Luke Bryan is the latest country star to address the fact that Beyonce received no CMA Awards nominations despite having one of the top country albums of the year.
The 58th annual CMA Awards will take place on November 20 and will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The awards show has faced its share of controversy over the years, including the moment Charlie Rich set fire to the card announcing John Denver as the Entertainer of the Year in 1975, Morgan Wallen’s ban in 2021, and Beyonce’s performance with the Dixie Chicks in 2016.
2024 will likely be known as the year that Beyonce once again caused a stir at the event. This time the pop star is a topic of conversation due to the successful release of her first country album, Cowboy Carter, which is one of the best-selling albums in the genre for the year. Despite the success, Beyonce didn’t receive any nominations at the CMA Awards.
About Beyonce’s Country Album
Beyonce’s first full-length country album, Cowboy Carter, was released in March 2024. The album shattered records and made Beyonce the first black woman to top the Top Country Albums chart. In addition, Cowboy Carter debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart and broke the Amazon Music record for the most first-day streams for a country album by a female.
“Texas Hold ‘Em,” the album’s lead single, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, making it one of the most successful country songs of the year. Despite Beyonce’s success, she didn’t receive any nominations for the upcoming CMA Awards. The snub enraged fans of Beyonce and led country artists to respond.
Luke Bryan Responds To Beyonce’s CMA Snub
In mid-September, Dolly Parton defended the CMA, saying that the organization “can’t really leave out” some of the artists who have devoted their life to the genre.
“But it was a wonderful album. She can be very, very proud of, and I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good. So I don’t think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose. I think it was just more of what the country charts and the country artists were doing, that do that all the time, not just a specialty album.”
Luke Bryan, four-time host of the CMA Awards show, was recently asked to share his thoughts on Beyonce’s not earning any CMA nominations. Bryan told Andy Cohen that “it’s a tough thing to say.” He added that he is supportive of everyone making country music but that great music is always overlooked and sometimes you don’t get nominated.
“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it,” Bryan said. “But where things get a little tricky … you know, if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit.”
Bryan added that he’d like to see her “come to an awards show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family, too.”