Beyoncé overtakes Jay-Z to become the most nominated artist of all time

Beyoncé has made history by becoming the most nominated artist of all time at the Grammy Awards, overtaking husband Jay-Z.

The pair had received 88 nominations each – but Beyoncé has now moved ahead thanks to recognition for her latest album, Cowboy Carter.

She leads this year’s Grammys race with 11 nominations, including best album, best country album and song of the year for Texas Hold ‘Em.

The other leading nominees, with seven each, are Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Charli XCX.

The Beatles also received a nomination for record of the year for Now And Then, an unfinished John Lennon track that was completed last year using artificial intelligence.

Beyoncé is already the Recording Academy’s most decorated artist with 32 wins as a solo artist and three more as part of Destiny’s Child.

However, she has never won the coveted album of the year trophy, despite four nominations in the category.

Earlier this year, Jay-Z appeared to berate Grammy voters for Beyonce’s lack of recognition in the top category when he accepted a lifetime achievement award.

“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady,” he told the audience. “But she has more Grammys than anyone and has never won album of the year.

“So even by your own metrics, it doesn’t work. Think about it. Most Grammys; never won album of the year. It doesn’t work.”

This year, Beyoncé’s biggest competition comes from Taylor Swift, who has won album of the year four times so far, more than anyone else.

Her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, is back in the running after spending 15 weeks at number one in the US this year.

Other contenders for the top prize include Charli XCX, for her volatile pop masterclass Brat; and Grammys darling Billie Eilish for her sophisticated and experimental third album, Hit Me Hard And Soft.

More surprising was the inclusion of former Outkast rapper André 3000, whose instrumental flute album New Blue Sun revealed presumptive nominees like Ariana Grande and Post Malone.

• 11 – Beyoncé
• 7 – Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Charli XCX
• 6 – Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan

Breakout pop stars Sabrina Carpenter and Chapell Roan have earned nominations in all of the “big four” categories — album of the year, song and record and best new artist.

Carpenter is recognized for her flirtatious summer anthem Espresso in the record of the year category – which recognizes the overall production of a song, from vocal performance to instrumentation.

And she has been nominated for the country-adjacent ballad Please Please Please in the song of the year category, which is awarded for the craft of songwriting.

Roan participated in his breakout single Good Luck, Babe! in both categories, after a meteoric rise to fame over the past 12 months.

The Missouri-born singer is favorite to win Best New Artist, thanks to her dazzling and flamboyant debut, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess – which is also up for album of the year.

Elsewhere, British star Raye picked up more citations, including songwriter of the year and best new artist.

The Rolling Stones were also nominated for Best Rock Album for Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original material since 2016.

A total of 20,309 eligible entries were submitted for the Grammys’ 94 categories this year, and voters will begin sifting through the shortlists before casting their ballots in January.

This year, the Recording Academy, which organizes the awards, has added 2,000 new members – bringing the total number of voters to 13,000.

Almost two-thirds of the panel are newcomers since 2018, as part of an effort to improve the diversity and relevance of the Academy, which has faced accusations of being out of touch, particularly when it comes to music of black origin.

Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr warned voters in July that there is “no place in our organization for… bias, grudges or careless voting”.

The results of their votes will be revealed at a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles on February 2, 2025.