Fans aren’t happy with how Beyoncé or her collaborator Shaboozey were treated at the 2024 CMA Awards.
Source: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/Taylor Hill/Wire I / Getty
The 2024 Country Music Association Awards announced their nominations back in September, and despite the insane success of Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé was noticeably absent from every category.
Cowboy Carter reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album included a chart-topping single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” along with two other top-10 hits with “II Most Wanted” and “Jolene.” As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter at the time, Bey qualified for CMA categories including single of the year, song of the year, album of the year, female vocalist of the year, music event of the year, and even qualified for entertainer of the year, “though that award is typically reserved for country acts who have built a strong presence in the genre for years.”
Fans were furious about the snub at the time, and leading up to the awards show on Wednesday, Nov. 20, Billy Ray Cyrus spoke out on Instagram to say he was “surprised” about Beyoncé’s lack of nominations.
“I’m so happy and proud to see country music opening their doors and format to be inclusive to all people, all styles,” Cyrus wrote. “@lilnasx and I won this award in 2019 for Event Of The Year… but you wouldn’t have seen it because they didn’t air it in the show.”
He continued, “I was surprised to see @beyonce wasn’t nominated??? Her album was brilliant… her single ruled. But she knows that. She doesn’t need a trophy from the CMA… or permission …. or approval from any of their judges.”
Once the awards show actually aired, fans were left disappointed by another artist’s lack of awards: Shaboozey.
After a whirlwind year, the singer was nominated in the Single of the Year category, going up against Cody Johnson, Post Malone, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Stapleton, who won for his song, “White Horse.”
Shaboozey’s loss comes just two days after his hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” added an 18th week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This means the song is just one week away from tying with Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus)” for longest number one hit–so it’s no secret why fans are upset over the snub.
“Shaboozey lost every CMA award he was nominated for,” one fan wrote on X. “They played in his face, but I’m not surprised. This is why Beyoncé didn’t pay them any mind after they mistreated her, too.”
Another viewer added, “lol Shaboozey not winning any award he was nominated for at the CMAs despite having the #1 country song in the country for months is wild. them white folks made it loud and clear how much they don’t want black artists in country even though the genre is ours.”
No matter how many times we see the same disrespect, it’s still just as disappointing.