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Louise Thomas
Editor
Country singer Luke Bryan has shared his thoughts on Beyoncé being snubbed at the Country Music Awards.
The 43-year-old singer released her country-inspired eighth album, Cowboy Carter, in March this year, and collaborated with stars such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and Post Malone for the record. She also made headlines for covering famous songs like Parton’s “Jolene” and “Blackbird” by The Beatles.
However, the album failed to land a single nomination at the CMAs and did not receive much coverage on country radio stations. Nevertheless, Cowboy Carter has gone on to become the first album by a Black woman to reach No 1 on the Billboard top country albums chart.
Bryan, who is co-hosting the awards ceremony said it left everyone involved in an awkward predicament.
“It’s a tricky question,” he said on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. “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.”
He continued, “I mean, 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… A lot of great music’s overlooked. Sometimes you don’t get nominated.”
The “Country Girl” singer also had some advice for the star and suggested she “come into our world and be country with us a little bit” if she sought more recognition by those in the genre.
“Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to,” he said. “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 … Country music’s a lot about family.”
The country music industry which is notably hostile to those deemed an “outsider” remained tight-lipped when the album was first released.
Beyoncé hit back at the negativity, remarking that “the criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me”.
She continued at the time, “My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
