This year, Beyoncé finds herself in an unusually intimate battle for an Emmy: pitted against none other than her own husband. On Tuesday, as the 2025 Emmy nominations were unveiled, both the Queen of Music and her spouse, Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter), secured spots as nominees in the prestigious Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category. Beyoncé is recognized for her mesmerizing Beyoncé Bowl halftime show, which graced the NFL’s Christmas Day game on Netflix, while Jay-Z earns his nod as an executive producer behind Kendrick Lamar’s groundbreaking Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. Tracking instances where spouses have clashed in the same Emmy category is a rare feat, underscoring the uniqueness of this year's lineup.
Both Beyoncé and Lamar's halftime spectacles garnered widespread acclaim and set new benchmarks. Beyoncé's performance marked the inaugural Christmas Day NFL halftime show, while Lamar shattered records with a Super Bowl halftime show watched by over 133 million viewers, making it the most-viewed in history. Completing the music-centric nominations in this year's Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category is SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, which will vie alongside the Oscars and another Saturday Night Live special, SNL50: The Anniversary Special.
Beyond the variety special nod, Beyoncé is also in contention for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, sharing the honor with co-director Alex Rudzinski for her concert. This marks her third nomination in this category, following her past recognitions for Lemonade in 2016 and Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce in 2019. Furthermore, both Beyoncé and Lamar's halftime shows have been acknowledged in the Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming category, with Charm La’Donna earning mentions for both. Tyrik Patterson, Christopher Grant, and Parris Goebel have also been nominated for their choreographic prowess in the Beyoncé Bowl.
Lamar himself has been recognized for Outstanding Music Direction alongside Tony Russell for the halftime show, while Questlove has been tapped for musical direction in the SNL anniversary concert, sharing the spotlight with James Poyser. Additionally, Questlove has been nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years Of SNL Music, as well as for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special for Sly Lives! (Aka The Burden of Black Genius).
Among the seven music-focused Emmy categories, other prominent nominees include Hans Zimmer for his score on The Americas, Adam Sandler and Dan Bulla for the music and lyrics of “Adam Sandler’s Song: 50 Years” from SNL50: The Anniversary Special, and Kristen Wiig, Sean Douglas, and Josh Greenbaum for their music and lyrics in “Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper.
