Continuing from the previous section, one factor that Beyoncé’s album definitely had that worked to her advantage was cultural impact. There is an entire section on the album’s Wikipedia page discussing its legacy – for a reason.
Not only did Beyoncé drive sales of country music up among many demographics and expose it to more people, she also sparked widespread conversations about how black artists, in particular black women, are gatekept from country. She also helped boost other black country acts, notably up-and-coming artist Shaboozey. (Yes, he had a hit in A Bar Song, but that didn’t come out until almost 2 weeks after Cowboy Carter, and Shaboozey himself noted that he even moved the release date up to take advantage of the platform Beyoncé had given him.) Beyoncé even boosted sales of western clothing massively, increasing the sales of jeans sixfold, denim threefold, and boots and hats twofold.
Of course, though, the album’s main cultural impact is the conversations it started and what it stood for – Beyoncé reclaiming the country genre and the legacies of the black musicians who helped define it.
Many argue, in fact, that the main reason for Beyoncé winning this award (and also the most controversial one) is that she should have won it a long, long time ago after getting snubbed for amazing albums like Lemonade and Renaissance. It is definitely debatable whether or not it’s right for the Grammys to retroactively award her for past albums, but I say it is a step towards addressing the Recording Academy’s voters’ long-standing bias (in Beyoncé’s 30+ year music career, she has never won this award, despite the number of culture-shifting albums she has had).
Additionally, I saw people complaining that Beyoncé didn’t need this award since she already had 33 Grammys and is the most decorated artist in Grammy history, but what people seem to forget it that while Beyoncé’s count of 33 wins towers over Billie’s 9, Beyoncé has been in the music industry for 30+ years, while Billie’s first song was released only 9 years ago. Also, the importance of their respective Grammys makes a difference.
In the big four categories of Song, Album, and Record of the Year and Best New Artist, Beyoncé had exactly one win prior to these Grammys (for Song of the Year). One. In a 30+ year career. Billie, on the other hand, has won Album once already, and Song and Record twice, as well as Best New Artist. She had, in other words, six times as many wins in the big four categories as Beyoncé did, and four of those were in one ceremony. Most of Beyoncé’s wins are in genre categories, with the occasional film or video Grammy. She has never won best pop vocal album either, which Billie has won once (the same year Billie got all four big four categories). This is a massive difference.
Just on principle, I am not a fan of this conversation, as women in the music industry have enough to deal with without their fans pitting them against each other. I’m not saying everyone has to be best friends, but I don’t see the point in attacking Beyoncé here. It’s not going to change the fact that Billie didn’t get anything, and it just drives people further apart. Truthfully, both of these artists should be celebrated and both definitely would have won, or in Beyoncé’s case, won even more in a year that was less stacked. We can appreciate them both without hating on either.
Ultimately, for all of the reasons I listed above, I think Beyoncé earned her win, but in all honesty I think it would be best if we celebrate both artists and their achievements. If you haven’t already, you should listen to both albums fully and evaluate them holistically – they’re both great and you should give them a shot.
