Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will probably find themselves going head-to-head in one or more categories when the nominations for the 67th annual Grammy Awards are announced later this year. Beyoncé is a lock to be nominated for album of the year for March’s Cowboy Carter. Swift is also likely to be nominated in that category for The Tortured Poets Department, due April 19.
How can we be so sure? Both superstars have been nominated in the category with their three most recent solo studio albums of new material. Beyoncé was nominated with Beyoncé, Lemonade and Renaissance; Swift with Folklore, Evermore and Midnights.
The big difference, of course, is that Swift has won a record four times in the category, while Beyoncé has yet to emerge victorious. Bey is one of four artists to go 0-4 in album of the year as a lead artist, along with Sting, Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. (Here, we discuss nine milestones Beyoncé could reach at next year’s Grammys.)
Swift and Beyoncé have gone up against each other in album of the year just once, when Swift’s Fearless beat Bey’s I Am…Sasha Fierce in 2010. But they have competed in other categories eight other times. Beyoncé has prevailed twice, so she’s actually ahead in their head-to-head match-ups. Neither artist won the six other times they directly competed.
Here are the nine times these powerhouse women have competed head-to-head at the Grammys over the years, with a reminder of who won. The years shown are the years of the Grammy ceremonies.
