Luke Bryan Explains Why Beyoncé Was Snubbed at 2024 CMA Awards

Luke Bryan isn't so sure Beyoncé is a country girl.

Nearly a month after the "Texas Hold' Em" singer was completely shut out of contention for the 2024 CMA Awards, the American Idol judge reacted to the snub.

"A lot of great music is sometimes overlooked, and sometimes you don't get nominated," Luke explained on Sirius XM's Andy Cohen Live Oct. 1. "Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody's mad about it."

As he put it, simply making Cowboy Carter—which previously sparked controversy when some country radio stations refused to play it because it wasn't deemed country enough—didn't guarantee her nominations at the Nov. 20 event.

"I'm all for everybody coming in and making country albums at all that," Luke emphasized. "Just because she made one—just because I made one doesn't mean I get any nominations."

Beyond the music itself, the 48-year-old noted that being a country singer means immersing yourself in the genre's culture.

"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," he added. "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."

Dolly Parton, who has defended Beyoncé in the past and whose song "Jolene" was featured on the album, previously shared that she doesn't believe her lack of nominations was necessarily intentional.

"Well, you never know," Parton told Variety last month. "There's so many wonderful country artists that, I guess probably the country music field, they probably thought, well, we can't really leave out some of the ones that spend their whole life doing that."

"I don't think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose," the 78-year-old added after applauding the project. "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." 

However, fellow Cowboy Carter collaborator Shaboozy, who is nominated for his first two nominations at the award show, noted that it was "definitely unfortunate" if she was looking forward to it.

"I know as an artist, you put a lot of time, work and energy into music," he told E! News last month. "But awards, they aren't everything. As long as you're connecting with people and making music that's impacting people, that's all that matters. She changed my life the lives of other artists as well."

And while artists like Luke and Dolly don't see it as a shutout, Beyoncé previously revealed Cowboy Carter—which debuted at number one on Billboard 200 in March and broke several streaming records on Spotify and Apple Music—was partly inspired by a moment of exclusion she experienced in the industry. And while she's never named the event in question, fans have speculated she's referring to the response she received after performing with The Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards.

"It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed," she wrote on Instagram. "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." 

"The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me," she continued. "Act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work."

Keep reading for a full breakdown of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter. 

Within the first single on Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé lays it all out for her critics, seemingly referencing the backlash she faced after she performed at the CMA Awards in 2016. 

“They used to say I spoke, ‘Too country’ / And the rejection came, said I wasn't, 'Country 'nough,'” she sings, “Said I wouldn't saddle up, but / If that ain't country, tell me, what is? / Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years / They don't, don't know how hard I had to fight for this.” 

At the time, fans noted that the CMA Awards appeared to take down footage of her surprise performance alongside The Chicks. However, in a statement to E! News, the organization shared they took down a promotional clip instead.

Not only did the Grammy winner take Dolly Parton’s hit “Jolene” and make it her own: “Jolene, I'm a woman too / Thе games you play are nothing new / So you don't want no hеat with me, Jolene,” but she also recruited the country star for an interlude that tipped its hat at another well-known character: Becky with the good hair. 

“Hey miss Honey B, it's Dolly P,” Dolly says, “You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? / Reminded me of someone I knew back when / Except she has flamin' locks of auburn hair / Bless her heart / Just a hair of a different color but it hurts just the same.” 

Though Beyoncé made it clear that her take is more of a stern warning: “But you don't want this smoke, so shoot your shot with someone else (You heard me).”

On this track, the 32-time Grammy winner made note of one snub that stood out noticeably during the 2024 Grammys: Her not winning Album of the Year for Renaissance.

In fact, when her husband Jay-Z took the stage that night, he couldn’t help but call it out then and there—a moment that she doesn’t hesitate to highlight. 

“A-O-T-Y, I ain't win (Let's go) / I ain't stuntin' 'bout them,” she sings, “Take that s--t on the chin/ Come back and fuck up the pen (Yeah).” 

One of her more melodic singles, “Protector” opens up with none other her daughter Rumi asking about a lullaby.

The singer—who is also mom to Rumi’s twin brother Sir and their oldest sibling Blue Ivy—reflects on her role as a mom. “Born to be a protector, mm-hmm / Even though I know someday you're gonna shine on your own.”

“I will be your projector, mm, mm-hmm / An apricot picked right off a given tree,” she notes. “I gave watеr to the soil / And now it feeds me, yeah, yеah (Yeah) / And there you are, shaded underneath it all / I feel proud of who I am /Because you need me.”

Rounding out her 27-song album is “Amen,” which leads fans right back to the opening declaration of starting anew and making an experience all her own. 

“Say a prayer for what has been /We'll be the ones to purify our Fathers' sins,” she sings, “American Requiem / Them old ideas (Yeah) are buried here (Yeah).”

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