Beyoncé is the most awarded artist in the history of the Grammy thanks to albums that have caused cultural earthquakes and remodeled industry standards.
However, with all these achievements, Texana has never won two of the most important Grammy: album and recording of the year.
Again, the American singer arrives at the largest gala of the Recording Academy this Sunday as a great favorite, with her “Cowboy Carter”. The album, well received by criticsit covers several genres and its content abounds in socio -political issues.
The production is nominated for album of the year, a category that in previous editions Beyoncé lost to artists such as Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele and Harry Styles.
The 43 -year -old singer has competed for recording of the year nine times. And he almost always lost in front of white pop and rock artists.
“If he wins in the album category of the year for ‘Cowboy Carter’, it would be something similar to when Barack Obama won the presidency,” said Birgitta Johnson, professor of music history and African -American studies at the University of South Carolina .
– “Rupture lines” –
According to Johnson, Grammy voters tend to put aside collaborative projects, characteristic of Beyoncé’s work, who often focuses on black music and incorporates his colleagues.
“When we observe pop and R&B and other genres, we see a more collaborative approach, but that collaboration approach has not been valued by Grammy voters,” said musicologist Lauron Kehrer.
On the other hand, says Kehrer, his “values have been more aligned with genres such as rock and alternative, dominated by whites.”
Kehrer argues that Beyoncé’s career shows “breaking lines in how organizations think about style and gender, especially when it comes to race and gender.”
And although the academy extended the categories to promote diversity (of five nominees, they went to ten and then eight), in practice the votes were divided and, as a result, artists who are not white or unconventional are triumphed with less frequency.
“All this comes into play when it comes to Beyoncé, that global iconic star that continues to lose this particular award,” Johnson said.
– Without specific gender –
Beyoncé’s work escapes definitions. Outside the main categories, their eleven grammy nominations of this year walk through several genres.
The singer already has several gramophones for dance and electronic music.
“She refuses to be a single -note interpreter,” Kehrer said.
“It feels as if ‘Cowboy Carter’ was a project especially to show, among other things, that she is a versatile artist who cannot be classified, and a little also to force institutions to pay attention to this.”
In this sense, Beyoncé represents a challenge for Grammy, who must improve their way of classifying music to more adequately reflect industry trends.
And the Grammy need Beyoncé much more than Beyoncé needs the Grammy.
His contribution is vital for the gala, said Johnson, “because they can be shown, not only relevant, but also all inclusive that they say they try to be.”
– “Fire test” –
In short, if Beyoncé really wanted the main statuettes of music, I would work on pieces specifically intended for this.
But that does not seem to be his goal, according to Johnson. “She tries to work more around narratives and identity.”
“It is one of those few artists whose creativity is free, but also manages to spread its vision.”
That vision is transferred to the artists who do win, Johnson continued, as the consensual of the Academy, Billie Eilish, an example of how younger generations are inspired by Beyoncé to cross styles and themes.
Although the Grammy are nothing more than a successful reference, “it is difficult to ignore that they are a significant recognition,” Kehrer said, who considers the gala as a “fire test.”
Beyoncé may not need institutional approval, but his triumph matters to fans.
“The significant thing about the Grammy is that they show us where we are,” Kehrer considered. “Not only in music, but also in politics.”
