Beyoncé, months after lamenting not “being country ‘nough” in “Cowboy Carter,” is getting the cold shoulder from the country music scene — again.
The Country Music Assn. shut out the pop superstar and her newest album from its class of 2024 CMA Awards nominees. Though billed as a “‘Beyoncé’ album” instead of a purely country music project, “Cowboy Carter” paid tribute to the singer’s Southern roots and featured the genre’s most iconic voices including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Linda Martell. It also showcased rising artists.
When the 2024 CMA Awards nominees list dropped Monday, it saw Morgan Wallen leading the pack with seven nominations, including for the top entertainer of the year and song of the year prizes. Behind Wallen, musicians Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton followed with five nominations each.
Rapper and singer Post Malone, who worked with Beyoncé on the “Cowboy Carter” track “Levii’s Jeans,” earned four nominations, all for his single “I Had Some Help,” which features Wallen. Lainey Wilson, who was the most-nominated artist for the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, was nominated for four categories, including entertainer of the year.
The CMA Awards nomination snub comes eight years after Beyoncé faced backlash from conservative country music fans for her performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks at the 2016 awards ceremony. Upon the release of her album, Beyoncé said 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.”
“Because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive,” the 43-year-old singer said in March.
She added at the time: “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me.”
The 58th CMA Awards will broadcast Nov. 20 on ABC.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
Entertainer of the year
- Luke Combs
- Jelly Roll
- Chris Stapleton
- Morgan Wallen
- Lainey Wilson
Single of the year
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Shaboozey
Producers: Sean Cook, Nevin Sastry
Mix engineer: Raul Lopez - “Dirt Cheap” — Cody Johnson
Producer: Trent Willmon
Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke - “I Had Some Help” — Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins
Mix engineer: Ryan Gore - “Watermelon Moonshine” — Lainey Wilson
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - “White Horse” — Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
Album of the year
- “Deeper Well” — Kacey Musgraves
Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian
Mix engineers: Shawn Everett, Konrad Snyder - “Fathers & Sons” — Luke Combs
Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
Mix engineer: Chip Matthews - “Higher” — Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton
Mix engineer: Vance Powell - “Leather” — Cody Johnson
Producer: Trent Willmon
Mix engineer: Jack Clarke - “Whitsitt Chapel” — Jelly Roll
Producers: Andrew Baylis, Brock Berryhill, Zach Crowell, Jesse Frasure, David Garcia, Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft, Austin Nivarel, David Ray Stevens
Mix engineers: Jeff Braun, Jim Cooley
Song of the year
- “Burn It Down”
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Parker McCollum, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose - “Dirt Cheap”
Songwriter: Josh Phillips - “I Had Some Help”
Songwriters: Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters - “The Painter”
Songwriters: Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins - “White Horse”
Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson
Female vocalist of the year
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Ashley McBryde
- Megan Moroney
- Kacey Musgraves
- Lainey Wilson
Male vocalist of the year
- Luke Combs
- Jelly Roll
- Cody Johnson
- Chris Stapleton
- Morgan Wallen
Vocal group of the year
- Lady A
- Little Big Town
- Old Dominion
- The Red Clay Strays
- Zac Brown Band
Vocal duo of the year
- Brooks & Dunn
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Maddie & Tae
- The War and Treaty
Musical event of the year
- “Cowboys Cry Too” — Kelsea Ballerini (with Noah Kahan)
Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym - “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins - “I Remember Everything” — Zach Bryan (ft. Kacey Musgraves)
Producer: Zach Bryan - “Man Made a Bar” — Morgan Wallen (feat. Eric Church)
Producer: Joey Moi - “you look like you love me” — Ella Langley (feat. Riley Green)
Producer: Will Bundy
Musician of the year
- Tom Bukovac — Guitar
- Jenee Fleenor — Fiddle
- Paul Franklin — Steel Guitar
- Rob McNelley — Guitar
- Charlie Worsham — Guitar
Music video of the year
- “Dirt Cheap” — Cody Johnson
Director: Dustin Haney - “I Had Some Help” — Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Director: Chris Villa - “I’m Not Pretty” — Megan Moroney
Directors: Jeff Johnson, Megan Moroney - “The Painter” — Cody Johnson
Director: Dustin Haney - “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” — Lainey Wilson
Director: Patrick Tracy
New artist of the year
- Megan Moroney
- Shaboozey
- Nate Smith
- Mitchell Tenpenny
- Zach Top
- Bailey Zimmerman
