Taylor Swift presented Best Country Album at the Grammys—and she ended up getting to give the award to her friend Beyoncé. Swift read Beyoncé’s name with joy, and the two stars exchanged a hug and air kiss onstage.
While accepting the trophy, Beyoncé spoke about her surprise winning the Grammy. “I’d like to thank all of the incredible country artists that accepted this album,” she said. “We worked so hard on it. I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just wanna encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent. Wow, I’d like to thank my beautiful family, all of the artists that were collaborators. Thank you. This wouldn’t have been this album without you. I’d like to thank God again and my fans, and I still am in shock, so thank you so much for this honor.”
This is Swift’s first time presenting at the Grammys in years, adding extra poignancy to this moment given her history with Beyoncé.
In October 2023, Swift wrote on Instagram about her relationship with Beyoncé, who attended the premiere of her Eras Tour concert film. She later attended the London premiere of Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour film.
“I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce’s influence,” Swift shared. “The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale. 😇🙏🥹”
