Beyoncé Is Further From EGOT Status Than You Might Think
Everything Beyoncé touches turns to gold. Or, at least, into Grammy Awards when it comes to her musical work. The Destiny’s Child frontwoman turned powerhouse solo act has been racking up the statuettes since 2001, when Say My Name won for Best R&B song. Since then, she’s continued to earn an avalanche of nominations and trophies for her lyrics and performances.
It’s hard to understate the star power that comes with someone like Beyoncé. She has become ubiquitous with success and fame over the course of her illustrious career. However, some accolades remain elusive for the performer. One of those is the coveted EGOT status: the so-called “grand slam” of the entertainment industry that happens when a person wins an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Only 18 people have achieved this in history — most recently Viola Davis with her win at the Grammys in February. And while Beyoncé is famous in any room she walks into, she isn’t at all close to an EGOT.
Beyoncé made history at the Grammys in February 2023
The 2023 Grammy Awards were record-breaking for Beyoncé before the golden gramophones were even handed out. Bey and her husband, Jay-Z, tied each other for the most Grammy nominations in history, with 88 each. (Beyoncé received nine nominations this year, while Jay-Z had five.) Beyoncé’s four wins at this year’s Grammys ceremony came from her work on her July 2022 album Renaissance.
Those four wins also cemented the “Cuff It” singer’s star power. She now has won the most Grammys of all time, with 32 statuettes to her name. The singer did virtually no press to promote Renaissance, proving she can let the dancefloor-ready tracks speak for themselves. The visuals for the album are set to be released at a later date, meaning the tracks could fuel additional Grammy nods in future years.
Beyoncé was nominated for Oscar and Emmy awards, but hasn’t won them
Given Beyoncé’s musical abilities, it’s not surprising that she’s lent her vocals to projects outside of her own albums. The singer earned her first Oscar nomination last year for Best Original Song; “Be Alive” from King Richard. Ultimately, Billie Eilish and Finneas won the category for “No Time to Die.”
The Lemonade artist has come close to Oscar nominations on two other occasions, Harper’s Bazaar recounted. She co-wrote the song “Listen” for the 2006 film Dreamgirls, but was left off the nomination for Best Original Song because there were too many collaborators. (The nomination didn’t yield a trophy anyway.) Fans also thought she was snubbed for a Best Original Song nomination for “Spirit” on The Lion King soundtrack. That work earned a Golden Globe nomination, but no chance at an Oscar.
Beyoncé’s musical performances have also earned her a number of Primetime Emmy nominations. But they haven’t yielded any hardware to date. She’s been nominated for a total of eight Emmy Awards in her career so far, according to IMDb: First, for her Super Bowl performance in 2013; her HBO special On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2015; the visuals for her album Lemonade in 2016; and several for Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé — the 2019 Netflix special that detailed her preparations for headlining Coachella.
Beyoncé hasn’t attempted forays into work that would land her a Tony
Though Beyoncé also starred as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, which was adapted from Broadway, she has yet to perform in a capacity that would earn her a Tony nomination. Never say never when it comes to Queen Bey, of course. But there’s nothing to indicate that the singer has the theater in her sights.
Perhaps EGOT status isn’t in the cards for Beyoncé, though she’s just one or two smash performances away from serious Oscar or Emmy contention to add to her treasure trove of Grammys.
In the meantime, she’s announced that Renaissance will be a three-part project, and is embarking on a five-month world tour starting in May. With plans like these, who needs another statue for the bookshelf? In her own lyrics from “Be Alive”: I got a million miles on me / They want to see how far I’ll go / The path was never paved with gold / We worked and built this on our own.
