Beyoncé’s first all-country album was released in March and failed to garner any nominations at the genre’s top awards show, scheduled for November
Luke Bryan is the latest to weigh in on Beyoncé’s lack of CMA Award nominations.
The country music vet sat down with Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live where he was asked about his feelings on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter being omitted from the 2024 nominees list.
“It made a lot of news that Beyoncé didn’t get any CMA nominations. How did that register with you?” Cohen asked.
“It’s a tricky question because, obviously Beyoncé made a country album and Beyoncé has a lot of fans out there that have her back. And if she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you,” Bryan replied, referring to the Beyhive, the singer’s loyal fanbase.
He further goes on to say, “I’m all for everybody coming in and making country albums and all that. But just by declaring that, just because she made one … I don’t need [a nomination], just ’cause I make one.”
The “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” singer had a theory for why the Country Music Association voting body may have passed over the vocal powerhouse:
“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it. But where things get a little tricky and, and you know — if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit. Beyoncé can do it exactly what she wants to. She’s probably the biggest star in music. But come to an award show and high-five us, and have fun and get in the family too. And I’m not saying she didn’t do that.”
Bryan himself has two CMA entertainer of the year award wins under his belt, and more than a handful of nominations throughout his career.
Beyoncé isn’t new to the world of country music. In 2016, she performed “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks at the CMAs. The crossover performance received some negative criticism, both because the “Break My Soul” singer was not seen as synonymous with country music, and because The Chicks had been blacklisted from the genre after their vocal opposition to the Iraq War. In an interview with Vulture, The Chicks said never intended to return to the CMAs, but Beyoncé changed their mind.
“When Beyoncé calls, you’re like, ‘OK, maybe just this one time.’ I’ll only do it with Beyoncé!” vocalist Natalie Maines explained.
The band later recalls feeling a “weird vibe” in the building during the performance. A source told Billboard that Alan Jackson walked out of his
Ahead of Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé released a statement on Instagram about the intention behind the album, saying it “was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she wrote. “act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
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