When the 62nd annual Grammy Awards are presented at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, Beyoncé, CeCe Winans, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga may move up on the list of female artists with the most Grammys. Beyoncé could conceivably pull into a tie with Alison Krauss for the most Grammys ever won by a female artist.
Krauss has won 27 Grammys; Beyoncé has 23. She’s nominated this year in four categories: best pop solo performance and best song written for visual media, both for “Spirit”; best pop vocal album for The Lion King: The Gift (which contains “Spirit”); and best music film for Homecoming. Krauss isn’t nominated for the second year in a row.
Will Beyoncé do it? Probably not this year. She has an excellent shot at winning best music film for the account of her 2018 headlining performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and a reasonable chance at winning best song written for visual media, but the two pop categories seem out of reach. Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Swift are better bets for both best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album, with Lizzo also a fierce contender in the pop solo performance category.
Beyoncé will probably edge closer to Krauss’ record. When Queen Bey finally releases her first studio album since 2016’s Lemonade, she could tie or break the record.
Here are the 16 women (or female groups) who have won 10 or more Grammys to date.
1. Alison Krauss, 27. Her wins have spanned 22 years (1990-2011). She has two album of the year awards, for the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and for Raising Sand, a collab with Robert Plant. Her biggest night at the Grammys was at the 2008 awards, when she won five trophies for the Plant collab, including record of the year for “Please Read the Letter.” She has won 14 Grammys as part of Alison Krauss & Union Station.
2. Beyoncé, 23. Her wins have spanned 19 years (2000-18). Her biggest night at the Grammys was at the 2009 awards, when she became the first woman to win six Grammys in one night. One of them was for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” as song of the year — a rare win in that category for a frisky dance song. She won her first three Grammys with Destiny’s Child.
3. Aretha Franklin, 18. The Queen of Soul’s wins spanned 41 years (1967-2007). Franklin won two Grammys in one night three times in her career. Hard to believe, but she was never nominated in a “Big Four” category — even for the immortal “Respect.” She received a Grammy legend award in 1991; a lifetime achievement award three years later. Franklin died in 2018.
4. Adele, 15. The Brit has won more Grammys than any other female who was born outside the U.S. Her wins have spanned nine years (2008-16). She’s the only artist (male or female) to sweep the big three awards (album, record and song of the year) twice. Her biggest night at the Grammys was at the 2011 awards, where she tied Beyoncé’s record for the most wins in one night by a female artist. Adele won the 2008 award for best new artist. (Good call.)
4. Alicia Keys, 15. Keys’ wins span 13 years (2001-13). Her biggest night at the Grammys was her first, when she won five awards, including best new artist and song of the year for “Fallin’.” (She was the first woman of color to win song of the year.) Keys is set to return as Grammy host. That will make her the first female music star to host the show twice.
6. Dixie Chicks, 13. The wins for the country trio — Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire — span nine years (1998-2006). Their biggest night at the Grammys was at the 2006 awards, when they won five trophies, including album, record and song of the year. Dixie Chicks were nominated for best new artist of 1998, but lost to Lauryn Hill.
6. Ella Fitzgerald, 13. Fitzgerald won more Grammys than any other female jazz artist. Her awards spanned 33 years (1958, the first year of the awards, through 1990). She was the first woman to receive a lifetime achievement award (in 1967). Fitzgerald won two Grammys at each of the first three awards presentations. She died in 1996.
6. Emmylou Harris, 13. Her wins span 38 years (1976-2013). She amassed those Grammys the hard way: She never won more than one Grammy in any one year. Her top award was album of the year, as a member of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? ensemble. She received a lifetime achievement award in 2018.
6. Leontyne Price, 13. The opera star won more Grammys than any other female classical artist. Price had wins spanning 24 years (1960-83). Like Harris, she never won more than one Grammy in any one year. Price was nominated for best new artist in 1960, but lost to comedy album star (and future sitcom legend) Bob Newhart . She received a lifetime achievement award in 1989.
10. CeCe Winans, 12. Winans has won more Grammys than any other female gospel artist. Her wins span 31 years (1987-2017). Winans shares three of these 12 Grammys with her older brother, BeBe Winans. Winans has won two Grammys in one night on three occasions. She is nominated this year for best gospel album for Something’s Happening! A Christmas Album.
11. Shirley Caesar, 11. The gospel star’s wins span 30 years (1971-2000). She received a lifetime achievement award in 2017. Caesar’s biggest night at the Grammys came at the 1984 awards, when she won two: best soul gospel performance, female for Sailin’ and best soul gospel performance by a duo or group for “Sailin’ on the Sea of Your Love,” a collab with Al Green.
12. Chaka Khan, 10. Her wins span 34 years (1974-2007). Khan’s biggest night at the Grammys came at the 1983 awards when she won three awards: best R&B vocal performance, female for Chaka Khan, best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal for Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” and best vocal arrangement for two or more voices for “Be Bop Medley,” a track from her album. She won her first Grammy, and later a second, as a member of Rufus.
12. Bonnie Raitt, 10. Her wins span 24 years (1989-2012). Her biggest night at the Grammys came at the 1989 awards, where she won four Grammys, including album of the year for Nick of Time. The win was unexpected, and took her from the second-tier of music stars to the first-tier literally overnight.
12. Linda Ronstadt, 10. Her wins span 25 years (1975-99). Surprisingly, she won two Grammys in one year just once, at the 1992 awards, when she took best tropical Latin album for Frenesi and best Mexican-American album for Mas Canciones. She received a lifetime achievement award in 2016.
12. Judith Sherman, 10. Her wins span 23 years (1993-2015). Sherman has won producer of the year, classical five times—more often than any other woman. She has won two Grammys in a night on two occassions, at the 2007 and 2008 awards.
12. Taylor Swift, 10. Her wins span seven years 2009-15. Swift was the first woman to win album of the year twice as a lead artist. Her biggest night at the Grammys was at the 2009 awards, when she won four Grammys, including album of the year for Fearless. Swift was nominated for the 2007 best new artist award, but lost to Amy Winehouse. Swift’s three noms this year are for Lover (best pop vocal album), the title song (song of the year) and “You Need to Calm Down” (best pop solo performance).
Lady Gaga has won nine Grammys. She has three chances this year to move into this double-digit club. A Star Is Born is nominated for best compilation soundtrack for visual media; two songs from it are nominated other awards. “Always Remember Us This Way” is up for song of the year. “I’ll Never Love Again” is up for best song written for visual media.