Texas, hold up!
Despite her history-making success on the country charts this year, Beyoncé was totally shut out of the nominations for the 2024 CMA Awards announced on Monday.
In a complete snub, there were no nominations for “Cowboy Carter” or its hit single “Texas Hold ’Em,” which went No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs charts, respectively — making Bey the first black woman to accomplish those feats in the predominantly white genre.
In fact, “Cowboy Carter” — an epic event record featuring everyone from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson to Miley Cyrus and Post Malone — spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, while “Texas Hold ’Em” had a long-running reign atop Hot Country Songs for 10 weeks. Seven other “Cowboy Carter” tracks also hit the Top 10 of the Hot Country Songs chart.
Both “Cowboy Carter” and “Texas Hold ’Em” also topped the overall Billboard 200 albums chart and Hot 100 singles tally, respectively.
But none of that was enough for Beyoncé to score CMA nominations for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year or any of the other categories in which she was eligible.
This shutout comes eight years after Beyoncé performed “Daddy Lessons” — her country-tinged tune from “Lemonade” — at the 2016 CMA Awards with the Chicks. The singer sparked speculation that the cold reception that she received at the event inspired her to make “Cowboy Carter.”
“It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote in an Instagram post in March.
“But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Indeed, Beyoncé delves into the black roots of country music on “Cowboy Carter,” even featuring Linda Martell, the first African-American female artist to play the Grand Ole Opry in 1969.
Queen B also showcased other black country artists on the album, including Brittney Spencer, Willie Jones and Shaboozey, whose No.1 smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” earned him CMA nominations for Single of the Year and New Artist of the Year.
“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!” Shaboozey wrote on X after the CMA nominations were announced.
Leading the nominees is country sensation Morgan Wallen with seven nods, followed by his fellow Entertainer of the Year contender Chris Stapleton and “Dirt Cheap” singer Cody Johnson with five apiece.
Tied with four nominations each are Lainey Wilson and Post Malone, who, after riding with Beyoncé on the “Cowboy Carter” track “Levii’s Jeans,” partnered up with Wallen on “I Need Some Help.”