Beyoncé made a grand entrance for this year’s Grammy Awards, donning a champagne-colored, embroidered dress paired with long, matching gloves. She wore her platinum hair long and straight. She was accompanied by her husband, Jay-Z, and daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

Almost as soon as she arrived at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, Taylor Swift called her to the stage to accept the Grammy for best country album. It’s the first time a Black woman has won that award.

“I’d like to thank all the incredible country artists that accepted this album,” Beyoncé continued. “I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just want to encourage people to do what they are passionate about and to stay persistent.”

Beyoncé is this year’s leading nominee with a total of 11 nods, including the top prize — album of the year — for her album “Cowboy Carter.” For the first time, she was also up for awards in the Country & American Roots field. In total, seven different songs from the album were nominated across four genres.

Earlier Sunday, she won the award for best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Beyoncé already holds the record as the most-decorated artist in Grammy history with a total of 32 wins. And tonight, many are tuning in to see if the Recording Academy will finally award her with album of the year.

Full list of Beyoncé’s 2025 Grammy nominations

1. Record of the year: “Texas Hold ‘Em”
2. Album of the year: “Cowboy Carter”
3. Song of the year: “Texas Hold ‘Em”
4. Best pop solo performance: “Bodyguard”
5. Best pop duo/group performance: “Levii’s Jeans” featuring Post Malone
6. Best melodic rap performance: “Spaghettii” featuring Linda Martell and Shaboozey
7. Best country solo performance: “16 Carriages”
8. Best country duo/group performance: “II Most Wanted” featuring Miley Cyrus
9. Best country song: “Texas Hold ‘Em”
10. Best country album: “Cowboy Carter”
11. Best Americana performance: “Ya Ya”

Beyoncé first announced the album during a surprise Super Bowl commercial in February when she released singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The 27-track project has been a huge catalyst for the recent spotlight on Black country artists and the genre’s roots.

Prior to releasing “Cowboy Carter” Beyoncé opened up about creating the projects and her struggles within the country music genre, referencing her 2016 CMA Awards performance.

“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”

Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.