When the 2025 Grammy Awards nominees list came out last Friday (Nov. 8), Beyoncé was at the top of the heap, with 11 total nominations across all genres.

She was the most-nominated artist in country categories, too, leading the pack with four nods.

She’s mentioned in the Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Album, Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song categories, all of which are for her 2024 country album Cowboy Carter or tracks off the project.

• Cowboy Carter arrived in March 2024.
• It includes the hit single “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Country Song at the upcoming Grammy Awards.
• The album includes several collaborations and features, including spotlights on some of the up-and-coming Black artists of the country genre, and cameos from legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.

What Was Beyoncé’s Reaction to Her 2025 Grammy Nominations?

As the most nominated artist at the 2025 ceremony, it would be understandable if Beyoncé wanted to celebrate her nominations on social media a little bit.

It’s a landmark year for her at the Grammys, because her 11 new nominations broke a tie between her and her husband Jay-Z, and made her the most-nominated artist in Grammy history.

But the pop megastar didn’t focus on her own accolades. Rather, she turned her attention to celebrating a lesser-known — but deeply influential — artist, Linda Martell.

“Congratulations to my queen Linda Martell on your nomination and your contribution to country music,” Beyoncé wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of a young Martell that looks like it might have been taken in the 1960s or 1970s.

Martell’s nomination comes courtesy of her feature on “Spaghetii,” one of the tracks on Cowboy Carter. The song, which also features Shaboozey, is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance at next year’s Grammy Awards.

Lots of Beyoncé’s fans might not even know who Martell is, making it a little confusing as to why she’d choose to spotlight this particular contributor over the many artists who lent their talents to Cowboy Carter.

But Martell’s contribution to the project is so significant, Beyoncé’s album might not have ever been created at all without the groundwork this little-known legend laid for Black artists in country music.

Who Is Linda Martell?

• Born Thelma Bynem in South Carolina in 1941, she discovered singing early and came by her country influence by listening to the Grand Ole Opry with her family on the radio.
• She got her start in pop and R&B, but shifted to country in the late ’60s at the suggestion of Nashville producer Shelby Singleton Jr.
• She released an album called Color Me Country in 1970, which included the single “Color Him Father.”
• “Color Him Father” reached No. 2 on the Billboard country charts, and Martell became the first Black female solo artist to perform on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

Read More: Who is Linda Martell and Why is She All Over Beyoncé’s Album?

Including Martell on her country album was a move Beyoncé made after digging deep into the history of the country genre. She chose to include Martell’s features on Cowboy Carter as a way of honoring a pioneer who has largely been forgotten by the country format.