Thousands of people saw an optimistic message written to Beyoncé in the Los Angeles sky following the 2023 Grammys. But it wasn’t until Wednesday (Feb. 8) that fans learned who, exactly, was behind the note.
Billboard can confirm that The Recording Academy and CBS jointly gifted Queen Bey with the skywriter message, which read “BEYONCE, YOU MADE MUSIC HISTORY” in all caps.
Additionally, the two organizations also conjured up the Grammys-themed drone light shows spotted over Los Angeles in the days leading up to the awards show.
“We (RA/CBS) did do a drone activation,” Sean Smith, executive vice president of The Recording Academy, confirmed to Billboard. “We couldn’t fly Sunday due to high winds so we did one last pass Monday.”
The glass half-full approach to Beyoncé’s night at the Grammys could make more than a few members of the Beyhive raise a collective eyebrow, considering the superstar’s 2022 studio set, Renaissance, lost out the award for album of the year to Harry Styles’ Harry’s House.
While Beyoncé now holds the record as the most-awarded artist in the Grammys history, she’s still 0 for 4 when it comes to The Recording Academy’s top prize, having been nominated for 2008’s I Am… Sasha Fierce, 2013’s Beyoncé and 2016’s Lemonade in addition to Renaissance. In fact, when it comes to the Big Four categories, she’s won only song of the year in 2010 for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).”
Bey’s husband Jay-Z was among those who thought her latest house-inspired opus deserved to win in the crowded race for album of the year, telling TIDAL ahead of the ceremony, “They play her whole album in the club. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. The whole entire joint — like, everything?! Every remix is amazing. Everyone’s inspired. It has inspired the world.”