Beyoncé Becomes Last and Only Winner of Best Country Album Before Grammy Category Split

At the 67th annual Grammy Awards in February 2025, Beyoncé made history by winning Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter, becoming the first—and ultimately last—artist to claim the honor before significant changes reshaped the category. Her win followed years of industry debate, starting with the 2016 controversy over her country-styled track “Daddy Lessons,” which was initially rejected by the country music committee.

Cowboy Carter, which blends country sounds with R&B, hip-hop, and blues, not only earned Beyoncé critical acclaim but also topped Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart—making her the first Black woman in history to do so since the chart’s inception in 1964. The album’s success sparked a wider cultural discussion about the boundaries of genre and the historical exclusion of Black artists within country music.

Beyoncé’s Grammy win led to the Recording Academy announcing a split in the Best Country Album category for the 2026 awards. The newly created categories—Best Contemporary Country Album and Best Traditional Country Album—are meant to honor distinct styles within the genre while ensuring that artists like Beyoncé, who blend genres, can continue to be recognized. Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. clarified that this adjustment aligns country with other genres that have separate contemporary and traditional awards.

In accepting the award, Beyoncé expressed surprise and gratitude, acknowledging the controversy her nomination generated. She emphasized that the concept of genre often limits artistic expression and championed authenticity and perseverance.

Now enshrined as the sole winner of the unified Best Country Album category, Beyoncé stands at a unique crossroads in Grammy history. The category’s evolution reflects broader cultural shifts sparked by her win, and while she remains its final champion, country music’s landscape is now more inclusive and complex than ever before.