The mystery as to why Beyoncé received zero nominations for acclaimed album Cowboy Carter has been the subject of heated debate. Janay Kingsberry explains the criticism and unpacks an interesting hypothesis.
Just moments after the Country Music Association (CMA) announced the nominations for its 58th annual awards, social media was ablaze with accusations that Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter had been unfairly snubbed, receiving zero nominations. Fans lashed out on social media. Country artists expressed their support for Beyoncé. A racial justice nonprofit called for change. And scores of news outlets published think pieces slamming the country music establishment for sidelining Black women and perpetuating the erasure of Black artistry in the genre.
But some fans suggested another possibility: That maybe the artist and her label had never submitted Cowboy Carter for consideration in the first place.
“I’m just going to assume Beyoncé didn’t submit anything for the CMAs because no way they want to piss us off like that on a Monday morning,” celebrity blogger KenBarbie wrote on X.
Another user wrote: “I feel like beyoncé did not submit anything to CMA awards and the CMA folks are gonna reveal this soon [crying face emoji]. that better be real explanation.”
The CMA and reps for Beyoncé at Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records did not respond to The Washington Post’s inquiries regarding whether Cowboy Carter had been submitted for consideration. But, according to Billboard, submission is not required for CMA eligibility. “Instead, the roughly 6,600 voting members each receive a write-in ballot to list their choices. Each member can make one nomination per award category,” Billboard wrote.
CMA grants an exception for the single of the year category, which is pre-populated by a list of all the qualifying top 10 singles from the country charts.
Setting criteria for chart positions is one way that award shows have shut out lesser-known working artists, Jada Watson, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa whose research focuses on country music, posted on X. “Using charts as criteria for entry is a powerful tool of elimination and erasure. To be nominated for Single of the Year, a song needs to reach the Top 10.”
Cowboy Carter and the single Texas Hold ‘Em — which made Beyoncé the first Black woman to top Billboard’s country music chart — would have been on the first-round ballots for several awards, Watson wrote.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.While Billboard hasn’t seen the full second-round ballot, it reported reviewing a screenshot from the second round for song of the year, which did not include Texas Hold ‘Em.
The idea that Beyoncé might have opted out of the submission process for Cowboy Carter seemed plausible given the cold reception and backlash the artist experienced after her performance with the Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards. Ahead of the release of Cowboy Carter in March, the singer seemed to allude to that incident as the inspiration for her foray into country music.
“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. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” Beyoncé shared on Instagram at the time. “... The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me.”
Many fans online resurfaced those remarks as evidence that Beyoncé would not have submitted Cowboy Carter for the CMA’s consideration. “Beyoncé said this and y’all seriously thought she’ll submit to the CMAS and give back power to them?” one user wrote. “Then the purpose of the album would’ve been lost!!”
Indeed, in announcing Cowboy Carter ahead of its release, Beyoncé shared that the album would continue her long history of mixing genres — and proclaimed that she was in a category of her own. “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she concluded.
While the superstar might have nothing left to prove to herself or her fans, the latter still fiercely advocate for her, especially when they feel she’s been slighted by award shows. Until now, much of their ire had been directed at the Grammys, where Beyoncé has never won the show’s biggest prize of album of the year, despite four nominations in the category.
Her husband, rapper Jay-Z, called out the Recording Academy’s snub in February during his acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. “She has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work,” he said.
Now, another family member has added his voice to the discourse: Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's father and former manager, told TMZ on Monday that he believed race was the factor in his daughter’s exclusion from the CMAs. “There’s more White people in America and unfortunately they don’t vote based on ability and achievements, it’s still sometimes a White and Black thing,” he said.
Country artist Rissi Palmer joined fans in expressing her disappointment with the CMA nominations. “Well… these noms set a really interesting precedent. The message is extremely loud,” she wrote on X, adding, “I think that a larger conversation should be had about the fact that no other Black woman or woman of color could even qualify for certain CMA awards, and why that is.” (Billboard reported that the single of the year is the only CMA category that still requires a song to achieve a specific chart position for eligibility. Earlier this year, the CMA removed the chart position requirement for the song of the year category.)
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.Black artistry is rooted in country music and Cowboy Carter paid homage to that rich history, featuring collaborations with Black country musicians such as Linda Martell, Rhiannon Giddens, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, Brittney Spencer and Willie Jones.
One collaborator, Shaboozey, who received two CMA nominations this year, posted a message of gratitude for Beyoncé before publicly acknowledging his own recognition. “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!”
Some fans saw this as a show of solidarity that reaffirmed the theory that Beyoncé had deliberately refrained from submitting her album to the CMA. “It’s sentiments like this that want me to believe Beyonce purposely didn’t submit anything because she’s only in the country music space for this era but Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy are in it for their career. I think Bey wanted to push them forward,” a fan account wrote.
Beyoncé echoed this sentiment in her latest cover story with GQ Magazine.
While Cowboy Carter shattered records and made history for Black women in Country, she expressed that she was particularly proud of “how it helped reinvigorate the Country genre across music, fashion, art, and culture, and introduced the world to so much great talent.”
This article was originally published in the Washington Post.
More music
In-depth profiles, cultural commentary and creative inspiration.
Sabrina Carpenter is gloriously sly and merciless, so is her new album. The pop star finds her sharp, witty voice on her sixth album, Short n’ Sweet.
As Charli XCX ascends, ‘Brat’ summer is a lesson in hype literacy. You’ve seen the memes, the merch, the political endorsements. Check out the album, too.
Marlin’s Dreaming frontman Semisi Ma’ia’i on his favourite places in Dunedin. The musician shares the best spots in his hometown, from music venues to restaurants.
Childish Gambino is done. On the expansive soundtrack album Bando Stone & the New World, Donald Glover explores what a musician can offer his audience at the end of the world.
Singing about body image is a pop taboo. New York Times’ Lindsay Zoladz considers the stars singing about a long-stigmatised subject.
Gussie Larkin’s nostalgic fashion strikes the right notes. The Mermaidens musician gets lyrical about clothes.
