Luke Bryan has commented on the polarizing dialog 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 ideas on Beyoncé’s lack of awards on the upcoming ceremony. Her “Cowboy Carter” album and “Texas Hold ‘Em” single made historic strides on the Billboard charts, however had restricted success at nation radio (“Texas Hold ‘Em” peaked at No. 33 on the nation airplay chart).
Bryan stated 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 ability of the BeyHive (as Beyoncé’s fanbase is known as), Bryan stated it was a “tough” topic 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 inspired “everybody coming in and making country albums,” he concluded his thought by saying that he doesn’t essentially assume an artist will get nominated solely for making a rustic album, as generally “a lot of great music is overlooked.”
“Just because she made one … just ’cause I make one, I don’t get any nominations,” he stated. “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 document took place after she went by an expertise the place she did “not feel welcomed.” On Instagram, she wrote that the concept for the album — which incorporates collaborations from nation acts together with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Shaboozey and Linda Martell, to identify a number of — was hatched after she was concerned in an unnamed incident. Many speculated she was referring to her efficiency of “Daddy Lessons” on the Country Music Association Awards in 2016. At the time, there was blowback from many nation followers on social media about her look, together with stories of trade leaders being displeased that such a distinguished a spot within the present 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 stated. “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.”
