The Grammys this year can be summed up by a few extremely memorable performances: Adele, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga. But really it was all about Beyoncé — how she performed the hell out of her two songs, how she delivered an empowering and emotional speech, and how she went home with only two Grammys (one for Best Urban Contemporary Album, Lemonade, and one awarded beforehand for Best Music Video, "Formation" ).
She was robbed, she was snubbed; even Adele asked "what the fuck" more she has to do to win Album of the Year. But one person who kept it together during all of this outrage: Beyoncé herself. It's because she, like the blessed creature she is, already knew it was going to happen.
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This Beyoncé conspiracy theory has some major weight to it when you look back at the events of the night. Of course, the world anticipated major wins for Beyoncé, especially considering that she was nominated for nine awards and stirred up major drama with Lemonade. (Name me one person who hasn't heard the phrase "Becky with the good hair"). So, if she knew that she would lose, why did she attend? LaineyGossip, who first wrote about the theory, argues that someone as important, influential, and praised as the Queen Bey doesn't take no for an answer, so she went ahead and subtly rewrote the script herself.
Beyoncé knew she wouldn't win because of simple statistics: only three Black women have ever won Album of the Year, while women like Taylor Swift and Adele have now each won twice. Beyoncé? Zero. On top of that, as Solange Knowles pointed out on Twitter, there are a number of Black performers who bring the best energy and talent, but walk home empty-handed. Beyoncé knows the industry better than any of us, and she decided to beat them at their game.
Her acceptance speech for Best Urban Contemporary Album was superbly crafted (and written on a piece of gold stationary) because she knew it was the only time she would be addressing her fans. She read it while wearing a literal gilded veil and symbolic dress. She wasn't nervous — she was ethereal. This was her moment. LaineyGossip points out that of the 75 Grammys given out, only nine are aired during the program and that specific category is not typically one of them. The Recording Academy changed it for Bey. "But that’s the only award Beyoncé won during the broadcast this year – coincidence or conspiracy?" Lainey asks. "They had to get Beyoncé up at the mic."
So, not only was the scheduling a clue that Beyoncé knew, but moments after Adele won Record of the Year and then Album of the Year back-to-back, Beyoncé released a brand new track with her husband Jay Z and DJ Khaled. The track, called "Shining," even specifically calls out the Grammys in a verse. It's about winning awards, and not letting the L's get you down in life. It's the first track Jay and Bey have done together since 2013's "Drunk In Love" and is especially intriguing following all the gossip around their relationship following Lemonade. The track literally gave her the last word.
Additionally, we can trace the beginnings of this theory to her pregnancy announcement two weeks ago. Those pictures are visual parallels to the imagery used in her Grammys performance. That's when she planted the seed of her ascent to the top of our minds. She, as a mother, is giving life to her children. She, as a singer, is giving life to the show. She was given lemons, so she made lemonade.
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