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2025 GRAMMYs: Beyoncé Wins First Album Of The Year Award For 'COWBOY CARTER'
Beyoncé finally took home the coveted GRAMMY for 'COWBOY CARTER' after six nominations in the Category.
After what seemed like an interminable wait for her fans, Beyoncé finally earned the award for Album Of The Year at the 2025 GRAMMYs for Cowboy Carter.
The pop icon was stunned as she received the news, ascending the stage with her daughter Blue Ivy in tow. Having already collected the GRAMMY for Best Country Album — the first Black woman to do so — earlier in the evening, she gave a concise, yet gracious acceptance speech.
"I’d like to thank and acknowledge and praise all the firefighters keeping us safe," she began, mentioning the Los Angeles County Fire Department members that presented the award.
"I just feel very full and very honored," she continued. "It’s been many years, and I just want to thank the GRAMMYs, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all the hard work."
Read more: 2025 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List (UPDATING LIVE)
Beyoncé then dedicated the award to Linda Martell, a country music singer who became the first Black woman to play at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Martell’s story was a theme of COWBOY CARTER, which attempted to restore a Black presence in a genre historically dominated by white artists.
"I want to dedicate this to Mrs. Martell, and I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors. God bless y’all."
Beyoncé has been nominated for Album Of The Year six times, but had yet to win until now. Her pursuit of the award was even commented on by host Trevor Noah.
"She had 99 nominations, and now Album Of The Year is one," he joked, referencing her husband Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter’s song "99 Problems" as well as her 99 career GRAMMY nominations.
Beyoncé was nominated in the Category alongside André 3000, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, Jacob Collier, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift. In addition to her win for Best Country Album, she also received the Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "II MOST WANTED," her collaboration with Miley Cyrus, at the Premiere Ceremony earlier in the day.
Beyoncé had also announced a concert tour behind COWBOY CARTER the day before the GRAMMYs ceremony; the announcement was postponed from January due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
2025 GRAMMYs: Performances, Acceptance Speeches & Highlights

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What's The Difference? GRAMMY Album Vs. Record Of The Year Explained
Here's the lowdown on two of music's most well-known yet often-confused terms, especially as they pertain to the GRAMMY Awards.
Editor’s Note: *This article was originally published on Dec. 9, 2018, and was updated on Oct. 31, 2025 to add updated information about the GRAMMY Awards process.*
How many albums are in your record collection? You see, confusion between the terms "album" and "record" are nothing new, as vinyl albums are often called "records" — and those interchangeable words may leave some GRAMMY viewers puzzled.
The General Field Categories include both Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year, but recognize two different things. In short, Album Of The Year honors a full project of songs, and Record Of The Year highlights one song (though it's also different from Song Of The Year; more on that here).
While the Category names may seem somewhat intertwined, their qualifications are not. Below, learn more about how Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year are defined by GRAMMY standards.
Album Of The Year, Explained
According to the official Recording Academy guidelines, recordings must contain at least five different tracks and a total playing time of at least 15 minutes or a total playing time of at least 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement.
Voters in this Category are expected to consider the quality and artistry of the collection of tracks as a whole, and this GRAMMY is awarded to any Artist(s), Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Engineer(s), Mixer(s), and Mastering Engineer(s) with greater than 20 percent playing time on the album.
Record Of The Year, Explained
On the other hand, the Record Of The Year Category awards a single track and recognizes the artist's performance as well as the overall contributions of the Producer(s), Engineer(s), Mixer(s), and Mastering Engineer(s).
In both cases, with Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year, recordings must be released within the eligibility period and available to the public as standalone purchases or audio-only streams, although exceptions are made for opera and music video/film.
For a further look into the contrast between these formats, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame is filled with both, clearly labeled.
For more information about the 2026 GRAMMY Awards season, learn more about the annual GRAMMY Awards process; read our First Round Voting guide for the 2026 GRAMMYs; read our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section; view the official GRAMMY Awards Rules and Guidelines; and visit the GRAMMY Award Update Center for a list of real-time changes to the GRAMMY Awards process.
Latest Recording Academy News & Initiatives

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Get To Know Ink, The Hitmaking Songwriter For Beyoncé & Kendrick Ready To Take The Spotlight
After a big year of co-writing chart-topping hits, Ink showcases her own artistry with a new EP, 'BIG BUSKIN'.' Learn more about the GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter and her journey to stardom.
Imagine cementing your place among icons before releasing your debut project. Ink doesn't have to.
Born Atia Boggs, the Atlanta-raised singer/songwriter has become a go-to collaborator for the likes of Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Justin Bieber, Kacey Musgraves, Lil Nas X, and Jennifer Lopez. And now, she's stepping into the spotlight with BIG BUSKIN'. Out Oct. 3, the new EP will see Ink display her own star power, blending elements of country with hip-hop to create her unique genre-blending sound.
BIG BUSKIN' — the title a tribute to her early days busking around her hometown — comes on the heels of a remarkable couple of years for Ink. After writing on Beyoncé's GRAMMY-nominated RENAISSANCE, Ink returned for Bey's Album Of The Year-winning COWBOY CARTER, co-writing its historic crossover hit "TEXAS HOLD 'EM." While that marked her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Ink soon landed another thanks to "Luther," Lamar's latest smash with SZA that stayed at the top for a whopping 13 weeks.
"It's just a different level of craftsmanship that they have," Ink told Rolling Stone of Lamar and Beyoncé. "It alters my process and how I look at music."
When it comes to her own project, Ink declares that it's "definitely something special." "[BIG BUSKIN'] showcases a lot of different parts of myself," the three-time GRAMMY nominee shared in a statement. "Each chapter you're going to get something new, and each story you're going to get something true."
As Ink releases her debut EP with Big Loud Records, learn more about the inspiration behind her genre-defying sound and why she's earned Beyoncé's praise as an "artist's artist."
She Has Always Known She'd Be A Star
Ink's musical journey began when she taught herself guitar at a young age. Soon after, she began hitting the streets of Georgia to perform for anyone who'd be willing to listen. "I was playing for change, selling CDs, going straight to the people," she shared in press materials for BIG BUSKIN'.
As she recalled to Rolling Stone, Ink busked outside of Jay-Z and Beyoncé's show at the Georgia Dome in 2014 — not only a fateful situation, but one that displayed her confidence. "I wanted to go in there so bad, but [I thought,] 'I hope they have fun, because when I go in there, it's going to be my time.'"
Five years later, Ink doubled down on that manifestation upon seeing Beyoncé at the Roc Nation GRAMMY Week brunch in 2019. "I went up to her and said, 'Hey, I just wanted to let you know, I'm going to be writing your next album,'" she told Billboard, "And she giggled and said, 'What's your name?' We just hit it off."
Her Genre-Blending Sound Is No Coincidence
Ink's musical style is a melting pot shaped by her upbringing, deeply rooted in both her ethnic and social background. On BIG BUSKIN', she weaves together elements of country, rock and hip-hop — genres that can be described as the soundtracks of her life.
The Germany-born, Georgia-raised artist is influenced by singer/songwriters like Babyface, Tony Henry, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lauryn Hill, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. And with roots in the Cherokee and Blackfoot indigenous tribes, Ink's diverse background has helped a unique identity all her own.
It was her deep connection to the South — specifically, through Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth — that truly shaped her musical identity. "He's one of the reasons that I'm how I am today," she shared in a press statement.
She also counts GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter/producer James Fauntleroy — who has worked with the likes of Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, and Rihanna — as a mentor, noting that he's shown support since they became Facebook friends in the late 2000s. "[He gave me the confidence to say, 'I can do this,'" she said to Billboard.
Now in her stride, Ink has even managed to blow Beyoncé's mind with her wide-spanning talent. "[Beyoncé] told me that she didn't understand how I was so consistent, because I'd always make different genres of music," Ink recalled in a press statement. "She said, 'You're an artist's artist,' and that gave me a boost of confidence to stay on my path and stay true to my authentic self."
This Isn't Her First Rodeo
BIG BUSKIN' will mark Ink's official debut with Big Loud Records, but it won't be the first time she's released a project. The singer/songwriter previously released three albums independently: 2018's Highlight Real, 2019's Backstreets and 2021's Imagine Not Knowing.
On Highlight Real, Ink tapped into more of her R&B sensibilities. With Backstreets, she incorporated her rock influences with acoustic and electric guitars. And on Imagine Not Knowing, she intertwined R&B stylings with hip-hop beats. Though none of the projects explored her country side, they each helped mold the innovative sound that has pushed her to the forefront today.
She's Become A Secret Weapon For Superstars…
Ink has become one of the music industry's trusty wordsmiths, co-writing songs for some of today's leading artists. Things first took off for her in 2015, landing credits on tracks by Monica, Tamar Braxton, Rick Ross and Mary J. Blige, and Plies and Jacquees. From there, she scored cuts with several more R&B and rap stars, including Yo Gotti, Remy Ma, Chris Brown, Leon Bridges, and Paloma Mami.
While her biggest moments as a songwriter have come with Beyoncé's "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and Kendrick Lamar's "Luther," she landed more cuts with each of them, including Beyoncé's "16 CARRIAGES" and Lamar's other SZA collab on GNX, "Gloria." But those two are far from the only major stars she's written for in recent years: along with tracks by Lil Nas X, 21 Savage and Mariah the Scientist, Lay Bankz, and Latto, Ink co-wrote over 80 percent of Jennifer Lopez's ninth studio album, This Is Me…Now.
…And A Sought-After Collaborator
As Ink became more renowned as a songwriter, more and more artists recognized her talents as a singer. Her first big feature came in 2019 with Chris Brown and Justin Bieber's "Don't Check on Me," a song she co-wrote and co-produced; as she asserts, being asked to join as a featured artist was a major turning point in her career.
"It gave me so much exposure and another boost of confidence to have a superstar say, 'Hey, we're going to introduce you to the world,'" she told Billboard, adding, "that was one of the moments that led to the unstoppable train I'm on now."
She's also noted that her feature on Childish Gambino's funky 2020 single "Psilocybae (Millennial Love)" was another moment that transcended her artistry in another light. And since then, she's offered her vocal chops to NLE Choppa's "Hear Me," Leon Bridges' "Don't Worry," Zerb and The Chainsmokers' "Addicted," Lamar's "Dodger Blue," and BigXthaPlug's "24/7," among several others.
She's Ready To Get The Party Started
As Ink began her countrified new chapter earlier this year, the multi-faceted artist released "Turquoise Cowboy." While she has dubbed the anthemic track "a theme song for myself," the singer/songwriter sees its toe-tapping follow-up, "Hoedown," as a perfect depiction of the vibe she's channeling with this new music.
"[Hoedown is] a good way to introduce me to the world," she said in a press statement. "I like to dance, I like to get the party going, I like to keep the energy up."
With a desire to make timeless music and a larger-than-life personality, Ink is ready to show the world her true self with BIG BUSKIN' — and she's excited to take listeners along for the ride. "I do music so that I can interact with humans and turn up the frequency of the universe," she explains in a statement, "while showing people that this classic American music never left."
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2026 GRAMMYs: Voting Tips For First-Time Voters
Recording Academy Voting Members have the opportunity to shape the GRAMMY nominations at the 2026 GRAMMYs. This guide breaks down essential GRAMMY voting tips and resources to help make every vote count.
The 2026 GRAMMYs will air live on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 1, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Nominations for the 2026 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Voting in the GRAMMY Awards is a unique opportunity to recognize excellence across all facets of the music industry. As the 2026 GRAMMYs draw closer, First Round Voting is open Friday, Oct. 3 through Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. PT/9p.m. ET. To help Voting Members navigate the process, we've outlined some helpful GRAMMY voting tips and resources.
The 2026 GRAMMYs will recognize the best in music, and First Round Voting is where the annual GRAMMY Awards voting process begins. During First Round Voting, Recording Academy Voting Members will cast their ballots through their member dashboard to determine the GRAMMY nominees across all 95 Categories for the upcoming 2026 GRAMMYs. Final Round Voting for the 2026 GRAMMYs, which opens Dec. 12, 2025, and closes Jan. 5, 2026, will determine the final GRAMMY winners across all Categories to be revealed on GRAMMY night. Each year, GRAMMY winners and GRAMMY nominees are determined as voted by the Recording Academy's Voting membership, which is composed of music creators, including artists, producers, songwriters, and engineers.
Nominations for the 2026 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. The 2026 GRAMMY Awards, when all final GRAMMY Award winners will be announced, take place Sunday, Feb. 1, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and broadcasts live on the CBS Television Network and streams live and on demand on Paramount+.
"During this time, I reflect on the power of our collective voice as Voting Members of the Recording Academy, and the unique light our awards shine on music's ability to shape the world and connect people across the globe," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said about the importance of GRAMMY Voting in a message sent to Recording Academy Voting Members. "Every vote can shape the future of music, empower creators, and ignite innovation. It’s a 67-year legacy that lasts well beyond Music’s Biggest Night."
As a member of the Academy, you may be asked questions about GRAMMY Voting. Equip yourself with the knowledge to explain the complete GRAMMY Awards process by reviewing the tips below and visiting our interactive online resource. Whether you’re a new voter or returning for another GRAMMY season, following these tips can ensure your vote reflects the best in music.
Essential Tips For First-Time GRAMMY Voters
Take Your Time
GRAMMY voting isn’t a race. While the ballot is extensive, it’s crucial to consider each entry thoughtfully. Give every submission the same level of attention to ensure a fair and well-rounded outcome.
Break Voting Into Manageable Chunks
To avoid feeling overwhelmed, tackle the GRAMMY voting ballot in sections. For example, set goals to finish certain Categories each day. Taking short breaks between sections can help maintain focus and avoid fatigue.
Utilize The Save & Return Feature
When you start feeling tired, the Save button can be a lifesaver. Don't rush it. Save your progress and return to the GRAMMY voting ballot when you’re refreshed to ensure you’re voting with a clear mind and fair judgment.
Consider Reviewing From Z To A
The GRAMMY voting ballot is presented alphabetically, which can sometimes lead to fatigue near the end. Try reviewing the entries in reverse order or splitting the alphabet into smaller groups. This approach can help maintain objectivity across all entries.
Review The Voter Code Of Conduct
Before voting, familiarize yourself with the Voter Code of Conduct to maintain the integrity of the GRAMMY Awards. Voting within your areas of expertise helps honor each submission fairly.
Download The GRAMMY One App
The GRAMMY One app allows Voting Members to vote from their phones, making it easy to complete GRAMMY Voting ballots from anywhere. The app is available on both iOS and Android.
Make Use Of Resources
The Recording Academy offers an interactive guide explaining the GRAMMY Awards process in full to help members fully understand the GRAMMY journey from entry to award. This resource is invaluable for first-time GRAMMY voters and provides context for the entire awards cycle.
Encourage Your Peers
Our Voting membership class is the most diverse it’s ever been. As a fellow member and respected industry professional, your encouragement to your Voting Member peers during the voting process can make an impact on voter participation and turnout.
When your peers sit down to cast their GRAMMY vote, their voices will reflect the diversity and excellence of the greater music community. If you manage or represent an Academy Voter, please remind them that their First Round Voting ballot is available via their member dashboard.
Explore The "GRAMMY Effect"
Winning or even just being nominated for a GRAMMY can dramatically boost an artist's career by increasing resources, visibility and industry standing. GRAMMY nominees often receive greater production support, see higher Billboard chart rankings, and gain recognition that opens doors to further opportunities. This is know as the “GRAMMY Effect,” an industry phenomenon in which a GRAMMY accolade directly influences the music biz and the wider popular culture. Your GRAMMY vote highlights deserving talent and also contributes to elevating careers across the music landscape.
Ask For Help If Needed
If you encounter technical issues or have questions, voter support is available through phone and email. Don’t hesitate to reach out to ensure your GRAMMY voting ballot is completed successfully.
VOTER TECHNICAL SUPPORT
PHONE: 866-992-9902 x403
EMAIL: grammys@yangaroo.com
HOURS: M-F, 6 a.m. — 5 p.m. PT / 9 a.m. — 8 p.m. ET
First Round Voting: Oct. 3 — Oct. 15
Final Round Voting: Dec. 12, 2025 — Jan. 5, 2026
AWARDS, FYC (FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION) & NON-TECHNICAL SUPPORT:
PHONE: 833-789-8683
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MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS:
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2026 Grammys: Performances, Winners & Highlights

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How Cam's 'All Things Light' Was Inspired By Her Daughter, Beyoncé & "Exploring Deeper Questions"
The GRAMMY-winning country star opens up about the life experiences and lessons that shaped her introspective new album, and how the project is "100 percent what I wanted it to be."
Cam admits she's been in survival mode for the past five years. But it resulted in one of her most authentic projects to date.
All Things Light, her reflective new album out now via RCA Records, sees the country singer/songwriter embracing life's highs and lows. Cam started crafting All Things Light by herself during a period she describes as "insane"; as a new mom in the midst of a pandemic, she found creativity on her own.
"I went into the studio by myself a lot, because obviously nobody was sharing spaces," she tells GRAMMY.com of the early album process. "I tapped into something while I was by myself. I love collaborating, but to only be listening from my own gut and coming up with stuff, I had a whole new body of work coming to me."
All Things Light further displays Cam's songwriting depth while embracing a wider sonic landscape. While still rooted in country music, the album experiments with new sounds and genres taken from her life journey; elements of folk, rock and pop weave seamlessly throughout the 12-track project. She sings about life's unanswerable questions, trusting the universe, and ultimately finding her way.
As a result, All Things Light finds Cam surer of herself as a songwriter, a creative and a woman. "If I fall, I still sing and I know why," she confidently sings on the triumphant "Turns Out That I Am God"; elsewhere, she fully embraces her pop and dance side on tracks like "Wherever You Are" and "Pretty Girls." While topics of heartbreak and death ("Half Broke Heart," "Village" on 2015 debut Untamed) and deeply personal songs ("Redwood Tree," "Girl Like Me," on 2020 The Otherside) have been prevalent throughout her catalog, Cam sings them on All Things Light as a woman who has grown from life's obstacles — and throughout every track, her positive light shines through.
While working on the album, Cam got the opportunity to work on Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER. Co-writing five tracks — "AMERIICAN REQUIEM," "PROTECTOR," "DAUGHTER," "TYRANT," and "AMEN" — her contributions not only earned Cam her first GRAMMY, but also further inspired her own project.
"It all came from the same wellspring," she says of the songs on All Things Light and COWBOY CARTER. "Creatively, it was an amazing time. You can tell from this subject matter on the album that it's a very heavy time. I definitely felt the weight of being a mom, and as a mom, you're the guide, and the protector, and the world builder. You're the one who explains what this whole thing is to your kid."
Cam's experiences with her 5-year-old daughter, Lucy, heavily inspired All Things Light. Living life fully is also at the heart of the project, as she witnessed loss within her immediate family, which she touches on in lead single "Alchemy": "From dust to flesh to bones to dust/ We are golden/ Call it a miracle/ I call it alchemy," she sings on the surprisingly upbeat track. Meanwhile, the old-timey "Slow Down" serves as a reminder to trust her gut when chasing a dream: "If you get a funny feeling/ That it's not your dream you're dreamin/ Slow down."
"A lot of these songs are facing the abyss and exploring deeper questions, and maybe not even having an answer, but guideposts for myself and her," Cam explains. "It's a deep, heavy meaning, and then some fun little dance-y vibes — it's everything I wanted in an album."
Below, Cam discusses All Things Light, her creative process, and how motherhood inspires her songwriting.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
All Things Light came from dealing with loss and motherhood during the pandemic. Did the songs help you get through the other side of that loss?
It's been a tough time, personally. In my immediate family, we've had a lot of loss and health stuff, and as difficult as it was, it was a wake-up call about what makes life worth living. It's spending time with people you love. All these songs and raising a kid needing these answers about [life's] big questions, it all showed up [while writing All Things Light]. I have to address things like that.
Even though you think motherhood is a happy creation time, the other side of the coin is, What does it all mean in the big picture? To me, singing is incredibly calming, and writing is super therapeutic and cathartic. These are things that I need to hear.
"Turns Out That I Am God," when I say, "I was busy waiting for someone to live my life," [it] is me being on autopilot and not examining this stuff. "Dreamt myself to the center of all things light" is when I first meditated. I've turned this constantly talking mind off, and inside my belly there's this peace. You get filled with this joy. It's there in me, it's there in the trees, it's there in everything. There's some sort of energy to the universe, and to me, I call that God, and that's realizing that that's in me.
Has your songwriting changed at all being a mother?
I'm really intentional. I don't have time to do anything that isn't important to me. I have to feel really drawn to or inspired by a concept that I commit to, because it's like, Okay, this is important to me. I want this to be out. Then I'll commit all the time that's necessary to make it great.
Obviously when Beyoncé calls, you show up.
It was such incredible divine timing, because I feel like this is something that was coming out of me, this type of music. I obviously love being experimental and pushing boundaries.
Getting a GRAMMY for being a part of that album that was very experimental and pushed a lot of boundaries and still was incredibly meaningful. I think people are going to be discovering the layers of what she did for years. It was so inspiring to see somebody commit and do that at such a high level.
I think it's really easy to feel scared that if you do something outside of the norm or outside of the box, that it's gonna cost you — and maybe it will. But the point is, what are you doing this for? What matters is you're making great art. If anything, it made me feel super free and emboldened to just stick with it.
You'll forever be introduced as "GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Cam" for working on Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER. Have you fully processed that?
Honestly, it hasn't fully processed yet. It's pretty cool to have this statue that says my name, and COWBOY CARTER, and Beyoncé on it. 12-year-old me is like, No way! I get to go see the tour in Vegas, and I'm ready to bawl my eyes out, dance and cry, because it's so incredible.
Years ago, you mentioned that you write songs based on colors. Did you do that for All Things Light?
Definitely, yeah. I think that's one of the easiest ways to describe [songs], when you're trying to take something from a collective subconscious, then you have to try and communicate it with anyone else you're working with. I think that colors usually help me the most — or temperature, sometimes — of describing what it is.
"Alchemy" was your first solo release in four years. What color or temperature were you feeling when you wrote that song?
I started it with my longtime co-writer, Anders Mouridsen, and we were trying really hard to focus on melody. I was like, "Wow, this album is heavy. What if I try and not be heavy?" It still ended up being a death mantra. "From dust to flesh to bones to dust." It's a Buddhist meditation on death.
To me, that song, even though it's talking about death, and the single art is flowers growing out of me, in my mind your body decomposes and becomes something else, transformative. "We are golden" is the assurance. That whole process is beautiful, and can we see that in a positive light? So, to me, that one's this orangey, yellowy, golden-ish color.
I noticed Joni Mitchell has a writing credit on "Alchemy."
It's similar enough to "Woodstock," that song of hers, that I was like, "I want to reach out and make sure that this is good with them, because it's such an important thing to say." It was definitely insane to get approval from her and that team.
It's very Joni Mitchell inspired. She's such an inspiration to me. My mom always loved Joni Mitchell growing up, so we listened to a lot of that. She's one in a million.
How have you transformed in the past five years?
I think I went from a bit shellshocked with motherhood, to then trying to find my feet, and feeling a little bit underwater. At this point, I'm trying really hard to own that life is messy and it doesn't look how you think it's gonna look. That doesn't mean it isn't fantastic, and something that you get lessons out of, and you have heartache, and you have joy. The acceptance of it all and the surrender to it all. I don't think I've mastered it, but I think I'm trying to get better at reminding myself that that's why we're here.
Is there one song that best describes where you are in life right now?
Probably "Turns Out That I'm God." That and "Slow Down," I think those are my core thesis statements. This is my life happening, and it's my experience to enjoy or not enjoy, and it's up to me. That is a heavy and freeing thing at the same time.
The first lyric of the album is, "I was busy waiting for someone to live my life," and then the last lyric is from "We Always Do": "We'll think of something we always do." It's like radical optimism, in a relationship, or just humanity. I think we're gonna figure it out. The last lyric on the whole album is "try," and I like that a lot.
Tell me about writing "Turns Out That I'm God."
I listened to Alan Watts give a lecture. He's a philosopher, entertainer, from the '60s/'70s, and he brought a bunch of Eastern ideas to Westerners. Generally speaking, Westerners feel so separate from the world, like humans are alone and isolated. In general, a lot of Eastern philosophies and religions are integrated, and you're all part of one.
He did a thought experiment: We're all God, we've just forgotten. We could do anything we wanted and dream these beautiful dreams, and they would last for 75 years.
After so many nights, you're like, "Well, maybe I should throw in a little surprise, a little risk." After you try that, you're like, "Wow, that was something. I think I want to try more." You add more and more risk until you get to where you are now, and that's you living your life — where you don't know what's going to happen, and what a gift that is, and what a gift you've chosen to live like that.
It's about how that makes you feel, when you hear that, [you think], "Maybe I've chosen to be here doing it this way." That was a relief for me when I heard that.
What has this album taught you about yourself and your career?
I got in really late to professional music, because I switched my career when I was 25. I was 29 and 30 and "Burning House" happened so fast. I want to keep meeting what my dream version of music can be, and I think I keep getting closer. I feel like I've landed on something this time.
I love every single thing that's in this album. Every single piece, nothing was a compromise. Nothing was a decision made out of fear. It all was 100 percent what I wanted it to be. It feels very pure in that way.
I feel really lucky that I get to keep making music and keep journeying forward to do it like this. It's always something new. It's never the same thing over and over again.
It was definitely a heavy, heavy run around. But then, having the COWBOY CARTER stuff happen… and 070 Shake, who I love, getting to sing and feature on her stuff [2024's "Never Let Us Fade"], I'm so proud of where [my career] is at.
I know it's not culturally accepted to take your time making art, but I do, and I appreciate that people still want to hear what I've got to say. I'm proud of this album, and I think it's going to be a healing balm for a lot of people.








