Femail explores if Beyoncé is more successful than Jay-Z (2024)

Beyoncé and Jay Z are officially sitting on top of the music throne these days after becoming the two artists with the most Grammy nominations in history.

The superstar couple made the milestone achievement after the nominations for the 65th Grammy Awards were revealed on Tuesday, with the pair now tied with a total of 88 nods each.

Though Beyoncé led the way with an impressive nine nominations for the upcoming Grammys, the 40-year-old hitmaker failed to completely overtake her spouse - who previously held the record for most nominations of all-time.

Back in November 2021, Jay-Z became the most Grammy-nominated artist when the three award nods he received that year took his total up to 83.

However, the 52- year-old rapper still managed to keep himself at the top alongside his wife after landing five nominations for next year’s ceremony.

The latest achievement for the couple is just one of the many ways in which the superstar duo have proven themselves to be the perfectly matched music power couple.

From platinum-selling albums and lucrative business deals to grossing millions of dollars on their tours, the music couple are leaps and bounds ahead of their peers in many regards.

But which artist comes up top when compared to each other? FEMAIL takes a look into how their achievements rank up against each other.

ACCOLADES: Beyoncé received more nominations and awards wins (542) than Jay-Z (266)

GRAMMYS: Beyoncé (28) vs Jay-Z (24)

Beyoncé currently has the same total of nominations as her husband at 88, but she has walked away with more awards since landing her first nomination as part of Destiny’s Child in 2000.

At present, Beyoncé currently has 28 Grammy awards – which makes her the most awarded female artist in history.

The singer is currently tied with Quincy Jones in the second spot for most Grammy wins of all-time behind conductor Georg Solti, who holds 31 awards.

If she wins just four of her nine nominations next year, then she will become the most awarded artist in the history of the Grammys.

Meanwhile, Jay Z has 24 Grammys to his name after receiving his first even nomination back in 1999. He is currently tied with Kanye West as the two-most awarded rappers in Grammys history.

The hitmaker's distinctions have been given out as a result of his work as a rapper, writer and producer. The musician’s most successful years have been in 2009, 2010 and 2012, when he took home three awards during each year's ceremony.

BET AWARDS: Beyoncé (37) vs Jay-Z (31)

From his 35 BET Awards nominations, Jay-Z has walked away with seven gongs. However, the rapper has also won an impressive 24 gongs at the BET Hip Hop Awards during his career.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé has won 32 BET Awards and has 5 BET Hip Hop awards to her name.

OTHER ACCOLADES:

When it comes to the Billboard Music Awards, Bey has walked away with 27 wins compared to her husband's six victories.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé has 29 MTV Video Music Award moon man gongs compared to the 14 gongs Jay-Z has won over the years.

Elsewhere, Jay only has three American Music Awards to date, while Bey has bagged 14 so far.

In October 2021, the rapper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Beyoncé has yet to be given the honor as she was not eligible for consideration until 2022.

Beyoncé received the inaugural Billboard Millennium Awards at the 2011 Billboard Awards and received the 2014 MTV VMA Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

The singer has also received as Critics’ Choice Movie Award for her Dreamgirls (2006) soundtrack single, Listen, and in 2017 Bey was given a Peabody Award for Entertainment.

MUSIC SALES AND CERTIFICATIONS: Beyoncé has sold more records (200 million) than Jay-Z (125 million)

BEYONCE: 16 platinum selling albums and 44 platinum selling singles

Beyoncé has sold over 200 million records worldwide as a solo artist, as well as the 60 million records she sold as a founding member of Destiny’s Child.

Following a recent certification upgrade by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the hitmaker is now the third best-selling solo female artist of the digital era.

Her biggest hits include Halo and Single Ladies, which are now nine-times Platinum, while her other singles such as Crazy in Love and Irreplaceable at six-times Platinum.

Platinum denotes sales of 1 million units in the United States.

Meanwhile, her albums Dangerously in Love (2003) and I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008) have both gone six-times platinum.

Over her career so far, she has 16 albums that have gone platinum and above, including live albums and her work in Destiny’s Child.

With the latest RIAA refresh, Bey’s digital sales alone now sit at 113.5 million.

JAY-Z: 17 platinum selling albums and 31 platinum selling singles

Jay has sold more than 125 million records worldwide since bursting onto the music scene in 1996.

His best-selling album is Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, which has gone five-times Platinum (five million copies sold) since it was released in 1998.

The rapper has not only enjoyed success with his solo album releases but with collaboration albums he’s recorded with fellow music artist such as R. Kelly and Linkin Park.

His 2011 collaboration album with fellow rapper Kanye West, Watch the Throne, has gone five-times platinum since its release.

Meanwhile. Empire State of Mind featuring Alicia Keys has become his best-selling single after going three-times platinum.

Over his career to date, the rapper has 17 platinum selling albums and 31 platinum selling singles and collaborations to his name.

TOURS: Beyoncé has grossed over $250 million on her last solo tour compared to Jay-Z’s$48 million

BEYONCE: Grossed $250 million on her most recent solo tour

Thanks to multiple successful world tours, Beyoncé landed the title of the highest grossing Black artist of all time in touring history.

Altogether her tours have a revenue exceeding $1 billion to date. Her 2016 Formation World Tour, which ran from April to October, grossed $256 million.

During her The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, which ran from 2013 to 2014, the performer pulled in $229 million.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé became the first black female artist to headline Coachella in 2018, earning a reported $8 million for her iconic 105-minute set. Indeed, the singer has headlined multiple festivals over the years.

Prior to her solo career, the star also embarked on three successful world tours as part of Destiny’s Child.

However, Beyoncé has also hit the road with her husband – with the decision proving to be extremely lucrative for both.

The couple's original On The Run tour in 2014 earned them $109.6 million from 21 shows. They enjoyed even more success with their On The Run II tour in 2018.

The tour made $253.5 million, according to Billboard, as they performed in 48 stadiums across Europe and North America. Forbes estimated that the pair made around $5 million per night.

JAY- Z: Grossed over $48 million on his last solo tour

Jay-Z is an artist who loves to the road with others, but not because he can pull in earning on his own. The rapper grossed $48.7 million on his 4.44 tour in 2017, averaging an impressive $1.5 million per show.

It was a significant increase in earning compared to his 2013-2014 Magna Carta Tour which reportedly made $37.4 in ticket sales.

Meanwhile the rapper’s 2009-2010 Blueprint 3 Tour grossed $33.1 million for 39 shows.

As mentioned above, the rapper has made a large profit from the joint tours he embarked on with his wife.

However, he also pocketed a decent amount during his Legends of the Summer Stadium tour with Justin Timberlake in 2013, which grossed $75 million.

His Watch the Throne co-headlining concert tour with Kanye West ran from 2011 to 2012 and took in $75 million. Kanye pocketed just under $600,000 per night while Jay Z took home $800,000.

The rapper has also teamed up with the likes of Eminem, Mary J Blige and R. Kelly for joint tours during his career.

Elsewhere, he has famously headlined music festivals across the globe including his game-changing 2008 set at Glastonbury in England.

BUSINESS DEALS: Jay-Z has amassed a net worth of $1.1 billion compared to Beyoncé's $426 million

BEYONCE: Has amassed a total net worth of $426m thanks to brand deals

Bey is no stranger to inking lucrative deals alongside her work as a singer and performer.

She signed a jaw-dropping $50 million deal with Pepsi in 2012, while she was paid in $6 million worth of restricted stock units after performing at an Uber company event in 2015.

The singer also reportedly charges $2 million to perform at private events such as Isha Ambani’s extravagant 2018 wedding.

After Beyoncé's Coachella set pulled in a viewership of 41 million - compared to 24 million in 2017 – she dropped her epic Homecoming concert film on Netflix in 2019. Variety reported that Bey's deal with the streaming giant was for three projects and earned her an estimated $60 million.

Elsewhere, the singer also has released her own fragrances, raking in over $500 million to date.

Beyoncé starred as the voiceover role of Nala in the cinematic The Lion King remake for a reported $25 million, and she also produced an accompanying album titled, The Lion King: The Gift. She went on to release the accompanying Black Is King feature film on Disney Plus.

Before that, Beyoncé brought in bucks from her starring turns in Dreamgirls, Obsessed, Austin Powers: Goldmember and Cadillac Records. According to a report from 2006 in China Daily Beyoncé earned $12.5 million for Dreamgirls, twice the amount she brought in for Austin Powers.

In 2016, she co-founded Ivy Park, an athleisure clothing line named after her daughter (Blue Ivy) and Parkwood Park in Houston, where Beyoncé used to work out. In 2020, Beyoncé relaunched the clothing line under a partnership with Adidas, which now has a net worth of $931 million.

Beyoncé owns music production company Parkwood Entertainment, a management, production, and entertainment company. The company involved in the business of movies and fashion designs along with the music and has a net worth of $1.5 billion.

JAY-Z: Has amassed a net worth of $1.1 billion thanks to business investments

Born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z started his rap career as a teenager in rap battles. When none of the major record labels were willing to sign him, he then simply went on to start his own record label, Roc-A-Fella Records.

This entrepreneurial spirit is part of the reason why he became Hip-hop’s first billionaire in 2019, making him the third wealthiest African-American and the wealthiest American musician at the time, according to Business Insider.

He is the former president of Def Jam Recordings, and the founder of the entertainment company Roc Nation, which also serves as his current record label. The entertainment and management company also having stakes in startups – with one key success being Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie line.

His clothing company Rocawear raked in $700 million before he sold it for $204 million. Elsewhere, he owns the New York 40/40 Club sports bar.

He also founded the sports agency Roc Nation Sports and is a certified NBA and MLB sports agent. In 2015, Carter acquired the tech company Aspiro.

Jay-Z famously bought Tidal for $56 million and Forbes soon reported that it was worth $600 million. However, the rapper’s net worth jumped 40 per cent after he sold a majority stake in Tidal for $297 million – netting $149 million in cash and stock.

The hitmaker also made a clever investment in luxury champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, which Forbes reports he sold 50 percent of in a deal that values the liquor company at around $640 million.

In 2021, Beyoncé and Jay-Z partnered with Tiffany for its ‘About Love’ campaign. Details of the contract haven’t been disclosed, but it is safe to assume the stars might have a multi-million dollar deal.