By Jeresa Anderson
She may not have performed, but she still stole the show. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has broken the records for the most Grammys won by a woman and the most Grammys won by any male or female singer.
Beyoncé came into the night with nine nominations, which was the most nominations for any artist for the whole event. She ended the night with four wins, which ended up pushing her over the top.
Previously, the record holder was country singer Alison Krauss, who has a total of 27 Grammys. Beyoncé now has 28. This number also put her in a tie with producer Quincy Jones.
Her first win of the night came before the show was televised. She and her daughter, Blue Ivy won the award for best music video award for their single, “Brown Skin Girl.” She also made history with rapper Megan Thee Stallion, becoming the first woman duo to win the best rap performance for the “Savage” remix. The two Houstonians also took home the win for best rap song for the same song.
Ultimately, Beyoncé’s “Black Parade” is what led her to making history. She won best R&B performance, totaling 28 Grammy wins.
During her acceptance speech, Beyoncé reflected on why it was important to create “Black Parade.”
“As an artist I believe it’s my job, and all of our jobs, to reflect the times. And it’s been such a difficult time. So I wanted to uplift, encourage and celebrate all of the beautiful Black queens and kings that continue to inspire me and inspire the whole world,” said Beyoncé.
Though she graced the stage with much poise, Beyoncé has had a rather complicated recent history with the Grammys. Following her loss to Adele in 2017 for Album of the Year, in which she was nominated for her album “Lemonade”, Beyoncé has not had consistent attendance at the award show.
She may not have spoken publicly about the dub, but many fans and critics believe her lack of attendance and performance at the show is largely due to the Recording Academy’s failure to honor and award artists of color.
Other than her sporadic attendance, Beyoncé has also been overlooked in major categories every year. She has been nominated for 79 Grammys, but has only won in a major category once when her hit single, “Single Ladies”, won Song of the Year.
In an interview with Elle, Queen Bey talked about her lack of need to be at the top when asked about her loss.
“I began to search for deeper meaning when life began to teach me lessons I didn’t know I needed. Success looks different to me now,” she said.
“I learned that all pain and loss is in fact a gift. Having miscarriages taught me that I had to mother myself before I could be a mother to someone else. Then I had Blue, and the quest for my purpose became so much deeper. I died and was reborn in my relationship, and the quest for self became even stronger. It’s difficult for me to go backwards. Being ‘number one’ was no longer my priority. My true win is creating art and a legacy that will live far beyond me. That’s fulfilling.”