As Chappell Roan mentioned in her introductory speech while presenting the award for Best New Artist, the 68th Grammy Awards carried out a tradition of having the past year's winner present their successor with the trophy this time, like with other award ceremonies.
While that didn't turn out to be the case in every category, artists like Chappell and Doechii did give away the prizes they won the previous year (in Doechii's case, Best Rap Album, which went to Kendrick Lamar's GNX).
Some fans expected last year's winner in the ultimate Album of the Year category to return as well, with netizens predicting Beyoncé would be in attendance to give away the big prize, while also dropping potential news on act iii of her album trilogy. However, that turned out not to be the case.
Why didn't Beyoncé attend the Grammys?
The short answer is: there isn't a definitive one. The singer, 44, hasn't said anything about her decision to or not to attend the ceremony, held once again at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, and hosted for the sixth (and final) time by Trevor Noah.
What also explains the absence is that Beyoncé didn't put out any eligible music this past voting year, nor did she release new enough music to merit a performance ala Bruno Mars and "I Just Might." Her last release was 2024's Cowboy Carter.
An artist (and any guests) automatically gets an invite to the ceremony if they're nominated, more so if they're up for one of the major prizes that make it to the telecast after the Premiere Ceremony. Some other special industry and voting body members are usually invited as well.
While there can be exceptions, of course, generally you won't see a major artist at the ceremony unless they're previously listed as a presenter, performer or nominee. She did attend the 66th Grammys in 2024, despite not having any eligible music in contention, but at the time, she did just begin promotion for the newly announced Cowboy Carter.
Case in point, 2024 Album of the Year winner Taylor Swift was also previously revealed to not be attending the ceremony, hence why the Grammys reached further back to invite 2023 AOTY recipient Harry Styles to do the honors. It also helps that Harry is now promoting a brand new album of his own, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
Coincidentally, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and Taylor all won the top prize wearing custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture pieces, back to back.
Beyoncé's history with the Grammys
Even after last night's ceremony, Beyoncé retains her title as the most awarded artist in Grammys history, with 35 trophies. Her 2022 album Renaissance took her to 32, putting her past Sir George Solti.
And last year, after six AOTY nominations (including as a featured artist on Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster), she finally took home the big prize for Cowboy Carter, plus two more trophies for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Album.
The 68th Grammy Awards
Hot on her tail, though, is Kendrick Lamar. The rapper took home an additional five trophies on February 1, 2026, including Record of the Year for "Luther," pushing him past Jay-Z with 27 total wins.
Kendrick took home the most prizes, but the big prize went to Bad Bunny, with the Puerto Rican rapper's Debí Tirar Más Fotos becoming the first Spanish-language AOTY winner. He also won two additional prizes. Jelly Roll also took home three prizes, followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, SZA and more with two apiece.