In October 2024, Country music superstar Luke Bryan spoke about the total shutout of Beyonce’s seventh album, “Cowboy Carter,” from the 2024 CMA Awards nominations. When asked about her lack of nominations, Bryan said, “If you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit.” Mind you, the last time Beyonce tried to do that was in 2016, performing “Daddy’s Lessons” with The Chicks. It was met with vitriol on social media by some country fans who claimed Beyonce didn’t belong there despite being born and raised in Houston – not to mention the long-standing contributions of Black artists to the country genre like Linda Martell and DeFord Bailey.
Think about that for a second. Consider the reverse case of Post Malone, who started in the hip-hop and R&B genres with his 2015 single “White Iverson.” He then transitioned into the country genre, even featured on “Cowboy Carter” on the track “Levii’s Jeans.” It’s not to say that artists can’t grow and venture into different genres. That curiosity is what allows music as a creative medium to grow. But in terms of country music, it’s interesting who gets the credence to be accepted into the arms of the hee haw agenda after building their roots within Black culture. Yet one of the most talented artists in the modern era gets a side eye because she’s not posted up in a place that resents her presence in the first place. Perhaps Beyonce would never fit into the box contemporary country music has built within itself. “Cowboy Carter” is not your conventional country album (Beyonce has made this clear), but a testament to her carving out her path in music. If you can’t join em, create your own space anyway. It’s a mantra Black creatives have had to carry with them too often because the space they occupy is too great for some to bear.
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Flash forward to this Sunday night when Beyonce won her first Grammy award for Album of the Year award (the first Black woman to do so since Lauryn Hill in 1999). The exclamation point came a little earlier when “Cowboy Carter” won Best Country Album (the first Black artist to ever do so in Grammy history). In a time when the mention of Black History Month is under attack and being wiped away, Beyonce continues to be a living, breathing monument to its spirit. Yes, there were jokes about AOTY year when it felt like when Leonardo DiCaprio got his Best Actor award for “The Revenant” in 2016. There’s a strong argument that Beyonce should have won this award four times over. However, we shouldn’t allow this moment to escape us. Beyonce followed her sense of creativity and won one of the highest prizes in music without compromising her vision.
She could have easily capitulated to what “country music” is supposed to be and recorded an album more in line with that. But if you’re a trailblazer, the trends move around you, not vice versa. The air of staying true to your individuality and it paying off was palpable at this year’s Grammy Awards—led by female artists. Look at Doechii, the third woman ever to win the Best Rap Album award, and how she affirmed herself and Black girls worldwide in her victory speech. There’s the new school in acts like Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, and Raye. The veterans such as Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, and Janelle Monae are doing it their way. To make this commencement of creativity much better was the last award of the night to the person who continues to wow the world with every project.
Too often in the music industry, artists are told you must get along to go along. There’s no telling that if Beyonce had released more country albums, she would have gotten recognized by the CMA or the old guard of country music. But why does recognizing greatness take multiple instances on your particular terms? The Grammys finally got it right, and it only took them 35 tries to get there.
Main Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
