Who Has Won 27 Grammys? Beyonce Makes History With 28 Grammy Awards

Beyoncé made history Sunday night during the 2021 Grammy Awards when she became the show’s most-decorated female artist ever and received the most wins of any singer ever, male or female. After heading into the night with nine nominations, the “Black Parade” singer took home four awards, bringing her total number of Grammy wins to 28, but who was the previous record-holder that had an astounding 27 wins?

Before “Black Parade” taking Best R&B Performance honors, bluegrass artist Alison Krauss had been the Grammy’s most-decorated female artist with 27 wins. Kraus, whose songs include “Whiskey Lullaby,” “Rich Woman,” and “Killing the Blues,” achieved that milestone in 2011, when she took home award for Best Bluegrass Album for Paper Airplane. She has since received numerous other nominations, including Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “I Just Come Here For The Music” in 2012, Best American Roots Performance for “And When I Die” in 2014, and Best Country Solo Performance for “Losing You” and Best American Roots Performance for “I Never Cared For You” in 2017. Her latest album, Wind City, was released in 2017.

Heading into Sunday night’s ceremony, Beyoncé had nine nominations – Black Parade was up for Record Of The Year, with the song also up for Best R&B Performance, Song Of The Year and Best R&B Song, she also received nods in the Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, Record Of The Year, and Best Music Film categories. She ultimately took home four of those awards, including Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video, with her win in the Best R&B Performance category putting her across the line set by Krauss. Taking the stage to accept the award, the singer said she was “honored” and “so excited.”

“Thank you, guys. As an artist, I believe it’s my job and all of our jobs to reflect the times,” she said. “I wanted to uplift and encourage all of the Black kings and queens who inspire me and inspire the whole world … I can’t believe this happened; it’s such a magical night.”

Beyoncé also gave a shout-out to her daughter, Blue Ivy, who at just 9-years-old took home her first Grammy for “Brown Skin Girl” with her mom, as well as her 3-year-old twins Rumi and Sir. The singer said she knew her “daughter is watching, two daughters and my son are watching. Blue, congratulations you won a Grammy tonight. I’m so proud. I love you so much, my rock.”

The Sunday night ceremony was hosted by The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah from the Los Angeles Convention Center. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the awards show went on without a live audience. You can see the list of nominees and winners by clicking here.