‘Y‘all are just too damn scared of her’: Beyoncé snubbed by the CMAs after releasing one of the top country albums of the year
Beyoncé released one of the best country albums of the year with Cowboy Carter, making it shocking, if not entirely surprising, that the 2024 Country Music Association Awards failed to give her a single nomination.
Beyoncé penned Cowboy Carter to inspire Black artists to reclaim the country genre, which they have long been shut out of. In 2016, the artist released “Daddy Lessons” as part of her studio album Lemonade. The song marked her first foray into the country music genre. Unfortunately, it was largely met with backlash and controversy. She faced racist backlash from country fans after performing the song at the CMAs, and the Grammys refused to recognize it for the country category. Following this experience, she embarked on a years-long journey to Cowboy Carter. She was inspired by her experience to reclaim the genre and overcome the numerous obstacles she faced upon her first entry into country music.
The result was a masterpiece. Cowboy Carter was met with critical acclaim for its ambitious and experimental tone and ode to Black influence on the country music genre. It quickly became the number-one album on Billboard 200, making Beyoncé the first Black female artist to debut a number-one country album. Despite being met with universal acclaim and making history, the CMAs have refused to acknowledge Cowboy Carter.
Cowboy Carter gets zero nominations from the CMAs
The 2024 CMA Award nominations were recently announced, and fans were shocked to realize Cowboy Carter didn’t receive a single nod. There’s no explanation for the snubs, as Beyoncé qualified for consideration in multiple categories, such as single of the year, song of the year, album of the year, and female vocalist of the year. The members of the Country Music Association seemingly simply didn’t vote for her despite her eligibility.
Naturally, the snub was met with swift backlash from Beyoncé fans, who pointed out that the lack of acknowledgment doesn’t make sense. How does the artist behind one of the biggest and most significant country albums of the year not receive a single CMA Award nomination? It just doesn’t add up, in the same way that Beyoncé never winning Album of the Year at the Grammys despite having the most Grammy wins of all time doesn’t add up. Some social media users have even questioned whether Beyoncé submitted her album for consideration at the CMAs, given her poor experience with the “Daddy Lessons” performance.
The only valid explanation for the snubs would be if she did not submit the album for consideration. However, if she did submit the album, the CMA Award’s decision to exclude her entirely is egregious. It demonstrates that despite the strides her album made in elevating Black country artists, the genre still refuses to give them the respect and recognition they deserve. Although the potential snub is terrible, some fans have found comfort in the fact that the CMAs, with its long history of excluding Black artists, won’t be able to use Beyoncé for views.
Whether Beyoncé was snubbed or chose not to submit her album to the CMAs, the conclusion is still the same: The awards show doesn’t deserve her.
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