During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, Luke Bryan chimed in on Beyoncé's CMA Awards snub...and to put it mildly, his take did not go over well.
Despite the Cowboy Carter LP debuting at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard‘s Top Country Albums, the album received exactly zero nominations by the Country Music Association.
When Cohen asked Bryan how Bey's CMA shutout "registered" with him, the American Idol judge first stated the facts.
“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.”
However, he then started down a slippery slope as he continued:
“It’s a tough thing to say — I don’t know how many albums did she sell? I know she had one song."
"So, I mean, listen, I’m all for everybody coming in and making country albums and all that. But just because she made one — just ’cause I make one, I don’t get any nominations."
"A lot of great music is overlooked. Sometimes, you don’t get nominated.”
But it was Bryan's final piece on the matter that had social media up in arms.
“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album."
"Nobody’s mad about it, but where things get a little tricky — you know, if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit."
"Like, Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to. She’s probably the biggest star in music."
"But come to an awards show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family, too."
"And I’m not saying she didn’t do that. I didn’t know. I had never seen [her]. But country music is a lot about family.”
You can listen below.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
People on X were quick to call out Bryan's wild miss on the topic.
The masses first and foremost pointed out Beyoncé's deep country roots as well as country music's origin as a whole.
And, of course, they dragged him for the having the audacity to invite her to an awards show to "high five" country artists considering the ill reception the first Black woman to hit number one on the Top Country Album chart endured when she took the stage at the 2016 CMAs.
Cowboy Carter, in fact, was born from the 32-time Grammy winner feeling unwelcome in the country community, which many fans believe stemmed from her CMA performance of her country pop song "Daddy Lessons" alongside The Chicks that was met with racist backlash.
Earlier this year ahead of the release of the album, Beyoncé penned a post on Instagram explaining how the album was inspired by an experience in which "it was very clear" she wasn't welcomed.
"This album has been over five years in the making. 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."
"It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history."
She also aded:
"The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me."
"act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work."
While Beyoncé may not be up for any CMA awards, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Cowboy Carter “will compete for Best Country Album” at the 2025 Grammys.
@JamesTate121/X
