4 weeks ago
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Real talk: I do not care about the Country Music Association Awards (the CMAs) nor do I care about the CMTs or any other country-music awards show. There are too many music award shows already without siloing country-music. But! The CMAs are arguably the most prestigious country-music awards in the country. And the CMA nominations just came out and they snubbed the f–k out of Beyonce. Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter was one of her best and most musically innovative albums of the past decade. Personally, I would put Cowboy Carter just below Lemonade and way ahead of Renaissance. Beyonce showcased her country roots, her Texas roots and claimed space for Black artists within the country-music arena. And white people hated that and they made sure to snub her for it.
The 2024 CMA Awards have showered Morgan Wallen and Post Malone with multiple nominations but heavily snubbed Beyoncé, though she had one of the year’s biggest country albums with Cowboy Carter and biggest country songs with “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
Wallen leads the way at the CMAs with seven nominations. He’s followed by Chris Stapleton and Cody Johnson, who each earned five nods, while Malone and Lainey Wilson picked up four apiece. Wilson, last year’s entertainer of the year winner, will defend her title against Wallen, Stapleton, Luke Combs and Jelly Roll at the Nov. 20 show, airing live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter made history this year when it spent four weeks on top of Billboard’s Top country albums chart — making her the first Black woman to achieve the feat. She also became the first Black woman to hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot country songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which held the top position for a whopping 10 weeks. Both her single and album also led Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 and 200 albums charts, while seven other Cowboy Carter tracks hit the Top 10 of the Billboard country chart. The 27-track project, featuring Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Miley Cyrus and Malone, drove cultural conversations about Black artists reclaiming the genres they started, including country music.
Yeah, “Texas Hold ‘Em” was great, and I feel like “II Most Wanted” should have been a major single, same with “Daughter” and “Levii’s Jeans.” It should not escape anyone’s notice that instead of recognizing an innovative, popular, brilliant country album by a Black woman from Texas, the CMAs instead lavished nominations on a violent drunk redneck who loves shouting the n-word. Choices were made and white supremacy was upheld.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Beyonce’s IG.
