country vocal performance by a duo or group in 1975.
Beyoncé led the Grammy nominees this year with 11 nominations going into the ceremony. The 2025 Grammy Awards aired on CBS, live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
