Beyoncé’s seventh solo endeavor Renaissance quickly became one of the best-reviewed albums of 2022, and instantly became a cultural phenomenon, but that’s still not enough for the Grammys voting committee, who have once again overlooked the legendary singer for the coveted Album of the Year award at the 65th Grammy Awards.
While Beyoncé holds the record for the most Grammy nominations by a woman and is the most awarded singer in the history of the awards ceremony, the Album of the Year award has constantly evaded her, becoming a recurrent pop culture topic, especially on social media. In 2016, her album “Lemonade” famously lost out to Adele’s “25”, which caused an uproar online at the time.
This time, Beyoncé’s fans, fondly called the Beyhive, have gathered round once again to call out the ceremony, and shower praises on the singer.
Renaissance has quickly become one of Beyoncé’s most revered bodies of work and is hailed by many as her most ambitious project to date. Opting for a mix of dance, disco, house, and R&B elements, the 16-track album was praised for stirring up conversations about Black and queer influences on house music in general.
While the award has generally had five or six nominees, it expanded to eight in 2019, and 10 in 2022, and with the inclusion of featured artists and songwriters, many other contributors to “Renaissance” are also left out on what would have been a historic win. From Nigerian singer Tems, who featured on the track “Move” alongside Grace Jones, to Jamaican-American rapper Beam, who was featured on the track “Energy,” there are a host of musicians who are unable to add the Album of the Year Grammy to their list of achievements.
Instead, the Album of the Year award went to Harry Styles for Harry’s House, and while Beyoncé’s Renaissance may have lost out, it will continue to be heralded as an audacious and inspirational project, which has further elevated the legendary singer’s status as one of the best musicians of all time.
