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Shaboozey, the Virginia native who became a breakout star this year blending country music and hip-hop, was nominated for two trophies at the 58th annual Country Music Association Awards in Nashville last night: One for new artist, which he lost to Megan Moroney, and one for single of the year, which he lost to Chris Stapleton.
The single of the year winner was a surprising choice, given that Stapleton's single ("White Horse") was a typical Stapleton hit and released more than a year ago, while Shaboozey's single ("A Bar Song (Tipsy)") took over the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year. According to Billboard, it has been in the No. 1 spot for 18 weeks, and is extremely close to breaking the record of 19 weeks held by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus with "Old Town Road." He also made history as the first Black man to top the Hot Country Songs chart and the Top 100.
Shaboozey's fans were unhappy that the song was overlooked, but there was another reason the singer was in the headlines today -- during the three-hour telecast, his name became a running joke, and one that many viewers did not find funny. The most notable mention was by producer Trent Willmon, who randomly name-dropped the singer during his album of the year acceptance speech for producing Cody Johnson's "Leather."
"I gotta tell ya," Willmon said, holding up the trophy. "This is for this cowboy who has been kicking Shaboozey for a lot of years, y'all, Cody Johnson."
On Wednesday night into Thursday, viewers expressed disappointment on social media about the line, noting that even if Willmon was trying to make a joke about "kicking booty," it was in poor taste. Shaboozey, born Collins Obinna Chibueze, has spoken in interviews about how he co-opted the nickname from a former football coach who, like many others in his life growing up, found it difficult to pronounce his given name correctly.
This bit continued in the monologue by co-hosts Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson, when Manning used his name as a bit to express shock that Wilson was only born in 1992. "What? Wow! Holy ... Shaboozey will be performing 'A Bar Song,'" Manning said to laughter from the audience. "The biggest hit of the decade, and No. 1 for 17 weeks."
"And in Nashville, that's what we call a Sha-doozy!" Bryan said, and his co-hosts disagreed. "That is not what we call that," Wilson said, and Manning added, "Yeah, that does not sound right at all."
"Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song' was a big old hit," Wilson said, while Manning added again that it spent 17 weeks at the top of the chart. Then Bryan chimed in: "His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Shaboozey, must be so proud."
Country music media was not laughing; The Tennessean noted "The CMA Awards were full of jokes about Shaboozey's name -- not all of them worked." On X (formerly Twitter), an editor for the popular website Taste of Country said that viewers deserved an explanation for Willmon's comment, which "tarnished" Johnson's win.
"Shaboozey Deserves More Than What the CMA Awards Gave Him -- Including an Apology," headlined a story in Rolling Stone by Larisha Paul, who pointed out that Shaboozey, who brought many accolades and much attention to country music this year, "was rewarded with microaggressions about his name" during the genre's biggest awards show.
"Willmon's unprovoked jab at the artist highlights the unfortunate normalization of Black culture being diluted to make it more accessible to people who won't make a conscious effort to learn anything about it," Paul wrote, and added, "He walked in a winner. And the poorly written remarks that the hosts read off a teleprompter don't change that. But his first year at the show should have opened the door for him to be welcomed. Instead, it was arguably slammed in his face."
Representatives for Shaboozey's label, Empire, and Willmon did not respond to requests for comment, but Shaboozey responded on Thursday afternoon with a post on X: "Ain't nobody kicking me!"
He followed up with a few more posts: "Couldn't have ever in my wildest dreams imagined being here. I'm grateful for all of it. Win or lose, I'm blessed by something or someone that has a power beyond my understanding," he wrote. "I'm here today hopefully living in my purpose and if my music makes even the tiniest positive impact in someone's life I can die with a smile. Country music changed my life and I'm forever grateful to it and for it." On Instagram, he posted photos with country stars he met during the night, including Brooks & Dunn and Zach Top.
Shaboozey, who is nominated for six Grammy Awards, spoke to The Washington Post earlier this spring about his very surreal year, which also included being featured on two tracks on Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" country-themed album. He is well aware of country music's reputation for its lack of diversity, but wanted to work to help change it.
"There are people here that are willing -- that are open and do want to champion diversity and are championing change in the space. I mean, it seems like the hate is louder, but there are people here that have been super receptive," he said, and added, "" I'm definitely not a 'divide' type of person. I'm a 'bring people together.' So I think the song I made does that. It brings people together all over the world."