Beyoncé was up for the award again in 2025. Following a record-breaking run, her 2024 album "Cowboy Carter" was nominated for 11 awards, including album of the year. Also nominated were Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, André 3000, Jacob Collier, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift.

Not only that, but the academy has repeatedly emphasized — including on Sunday’s show, where Chief Executive Harvey Mason Jr. hammered the point in a speech — that its electorate has evolved by welcoming younger and more diverse members (and, by extension, by booting older and whiter ones). Maybe it’s working.