Beyoncé said her country-inspired album was “born out of an experience” where she “did not feel welcomed.”
Dolly Parton reacted to Beyoncé’s name not being on the list of nominees for the next Country Music Awards.

The 78-year-old “9 to 5” singer told Variety in an interview released Sept. 17 gave insight into why Beyoncé could have been left out, following the release of “Cowboy Carter.”

“Well, you never know. 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,” Parton said to the outlet. “But I didn’t even realize that until somebody asked me that question.”

Parton called Beyoncé’s first country release a “wonderful album” and a piece that she can be “very, very proud of.”

“I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good. So I don’t think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose. 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,” Parton added.

The Texas native embraced her southern roots earlier this year with the release of “Cowboy Carter,” which has received rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

However, the CMAs did not count Beyoncé among the artists nominated for accolades at this year’s award ceremony, which will take place Nov. 20.

Rather, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson have all been nominated for entertainer of the year. A number of other big names were nominated for awards, including Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Lady A, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Zac Brown Band, Dan + Shay and Shaboozey, among others.

The CMA Awards are voted by members of the Country Music Association, who is made up of music executives, artists, publicists, songwriters, musicians, touring personnel and other industry professionals from around the world, according to their website. The nominees and winners are honored by their peers in the music industry, the association shares.

The CMA’s board of directors are in charge of the awards criteria, election rules and balloting procedures. For the 2024 show, singles, albums, music videos and qualified music products must have been first released or “reached peak national prominence” during the eligibility period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” was released March 29, 2024, making it eligible for consideration. However, according to the CMA Awards, each category has its own rules on eligibility. For example, the single of the year category notes that the first round of nominees will have a “full list of all eligible songs based on charting activity during the eligibility period.”

After the nominations announcement revealed the Beyoncé shutout, fans, including Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson, shared their thoughts about the award show snub.

In an interview with NBC Boston on Sept. 12, Clarkson said she found the pop star’s lack of CMA nominations “fascinating.”

“I kind of find it fascinating because I feel like those songs were everywhere,” she said, before she related the experience to her own struggle breaking into the country music scene.

“That’s a hard industry even for me,” she said. “Like, I was told at a lunch, if I didn’t quit pop music and just go country, I would not be played.”

She continued, “I was literally told that to my face at a lunch, and I was like, ‘OK, I mean, no offense, but I’m not ever going to just pick one.’”

The daytime talk show host also noted that though it was disappointing to hear, she wasn’t “shocked” by the news of Bey’s CMA snub.

“I grew up on country music. I imagine Beyoncé did, too. We’re both Texans so you can’t escape it growing up there,” she said. “I thought it would be a more welcoming environment, but it really wasn’t. That’s why I didn’t pursue it myself because it just seemed like the door was closed unless I was just all in and had to leave every other genre behind, which I don’t think people like me or even Beyoncé are capable of doing that.”

How fans reacted to Beyoncé’s CMA shutout
“As much as the CMAs try to, the ground breaking success and impact of Cowboy Carter will never be erased,” one user wrote on X. “Beyoncé broke records, honored country legends, and paved the way for new black country artists all while releasing a flawless country album.”

The user added, “#They can never take that away.”

“Beyoncé INSTEAD soundtracked USA Gymnastics at the Olympics. She ushered in a new gen of Black country artists into the mainstream, including Shaboozey who has been atop the B100 for 8 wks & counting,” another user wrote. “Only after having a #1 country hit herself. The CMAs are low hanging fruit.”
Beyoncé’s hit, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” was sitting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for two straight weeks, remaining on the list for 20 weeks.

Several other songs off “Cowboy Carter” also landed on the chart, including “16 Carriages,” “Jolene,” “Levii’s Jeans,” “Blackbird,” “Ya Ya” and “Tyrant,” among others.

She was also the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart, which she acknowledged in an Instagram post, saying she felt “honored.”

One fan pointed to the album’s history on the charts and wrote, “No one in the history of having a #1 album AND song has been completely snubbed at an award show. IN ANY CATEGORY.”

“Beyoncé deserved better,” the user added.

“Beyoncé still dominating the conversation around the CMAs despite them trying to exclude her,” another wrote, adding a video of TV host Wendy Williams punching the screen.

Shaboozey, whose hit “Bar Song (Tipsy)” took over the charts earlier this summer, paid his own tribute to Beyoncé. He collaborated with her on “Cowboy Carter,” appearing on the track “Spaghettii.”

“That goes without saying. Thank you @Beyonce for opening a door for us, starting a conversation, and giving us one of the most innovative country albums of all time!” Shaboozey wrote on X.

It’s worth noting the CMAs are thought to be a part of the “Cowboy Carter’s” foundational mythology – which is why some fans are “not surprised” by the snub. “The entire Cowboy Carter is a diss-track to the CMAs,” one wrote.

When announcing the album, Beyoncé cited an experience in which she “did not feel welcomed” as the inspiration for “Cowboy Carter.”

“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,” she wrote in a March 19 Instagram post.

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

Fans thought she might have been referring to her 2016 performance of her song “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks.

Her first, and only, time performing at the CMAs was met with backlash and booing.

Tanner Davenport, co-director of country outlet Black Opry, recalled hearing jeers in an essay for MSNBC.com that came out in 2024 timed to “Cowboy Carter.”

Controversy grew when the CMAs did not post the performance on their platforms and deleted the promotional post it had shared, The New York Times reported. Elle’s 2016 screenshots showed that The Chicks and Beyoncé had been removed from the CMAs website.

The CMAs said in a comment to The New York Times in 2016 that a promotional clip was deleted before the performance at Beyoncé’s request.

Before “Cowboy Carter” dropped, Beyoncé wrote on social media, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”