“I am so honored. I am so excited,” the singer, 39, gushed in her acceptance speech. “As an artist, I consider it my job and all of our jobs to reflect the times, and it’s been such a difficult time. I wanted to uplift encourage and celebrate all of the beautiful Black queens and kings that continue to inspire me and inspire the whole world. This is so overwhelming. I’ve been working my whole life, and I can’t believe this happened. It’s such a magical night. Thank you so much.”

When the nominees were announced in November 2020, the former Destiny’s Child member led the list with nine. Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa and Roddy Ricch followed her with six nominations each.

Not only did the “Single Ladies” singer have two songs up for Record of the Year — “Black Parade” and “Savage Remix” — but the former was also up for Song of the Year, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance. The latter was nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, while Black Is King and “Brown Skin Girl” were up for Best Music Film and Best Music Video, respectively.

With 79 nominations overall in her career, the Texas native is tied for second place with Paul McCartney for most of all time. Her husband, Jay-Z, and Quincy Jones are tied at the top of the list. (The rapper, 51, raked in three nominations this year, bringing his total to 80.)

During Beyoncé’s standout year, she has also been hard at work raising their three kids — Blue, 9, and twins Sir and Rumi, 3.

“I truly cherish this time with my family, and my new goal is to slow down and shed stressful things from my life,” Queen B told British Vogue in October 2020. “I came into the music industry at 15 years old and grew up with the world watching, and I have put out projects nonstop. I released Lemonade during the Formation world tour, gave birth to twins, performed at Coachella, directed Homecoming, went on another world tour with Jay, then Black is King, all back-to-back. It’s been heavy and hectic. I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on building my legacy and representing my culture the best way I know how. Now, I’ve decided to give myself permission to focus on my joy.”

The actress added at the time that she considers her kids to be her “biggest inspiration” as she elevates Black voices with her career.

“Something cracked open inside of me right after giving birth to my first daughter,” the songwriter explained. “From that point on, I truly understood my power. … It became my mission to make sure she lived in a world where she feels truly seen and valued. I was also deeply inspired by my trip to South Africa with my family.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Riley Cardoza