This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.
Luke Bryan is giddying up and getting involved in the controversy surrounding Beyoncé’s CMAs snub.
The “Country On” hitmaker told “Radio Andy” host Andy Cohen on Tuesday that it’s “tricky” how the “Cowboy Carter” crooner received zero nominations although she released one of the year’s bestselling albums, per Billboard.
“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. And if she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you, as fans should do,” Bryan said.
Bryan is set to host this year’s CMAs with former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning as the pair reprise their roles as co-hosts with the addition of up-and-coming superstar Lainey Wilson, for the 2024 show on Nov. 20.
Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ is a littlecountry and a whole lot more: Review
He added that he is “all for everybody coming in and making country albums and all that,” before Cohen and Bryan both said that “a lot of great music” is “overlooked.” Bryan added that “sometimes you don’t get nominated.”
“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it,” Bryan told Cohen. “But where things get a little tricky … if you’re going to make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit.”
He continued the conversation by telling Cohen that “Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to” because “she’s probably the biggest star in music” but he said she should “come to an award show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family too.” Bryan said that he’s “not saying she didn’t do that,” but added that “country music is a lot about family.”
Luke Bryan, pictured earlier this year, is opening up about Beyoncé being snubbed by the CMAs.
In March, Beyoncé released her eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter.” The album is a twang-dipped departure from her previous albums inspired by her family’s Southern roots, including her childhood in Texas, and a fractured personal history with the country music industry dating back to the 2016 CMA Awards.
“Cowboy Carter,” which rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart, became the first album from a Black woman to ever lead the list. Last month, when the Country Music Association announced this year’s nominees, Beyoncé received no nominations.
Beyoncé has complicated relationship with country music dating back to her 2016 CMAs appearance
Beyoncé has a long history with the awards ceremony itself. That year, in 2016, she received an icy reception while as she performed a rendition of her song “Daddy Lessons” with fellow country renegades The Chicks. The surprise guests suddenly sang with no introduction after a commercial break during the show and while some in the crowd jumped to their feet, other audience members looked unimpressed. The internet was divided on Queen Bey’s country coronation.
The performance was Beyoncé’s CMA Awards debut, and the Dixie Chicks’ first appearance on the show in a decade. She addressed the controversy surrounding the 2016 awards show in her “Cowboy Carter” album announcement on Instagram in March.
“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 lengthy caption. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. ”
She continued: “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.” In the caption, the “16 Carriages” singer said the album “ain’t a Country album,” calling it a “Beyoncé album.” The album is a part of her multi-album effort to reimagine musical history through a Black-led lens.
