Beyonce Sparks Outrage After ‘Cowboy Carter’ Gets Zero Nominations At CMAs

Despite her single Texas Hold ‘Em, and her album Cowboy Carter holding down the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs list, Beyonce was not nominated for a Country Music Award this year. 

With that impressive track record, Beyonce made history by being the first Black woman to top the Country Albums chart since its inception in 1964. Additionally, the CMA Awards are considered one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the country music industry, and fans were sure that Beyonce would take home an Album of The Year award at the CMAs for her culture-shifting project.  

Fans on X, formerly Twitter, have been calling out the CMAs for “intentionally snubbing” Cowboy Carter.

“No one in the history of having a #1 album AND song has been completely snubbed at an award show,” one wrote on X. “IN ANY CATEGORY. The CMAs can kiss the blackest part of my a**. Beyonce deserved better.” Another added, “Despite having a #1 album and song in the Country genre, Cowboy Carter not being nominated for CMAs is just racist Like fr, it’s not even hidden anymore. F**k the CMAs…@CountryMusic y’all don’t deserve Beyoncé at all.”

Someone else mentioned: “The CMAs are punishing Beyoncé for calling them out for how they mistreated her in 2016 when she performed with The Chicks. You do not have to submit to get nominated. CMA board members decide on who they want to see be nominated. The CMA board members INTENTIONALLY snubbed her.”

Beyoncé shared on Instagram earlier this year that the album was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed.” Beyoncé said her experience motivated her to do a “deeper dive” into country music.

“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she said in her Instagram post. 

Many fans speculated that she was referring to the backlash she received after performing her song Daddy Lessons at the 2016 CMAs with the country group The Chicks. According to the Country Music Association, the Album of the Year Award is “judged on all aspects including, but not limited to, artist’s performance, musical background, engineering, packaging, design, art, layout and liner notes.”

According to an official release, the awards are “determined by eligible voting CMA members comprised of professionals within the Country Music industry.” The final nominees for the 58th annual CMA Awards were revealed on September 9, revealing some hitmakers and other surprises.

Morgan Wallen leads this year’s nominees with seven nominations. He is followed by Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton (each with five nominations), and Post Malone and Lainey Wilson each have four nominations. Louis Bell, Luke Combs, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, and Kacey Musgraves earned a trio of nominations.

Additionally, competing for the Entertainer of The Year Award are Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Stapleton, Wallen, and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year winner Lainey Wilson. Nominated for Album of The Year are Musgraves (Deeper Well), Combs (Fathers & Sons), Stapleton (Higher), Johnson (Leather) and Jelly Roll (Whitsitt Chapel).

The eligibility period for the 2024 show is July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024. According to CMA rules, “singles, albums, music videos, and qualified music products for the annual show must have been released or reached peak national prominence during the eligibility period.” 

The finalists were determined by eligible voting CMA members comprised of professionals within the country music industry.

The 58th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 (8:00 – 11:00 PM/EST) on ABC and available on Hulu the next day.