Let me start by saying this loudly and clearly: I am a Beyoncé fan.

I’ve seen her live three times. I’m a massive fan of her work from Destiny’s Child to B-Day and beyond. And I’ve secured the ultimate pop-cultural golden ticket: a seat at the highly anticipated Renaissance world tour.

I say that because I think it’s important to note that being a part of the ‘Beyhive’ doesn’t mean I’m unable to be objective. And as I sit here writing this piece with my objective hat on (which, in my mind, looks like the bedazzled cowboy hat worn on the cover of Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour announcement), I can objectively say that Beyoncé becoming the most awarded Grammy-winning artist makes sense. Her having never won album of the year, however, doesn’t.

On 5 February, the singer attended the 2023 Grammy Awards, where she was nominated for her celebrated seventh studio album Renaissance. 

The night saw the singer take home awards for best R&B song, best dance/electronic recording, best dance/electronic album and best traditional R&B performance.

The four wins meant that Beyoncé officially broke all records and became the artist with the most Grammy wins in history, with a total of 32 Grammy awards to her name. It’s an amazing achievement that doesn’t go unnoticed by fans and critics alike as she is arguably (and you can argue otherwise with yourself) one of the most talented, hardworking and consistent artists of our generation.

But despite winning so many accolades on what was a celebratory night for the singer, it also served as a reminder that Beyoncé has never won a Grammy for album of the year (AOTY), losing out for the fourth time – this time to Harry Styles.

While some might not feel this is a big deal, the AOTY award is arguably the most coveted prize of them all. It’s the one Grammy award that artists truly aspire to win above all others. Winning 20 Grammys is great but getting album of the year is priceless. And despite all the prizes Beyoncé has achieved, it’s the one award the Recording Academy decides not to award her with – and if there was ever an album she should have won it for, it was Renaissance.

After releasing Self Titled in 2013 and Lemonade in 2016 – two back-to-back acclaimed albums which she was also nominated for AOTY for and lost – Renaissance served as a reminder of Beyoncé’s position as a stalwart in the industry and her ability to innovate and pay homage with the brilliant and sonically satisfying album that Renaissance is.

The album is a celebration of queer Black culture. It’s a celebration of Black artists within the dance and electronic genre. And it’s a celebration of Beyoncé and her ability to show that 20+ years into her career, she is still able to evolve musically and visually. It’s also a reminder that age and time truly know no bounds to creativity. After all, how many artists can we recall putting out some of their best work two decades into their careers?

Beyond the beautiful blend of genres and themes, from the self-love proclamations heard in I’m That Girl and Cozy to the liberation of Break My Soul and Summer Renaissance, the album spawned a cultural shift, that saw the queer Black community celebrated and spotlighted in a way they should be but often aren’t. We also saw the inception of Club Renaissance, a plethora of club nights that took place around the globe. I remember seeing videos across TikTok and Instagram as crowds of people, from Stockholm to LA, were packed into a dimly lit nightclub and danced fervently to Virgo’s Groove and sung passionately to Heated, before meeting “in the middle” and “dancing all night”. 

It was and is a movement that had a massive impact both sonically and culturally and warranted an album of the year win – and the fact that it didn’t serves as a reminder that even when at our absolute best and continuing to show our ability again and again and again, for Black women, it still just isn’t enough.

These sentiments were echoed on social media. Black Ballad founder Tobi Oredein tweeted: “I knew Grammys would embarrass themselves and not award Renaissance album of the year. Beyoncé can’t do no more at this point”.

“The Big Four awards say a lot about who the music elite values beyond ‘staying in your own lane’ categories,” commented another user. “The bar we set for what Black women have to meet to ‘be the best’ is so ridiculous and unfair.”

I’m fully aware that many will see this as a non-issue given that Beyoncé has made history even without an AOTY award. But there is something to be said about the singer being the most awarded person in Grammy history while not ever being awarded in the highest category.

It shows that despite Beyoncé excelling in every possible way across her two-decade career, it’s still not quite enough to be rewarded with the most prestigious award of the night – and while it may not be significant to some, it’s a subtle observation that Black women, in particular, know all too well and can relate to.

Over the years that Beyoncé has been nominated for album of the year (she was nominated for I Am…Sasha Fierce, Self Titled, Lemonade and Renaissance) the award has gone to Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele and, this year, to Harry Styles for Harry’s House.

Harry’s House is a wildly successful album that has spawned many hits and he is deserving of the success he has had. But winning album of the year and claiming “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often” when a Black woman hasn’t won the award since Lauryn Hill in 1999 (for an album that is a masterpiece), has left a sour taste in the mouths of many – and understandably so.

“Saying ‘this doesn’t happen to people like me very often’ when a Black woman hasn’t won that award since 1999 is crazy lol,” tweeted one user, while another said: “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often,” says the white man who uses queer aesthetics to sell records and won album of the year over a Black woman. Listen. I like Harry. But him saying that after all the build-up around Beyoncé was just wild.”

Beyoncé’s talent and impact can’t be denied, so The Grammys have awarded her as they should. But losing out on album of the year does serve as a reminder that even when you’re at the absolute pinnacle of Black excellence, there is still that glass ceiling that remains firmly in place – and that ceiling doesn’t exist for everyone.

But despite that glass ceiling that many still like to uphold being in place, it can’t take away from the star power and talent that emanates from Beyoncé.

And with a world tour ahead and the anticipation for Renaissance Act 2 and 3 still to come, there’s no doubt that the ceiling will shatter whether people like it or not.

Images: Getty