The 2024 CMA Awards showered Morgan Wallen and Post Malone with multiple nominations, but heavily snubbed Beyoncé, despite having one of the biggest country albums of the year with Carter the cowboy and the greatest country songs with “Texas Hold 'Em.”
Wallen leads the CMAs with seven nominations. He is followed by Chris Stapleton and Cody Johnson, who each received five nominations, while Malone and Lainey Wilson each received four. Wilson, last year’s winner of Entertainer of the Year, will defend her title against Wallen, Stapleton, Luke Combs and Jelly Roll at the Nov. 20 show, which airs live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
by Beyonce Carter the cowboy made history this year when he spent four weeks on top Billboardchart of the top country albums of — making her the first black woman to achieve the feat. She also became the first black woman to reach the top spot on the chart Billboardcountry songs chart with “Texas Hold 'Em,” which held the top spot for 10 weeks. Both her single and album led Billboardthe Hot 100 and 200 all-genre album charts, while seven others Carter the cowboy the songs reached the Top 10 of the Billboard country chart. The 27-track project, featuring Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Miley Cyrus and Malone, sparked cultural conversations about black artists reclaiming the genres they created, including country music.
Despite being completely shut out, Beyoncé qualified for the CMA categories of Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Musical Event of the Year. She even qualified for Entertainer of the Year, though that award is typically reserved for country artists who have built a strong presence in the genre over the years.
The CMAs are voted on by members of the Country Music Association, which includes artists, executives, songwriters, musicians, publicists, touring personnel and other industry professionals. Qualifying singles and albums must have been first released or peaked in national fame during the eligibility period, which was July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024 for this year's show. Final-round voting runs from October 1-29.
The CMA snub comes eight years after the controversy that erupted at the 2016 CMAs, when Beyoncé surprised the audience with a performance of her country song “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks. While some applauded the performance, there was a backlash from members of the country music community, some even calling for a boycott, while Queen Bey's performance was scrubbed from the CMA website. The singer appeared to be referencing the CMAs when she poked fun at Carter the cowboy in March: “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience I had years ago where I didn't feel welcome… and it was very clear that I wasn't. But because of that experience, I've delved deeper into the history of country music and studied our rich archive of music.”
Another artist who released her first country album this year, Beyoncé, was greeted with nominations. Malone's four nods for “I Had Some Help,” his No. 1 hit with Wallen, include single of the year, song of the year, musical event of the year and music video of the year. Wallen's seven nods include four with Malone and a second nod for musical event of the year for “Man Made A Bar” with Eric Church, male vocalist of the year and entertainer of the year.
Beyoncé collaborator Shaboozey, who got a major boost on the music scene after appearing in two Carter the cowboy tracks — has earned her first CMA nominations. She’s up for Best New Artist and Single of the Year with “A Bar Song (Typsy),” which is currently spending its eighth week atop the Hot 100 and is the longest-running No. 1 song of the year. The track has been atop the country chart for 12 weeks and counting.
“A Bar Song (Typsy)” and “I Need Some Help” will go head-to-head with Stapleton's “White Horse,” Wilson's “Watermelon Moonshine,” and Johnson's “Dirt Cheap” for single of the year. “I Need Some Help” and “White Horse” are also up for song of the year, a songwriter's award, along with Parker McCollum's “Burn It Down” and two Johnson tracks: “Dirt Cheap” and “The Painter.” Johnson only received a nod in the category, as he co-wrote “Dirt Cheap” but did not contribute to “The Painter.”
The contenders for album of the year are Kacey Musgraves Deeper wellby Luke Combs Fathers and sonsjelly rolls Whitsitt Chapelby Johnson Skin and Stapleton HigherStapleton shares the accolade with his wife Morgane, who co-produced her husband's album.