All eyes are on the album of the year category at this year’s category, where Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are both up for award for the first time in 15 years.
Beyoncé was nominated for “Cowboy Carter” and Swift for her “Tortured Poets Department” album. Also included in the lineup are André 3000, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, Jacob Collier, Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish.
The last time Swift and Beyoncé were both nominated in the album of the year category was in 2010. It was each of their first AOTY noms. Swift’s “Fearless” ultimately bested Beyoncé’s “I Am … Sasha Fierce” double album.
Since then, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have solidified themselves as the defining figures in today’s music industry. The two have been a united front publicly, sharing gestures of mutual respect and attending each other’s concert movie film premieres in 2023.
But given each artist’s history with the Grammys, and with each other, scrutiny is on this category. Here’s why.
What is Taylor Swift’s history with the album of the year category?
Since winning her first album of the year win in 2010, Swift has set a record in the category.
With four wins, she has more album of the year awards than anyone else. Swift won in 2016 for “1989,” in 2021 for “Folklore” and her latest in 2024 for “Midnights.”
She was nominated a total of seven times — also for “Evermore” and “Red,” and now for “The Tortured Poets Department.”
What is Beyoncé’s history with the album of the year category?
Beyoncé, since 2010, has set another Grammys record: At 32 wins, she has the most Grammys of any individual.
But she has yet to win an album of the year award, despite being nominated five times for “I Am …Sasha Fierce,” “Beyoncé,” “Lemonade,” “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter,” the outcome of which will be determined Feb. 2.
Though Beyoncé hasn’t spoken about her losses, she does mention them in her “Cowboy Carter” song “Sweet Honey Buckiin,” singing: “F–k it, do it again (That’s cool) / A-O-T-Y, I ain’t win (That’s cool) / I ain’t stuntin’ ‘bout them / Take that s–t on the chin / Come back and f–k up the pen (Yeah).”
The lyrics suggest Beyoncé isn’t all too bothered — she does it again. Her husband, Jay-Z, has been more forthcoming.
He appeared to call out the Recording Academy while onstage accepting Dr. Dre Global Impact Award in 2024.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone, and never won album of the year,” he continued, presumably in reference to Beyoncé. “So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
When else have Beyoncé and Taylor Swift competed at the Grammys?
This is the first time Swift and Beyoncé gone head-to-head in album of the year in 15 years, but they’ve competed against each other in other categories since.
In 2010, the year Swift won album of the year with “Fearless,” Beyoncé won song of the year for “Single Ladies” over Swift’s “You Belong with Me” and won best female pop vocal performance for “Halo,” also over “You Belong with Me.”
They were nominated together again in the best pop vocal category (2020), best pop solo performance (2020), song of the year (2021) and song of the year (2023) and best song written for visual media (2023) but neither won over the other.
In 2025, they are both nominated for:
- Record of the year: “Texas Hold Em” for Beyoncé and “Fortnight” for Taylor Swift
- Song of the year: “Texas Hold Em” for Beyoncé and “Fortnight” for Taylor Swift
- Best pop duo/group performance: “Levii’s Jeans” for Beyoncé feat. Post Malone and “Us.” for Gracie Abrams feat. Taylor Swift
What have Beyoncé and Taylor Swift said about each other?
The two have been linked ever since the MTV VMAs in 2009, when Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, took the mic from Swift during her acceptance speech for best female pop video and said Beyoncé should’ve won the award.
When Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” won video of the year later that night, Beyoncé invited Swift on stage to finish her speech.
“She’s always just been a great person before anything else,” Swift told reporters after the show. “Before the talented artist, the superstar, she’s always been a great person. And I just, I thought that I couldn’t love Beyoncé more … and then tonight happened and it was just wonderful.”
Swift and Beyoncé have supported each other publicly ever since. In 2021, Swift joined a plethora of celebrities to wish Beyoncé a happy 40th birthday in a Harper’s Bazaar video.
“The fact that you have paved the road that every female artist is walking down now. The fact that you’ve done so with such kindness and such grace. To say I admire you — there’s just not a word for it,” Swift said in the clip.
Then later that year, Beyoncé sent the “Folklore” singer a loving note and flowers after they both took home Grammys.
“Taylor, Congratulations on your GRAMMY. It was great seeing you on Sunday night,” the “Formation” singer wrote. “Thank you for always being so supportive. Sending love to you & your family. B.”
They also attended one another’s concert movie premieres in 2023. Swift reflected on Beyoncé going to the Los Angeles premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.”
