It’s been six years since I wrestled with the Ticketmaster demons and scored my first ever Beyoncé concert tickets to the “On the Run II World Tour” in the summer of 2018. They were crappy nosebleeds off to the far side of the stage, but nonetheless, that night made me a dedicated superfan.
Less than a year later, I made my very own stan account on Twitter, posting endless content about Beyoncé. I would stay up past reasonable hours to see her perform from what seemed to be filmed on a three-pixel digitalized camcorder on Instagram live. I listened to her albums on a constant, hypnotic loop. I would even spend hours learning her dance choreography and unique vocal riffs.
Since these six years have passed, I have watched her delve into bubblegum pop, progressive R&B, trap rap, classic Hip-Hop, soundtracking, electronic house and now country. So, when “Cowboy Carter” dropped, I wasn’t at all surprised she decided to charge into new ground.
Released in the spring of 2024, “Cowboy Carter” is a 27-track LP diving into themes of Americana, modern country, bluegrass and even folk. Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Linda Martell were some of the classic artists she chose to feature. It topped the Billboard Country Album charts, shooting up to the number one spot upon its release. Beyoncé was the first Black woman to achieve this. Yet, when the Country Music Awards released their nominations for 2025 on Sept.9, “Cowboy Carter” was missing.
The irony of it all lies in the fact that Beyoncé wrote this album after her performance of “Daddy Lessons” (a country song from 2016’s “Lemonade”) at the CMAs with the Chicks. She received countless social media hate comments from country fans and even some country artists questioning why, as a “pop” artist, she was even there.
Beyoncé stated on Instagram, “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.”
“AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” the opening track, references this. She belts, “Used to say I spoke too country/And the rejection came, said I wasn’t country ‘nough/Said I wouldn’t saddle up, but/If that ain’t country, tell me what is?” Throughout the entire song, Beyoncé questions what the country music genre even is, and why there is still so much contention with artists genre-bending and stepping out of their boxes.
Of course, when I first heard the news of the snub, I was perplexed. Fuming, even. How is an album with folk banjos, steel guitars, Americana ballads, a cover of “Jolene” and references to a “rodeo-chitlin circuit” not country enough for the CMAs? Who was making the rules over there? I immediately went online and saw fans and critics sharing my confusion. Kelly Clarkson used the word “fascinating.”
Then, I studied country music and its industry a little bit deeper. Why were the CMAs so hesitant to give Beyonce her flowers? What is country even? An article by the Heritage Herald reported that genre was built on the backs of American immigrants blending different cultures and forms of music to create a new sound. Most of the tunes in the early days of country reflected themes of loss, heartbreak, dreams, hard work and yearning. Traditionally, it was about building from the ground up by paying your dues.
When artists try to break away from their boxes, they are often discredited or continue to be labeled as one thing or another. I recall Tyler the Creator’s revolutionary album “IGOR” being a huge success in the industry. Despite being labeled a rapper and releasing mainly rap music his entire career, he set out to create a progressive R&B and alternative soul album in 2020. Still, to no one’s surprise, the Grammys nominated him for “Best Rap Album.” The album had rap flairs, but to put “IGOR” and an album like 21 Savage’s “I Am > I Was” in the same category was wildly misleading. The New Yorker stated that Tyler, the Creator called out the Grammys while delivering his acceptance speech, saying “It sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything that’s genre-bending, they always put it in a rap or urban category…why can’t we just be pop?”
Why are the genre boundaries in music so rigid and unforgiving? Award shows and recording labels use it to confine artists to keep them in organized boxes palatable enough for customers. It’s much easier to sell an artist based on a predictable set of qualities to a general audience.
This isn’t to say the industry doesn’t need genre. They create opportunities and chances for artists that aren’t getting the millions of streams artists like Beyoncé or Tyler, the Creator are getting to still flourish and have space to create. But how helpful is genre in deciding what music sounds like? As the art of music becomes more available to widespread audiences to create themselves, and technology becomes more powerful and accessible, genres are bound to bleed together and morph into each other. Nothing is ever completely original. Everything, whether intentional or not, has taken inspiration from something before it.
“Cowboy Carter” was always country ‘nough. The question isn’t why a widely popular country album didn’t get nominated at the Country Music Awards. Rather, it’s about ostentatious attitudes toward genre and how personal popularity might hinder mainstream artists more than benefit them. Being too successful comes with its challenges. But as Beyoncé says, “Take that sh*t on the chin/Come back and fu*k up the pen.”