Famed pop star, Beyoncé, released a country album on March 29, 2024, called Cowboy Carter. Despite mixed reviews, the album hit the Billboard Top 200 ranking for 22 weeks and topped the country chart—a historic first for a Black woman singing country. When creating this album, Beyoncé described it as coming “out of an experience that [she] had years ago where [she] did not feel welcomed,” writing music in a white-dominated genre.
However, despite the love around this album, and despite Beyoncé vocalizing the exclusion she has always felt when writing country, the Country Music Awards have decided to shut her out this year. Every year, chosen Country Music Association trade group members cast their votes for the CMA candidates and winners. This year, on Monday, September 9, Cowboy Carter did not receive any nominations within any genres. The reason that Beyonce was not chosen may have been due to Cowboy Carter‘s low exposure on country radio stations, but either way, fans are devastated.
Some fans have even gone as far as to call the CMAs racist. One upset fan on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “Well done CMAs, keep [continuing to prove] that y’all are just a bunch of racists. Beyoncé made history with Cowboy Carter and achieved more than any other country album or artist in the past few years. Y’all are just too scared of her.”