This past Sunday evening (February 2, 2025), I faced a momentous decision regarding how to spend my time entertainment-wise. I could either watch the Grammys or the NASCAR Cup Series preseason Clash race, held this year at Bowman Gray Stadium’s quarter-mile flat track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I chose the latter, figuring it would have three elements sorely lacking from the Grammys: live performances, actual entertainment, and no guaranteed winner. The evening’s events proved me correct. (Chase Elliott won the race.)

The Grammys is the recorded “music” industry’s yearly orgy of congratulating itself for making yet another year’s worth of sounds no one listens to for more than 15 minutes as they merrily skip along, using their streaming services of choice, paying no one save the record labels, to find the next artist proving Andy Warhol correct. Aside from the usual leftist poses, the evening’s predictability highlight — or lowlight if you prefer — was the legendary down-home salt of the earth working class woman Beyoncé winning not only Best Country Album but Best Album period for “Cowboy Carter,” an assemblage of songs whose connection with country music ranks right alongside the WWE’s identification with Olympic wrestling.

MORE: The Grammys Felt Like an Isolated Incident Despite All the Flash and Noise

With the two wins, plus a third for Best Country Duo/Group Performance alongside that generational talent at sticking her tongue out, Miley Cyrus, Queen Bey, as her sycophantic fanatic base calls her, has now won more Grammys than any artist in history. Yes, more than The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Each of whom, ironically, also won Grammys on the night in question. More than Led Zeppelin. More than The Who. More than any legendary soul or R&B artist. More than any great classical artist or orchestra conductor. ‘Nuff said.

Actual country singer John Rich answered the question as to how this came about quite nicely.

Folks are asking me "how do music award shows work?" Labels/publishers all have blocks of votes. They make deals with each other "you vote for mine, we'll vote for yours" type thing. It has ZERO to do with who made the best music, thus, Beyonce with "Country album of the year."…

— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) February 3, 2025

The comment in full:

Folks are asking me "how do music award shows work?" Labels/publishers all have blocks of votes. They make deals with each other "you vote for mine, we'll vote for yours" type thing. It has ZERO to do with who made the best music, thus, Beyonce with "Country album of the year." Nice, right? The same thing is true with the CMA's, ACM's, Billboard, etc...all work exactly the same. Last night, the Grammy's outed themselves in a big way.

Of course, the “first black woman EVER!” hyperbole was churned out fast and furious.

The pop icon was stunned as she received the news, ascending the stage with her daughter Blue Ivy in tow. Having already collected the GRAMMY for Best Country Album — the first Black woman to do so — earlier in the evening, she gave a concise, yet gracious acceptance speech.

Because, as all know, it is so difficult for anyone aside from a Caucasian male to make an impact in today’s entertainment industry.

Oh, television ratings for the 2025 Grammys were down nine percent from last year. Maybe try something different next year, show presenters? Like ... oh, here’s a wild idea ... actual music?