On April 23, the visual portion of Beyoncé’s new album, Lemonade, premiered on HBO and instantly inspired an entire generation of women. Several days later, the album is still breaking the Internet (along with iTunes’ music charts), and for that, Beyoncé deserves an award. Well, turns out she likely will receive one from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, as Lemonade has been deemed eligible for this year’s Emmy Awards.
Variety has confirmed that Lemonade will compete in the variety special category thanks to the visual album’s release on HBO. Lemonade has since been removed from the network and is currently available for purchase on iTunes or streaming via Jay-Z’s Tidal. Expect Lemonade to compete in other Emmy categories as well, notably lighting design/lighting direction, thanks to the TV film’s stunning imagery.
Should Lemonade win, the person to accept the award is not necessarily known. Beyoncé’s face bares the cover, but a number of directors worked on the project. Most notable is Kahlil Joseph, a prolific music video director who has worked with Kendrick Lamar and FKA Twigs while drawing comparisons to one of the most talented visual filmmakers around, Terrence Malick. Variety says that HBO is currently working out the kinks for deciding credit.
Can Beyoncé actually win an Emmy for Lemonade? Absolutely. In fact, she probably will. For context, last year’s Emmy for variety special went to the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special. The biggest competition SNL faced was The Kennedy Center Honors on CBS. With all due respect to those fine programs, Lemonade overwhelmingly tops the quality of those specials. We’re talking about a film that has been deemed a “supreme accomplishment of black art,” and has established Beyoncé as the “consummate artist of our generation.”
We’ll find out if Queen Bey takes home an award on Sept. 18 at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards.
