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Beyoncé breaks record for most Grammys by a female artist

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Beyoncé is now the woman with the most Grammy wins of all time.

With her win for R&B performance for “Black Parade,” Beyoncé earned her 28th Grammy, surpassing country-bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, who’d held the record with 27 Grammys. The late Aretha Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards.

Beyoncé has also tied Quincy Jones for second-most Grammy wins ever; Jones, who turned 88 on Sunday, has won 28 Grammys during his legendary career. The late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti holds the record with 31 Grammy Awards.

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Beyoncé received nine nominations in 2021, including for song and record of the year. In the latter category, she is nominated for “Black Parade” and for “Savage (Remix),” with fellow Houstonian Megan Thee Stallion.

Beyoncé boasts 79 Grammy nominations for her career, including her work as a member of Destiny’s Child, as well as the Carters (her shared project with husband Jay-Z, and most recently, daughter Blue Ivy). Yet Jay-Z has her beat when it comes to Grammy nods; with 80 nominations, he and Jones are tied for the most Grammy nods.

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An anthemic celebration of Black pride, “Black Parade” was released as a single for charity on Juneteenth, or June 19th, a historic day commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States. Proceeds went to the BeyGOOD Black Business Impact Fund, which has issued grants to nearly 250 Black-owned small-business owners. Though originally featured in the 2020 motion picture soundtrack for “The Lion King: The Gift,” the song evoked the spirit of the 2020 uprisings, during which protestors across the country took to the streets demanding justice for George Floyd, Jacob Blake and other African American victims of police violence.

The majority of Beyoncé’s Grammy victories have come in the R&B category. She has not been nominated in a Big Four category since 2017; her album “Lemonade” was in the running for album of the year, and its lead single, “Formation,” was nominated for song and record of the year.

She has not won a Grammy in a Big Four category since 2010, when “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” won song of the year.

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Live updates of the 2021 Grammy Awards winners list: 83 categories including album, song, record and best new artist.

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