Beyonce’s “Lemonade” won a Peabody Award, and all of the YES
If you’re like us and watched Beyoncé’s Lemonade five million times, you’ll be pleased to hear it won a Peabody Award. The official Peabody Awards account shared a tweet yesterday honoring Lemonade, calling it an “innovative, stunningly beautiful masterpiece.”
And we wholeheartedly agree.
It’s beautiful to see Lemonade get some incredible recognition for its cultural significance.
To @Beyonce @HBO @warsan_shire a Peabody for #Lemonade, an innovative, stunningly beautiful masterpiece: https://t.co/jjnqLFLYkG #peabody76
— Peabody Awards (@PeabodyAwards) May 20, 2017
Peabody gave the award to HBO Entertainment in association with Parkwood Entertainment for developing the visual album. (In case you forgot, the album exclusively debuted on HBO and Tidal when it came out last summer.)
“Adroitly bringing together stories about betrayal, renewal, and hope, Lemonade draws from the prolific literary, musical, cinematic, and aesthetic sensibilities of black cultural producers to create a rich tapestry of poetic innovation, the Peabody website states.
It continues the praise of the album, writing, “Defying genre and convention, Lemonade immerses viewers in the sublime worlds of black women, family, and community. Where we experience poignant and compelling stories about the lives of women of color and the bonds of friendship seldom seen or heard in American popular culture.”
The Peabody Awards began in 1940 as the equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize in radio.
Over time it expanded to include several forms of media, such as television, websites, and music.
The key is the awards place an emphasis on excellence in storytelling. “We look toward the new forms of storytelling that will arise as we move deeper into the digital age,” the site explains.
Given its focus on storytelling, it makes complete sense that Beyoncé nabbed an award for her beyond impressive album.
Of course we would expect no less from the superstar. She’s constantly blowing our minds with surprising and innovative musical work.
And she even makes pregnancy a work of art.
She’s truly one of the most creative minds of our generation. So it’s wonderful to see her recognized as such.
Alright, see you later, we’re gonna go listen to Lemonade on repeat.