The final nominees for the 58th annual Country Music Awards have been announced, and Beyoncé was glaringly absent from any mentions. So was her album, “Cowboy Carter,” and her hit single “Texas Hold ‘Em” — the second longest-running no. 1 hit of 2024 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
“Cowboy Carter,” was a beautiful sampling of historic country artists, including Linda Martell, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and specifically Black country musicians like Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts, and Shaboozey. “Cowboy Carter” was released on March 29. People reported that it reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to ever top the Hot Country Albums chart. It also created a momentum for artists of color to continue reclaiming a genre that has, at least in recent decades, been primarily defined by white artists.
The musicians who did receive nominations this year include Morgan Wallen, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Post Malone, Lainey Wilson, Louis Bell, Luke Combs, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Jelly Rolls, Shaboozey, Megan Moroney, and Kacey Musgraves.
Post Malone and Shaboozey were both featured on “Cowboy Carter.”
Shaboozey responded to his nominations on X, writing: “Thank you @Beyonce for opening a door for us, starting a conversation, and giving us one of the most innovative country albums of all time!”
There was a backlash online to the Beyoncé snub. The CMAs trended on X with multiple people calling out the awards as racist and anti-Black. This is not the first time the CMAs and its audience have come under fire for its interactions — or lack thereof — with Beyoncé. As Linda Martell said in a track on “Cowboy Carter:” “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes they are. In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined.”
