Texas Hold ‘Em, one of the biggest country singles of the year, was not given to Beyoncé by the Country Music Awards.
The singer was noticeably missing when the nominations for the ceremony were revealed on Monday morning—not a single nomination was made for her.
As many fans speculated that Beyoncé may become the first black woman to be considered for album of the year for Cowboy Carter, it was widely assumed that she would be recognized at the awards.
After being suspended by his record label for uttering a racial slur three years prior, Morgan Wallen ended up winning the most nominations instead.
Later, the celebrity expressed regret and reconciled with his record label.
His double album One Thing At A Time, which was nominated for album of the year at the Country Music Awards (CMAs), topped the US charts for sixteen weeks last year.
As a featured artist on Post Malone’s popular song I Had Some Help, he receives four nominations this year. Like Beyoncé, Post Malone is a pop singer who has not always been a member of the country establishment.
Along with being featured on Cowboy Carter, Shaboozey receives two nominations for A Bar Song (Tipsy): best new artist and single of the year.
Shaboozey became the first black artist to reach the top of the US country charts in April, when that single dethroned Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ‘Em to top the country chart and the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.
It also marked the first time that two black artists had claimed the number one spot consecutively.
Beyoncé made hints earlier in the year about how her treatment at a prior CMA ceremony influenced her decision to release a country album.
The celebrity sang her song Daddy Lessons with the Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks) at the 2016 CMA Awards. Online, their performance was met with a torrent of hate mail and abuse.
Later, The Chicks’ lead singer Natalie Maines told the New York Times that Beyoncé’s post-show treatment was “disgusting.”
Cowboy Carter was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcome,” according to Beyoncé’s Instagram post, which inspired her to take “a deeper dive into the history of country music.”
The second installment of her trilogy is an album that interrogates the roots of American musical traditions and uncovers the often unheralded contributions made by black artists.
(BBC)
