Beyoncé was seemingly snubbed for nominations at this year’s Country Music Awards.
The nominees were announced on Monday, and the history-making album “Cowboy Carter,” was not nominated in any category. The Country Music Awards is a big deal for country music and many fans believed that Beyoncé would be the first Black woman to be nominated, as well as win album of the year.
According to reports, the Album of the Year award was “judged on all aspects including, but not limited to, artist’s performance, musical background, engineering, packaging, design, art, layout, and liner notes.”
The awards are also “determined by eligible voting CMA members comprised of professionals within the Country Music industry.” Beyoncé released “Cowboy Carter” on March 29 and since then has broken records and made history. The singer has been a huge advocate for spotlighting Black country artists and the roots of the genre.
Despite not being nominated, the album has received a lot of praise from various Country artists, legends, and fans. This snub comes after she received the most nominations at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards with 12 nods.
Before the album’s release, Beyoncé shared that this album was five years in the making. “This album has been over five years in the making,” she wrote. “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.”
Tracy Chapman was the first Black woman to win a CMA for her song “Fast Car” 35 years after it was released. In 2023, Luke Combs’ cover of the song won “Song of the Year,” and because it was a cover, the award went to Chapman because she wrote the song.
Do you think Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” should have been nominated?