Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' Snubbed By CMA Awards -- Years After She Faced Backlash For Performance Staff, 9/9/2024 Beyoncé's latest album, "Cowboy Carter," featuring the hit "Texas Hold 'Em," was notably snubbed at the CMA Awards. This comes years after backlash from her 2016 CMA performance, which she claims inspired the album. Critics classify it as genre-bending, showcasing her unique place in country music. Beyoncé had one of the biggest country hits this year with "Texas Hold 'Em," a cut from her eighth studio album "Cowboy Carter" -- but she did not receive any nominations at the Country Music Association Awards on Monday morning, years after her performance at the awards' 2016 ceremony sparked backlash from the genre's fans.
Beyoncé took the stage with The Chicks at the CMA Awards in 2016 to perform "Daddy Lessons," a country song from her album "Lemonade." Though the crowd cheered, country music fans online questioned why Beyoncé -- whose music has not historically been considered country -- was invited to perform at the ceremony. Some criticism online also cited Beyoncé's political activism, as she had recently been vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement and was accused by critics of spreading anti-police messages at her 2016 Super Bowl performance. The CMAs drew criticism when fans noticed it had removed posts referencing Beyoncé's performance online, though the CMAs said this was because of Beyoncé's licensing agreement. Years later, The Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines accused the CMAs of removing the posts, alleging they "caved" to "racist a**holes bombarding their website with comments and emails."
Beyoncé hinted that the backlash she faced following her CMAs performance in 2016 spurred her to make "Cowboy Carter." Days before the album's release in March, she posted a statement to Instagram stating "Cowboy Carter" took more than five years to make and 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," which fans interpreted to be a reference to her CMAs performance.
Billboard has classified "Cowboy Carter" as country for chart purposes, though Beyoncé addressed the question over what genre it really is on Instagram: "This ain't a Country album. This is a 'Beyoncé' album," she posted in March. On the album's opening track, "Ameriican Requiem," Beyoncé sings: "Used to say I spoke too country / And the rejection came, said I wasn't country enough / Said I wouldn't saddle up, but / If that ain't country, tell me what is?" Music critics have generally considered "Cowboy Carter" to be a genre-bending album. Beyoncé collaborated with country artists including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson for the project, and was praised by country artists including Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert.
Shaboozey, who is featured on "Cowboy Carter" and had one of this year's biggest country hits with "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," earned nominations for Single of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Shaboozey's song displaced "Texas Hold 'Em" atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart earlier this year, and Shaboozey became the first Black male artist to top the country chart and the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.
Morgan Wallen led this year's CMA nomination tally, receiving seven nominations, four of which are for his hit song "I Had Some Help" with Post Malone -- who, like Beyoncé, historically has not been a country artist. Wallen will compete with Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson for Entertainer of the Year. Album of the Year nominees include Kacey Musgraves' "Deeper Well," Combs' "Fathers & Sons," Stapleton's "Higher," Cody Johnson's "Leather" and Jelly Roll's "Whitsitt Chapel."
Why Beyoncé's New Country Album Could Be A Response To Her 2016 CMA Performance (Forbes)
