Luke Bryan has commented on the polarizing conversation surrounding Beyoncé‘s CMA Awards snub for her chart-topping “Cowboy Carter” album.
Bryan, a co-host of the 2024 CMA Awards, was prompted by Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live” to share his thoughts on Beyoncé’s lack of awards at the upcoming ceremony. Her “Cowboy Carter” album and “Texas Hold ‘Em” single made historic strides on the Billboard charts, but had limited success at country radio (“Texas Hold ‘Em” peaked at No. 33 on the country airplay chart).
Bryan said of Beyoncé’s zero nominations, “It’s a tricky question because, obviously, Beyoncé made a country album, and Beyoncé has a lot of fans out there that have her back. If she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you — as fans should do.”
After Cohen echoed the power of the BeyHive (as Beyoncé’s fanbase is called), Bryan said it was a “tough” subject to broach.
He continued, “I don’t know how many albums did [Beyoncé] sell. You know, I know she had one song… Listen, I’m all for everybody coming in and making country albums and all that. But just by declaring that, just because she made one…”
Though Bryan encouraged “everybody coming in and making country albums,” he concluded his thought by saying that he doesn’t necessarily think an artist will get nominated solely for making a country album, as sometimes “a lot of great music is overlooked.”
“Just because she made one … just ’cause I make one, I don’t get any nominations,” he said. “I think the CMA, they have their voting body. And they vote what they think should make it. Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it. But where things get a little tricky… if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit… She’s probably the biggest star in music. But come to an award show and high five us. And have fun and get in the family too. And I’m not saying she didn’t do that… But country music’s a lot about family. We get pissed at each other too.”
Ahead of “Cowboy Carter’s” arrival in March, Beyoncé revealed that the record came about after she went through an experience where she did “not feel welcomed.” On Instagram, she wrote that the idea for the album — which includes collaborations from country acts including Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Shaboozey and Linda Martell, to name a few — was hatched after she was involved in an unnamed incident. Many speculated she was referring to her performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the Country Music Association Awards in 2016. At the time, there was blowback from many country fans on social media about her appearance, along with reports of industry leaders being displeased that such a prominent a spot in the show was given to a pop artist.
“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 said. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive… The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. ‘Act II’ [‘Cowboy Carter’] is a result of challenging myself and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
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