Beyoncé gets enlightened about Nashville's "tricky" politics by this A-list country star

Country music is in its own bubble within the entertainment industry. Sure, there are crossover artists who start out in Nashville and become pop stars — hello, Shania Twain and Taylor Swift — but it's not easy to go in the opposite direction. It's no secret that country music stars aren't exactly welcoming to outsiders.

This is where Beyoncé came into conversation, because her first country album, Cowboy Carterwas a huge success and is therefore the best-selling album of 2024 so far The New York Times. Still, the 43-year-old superstar was snubbed on September 29 when the Country Music Association announced its nominations for the CMAs. While fans were outraged, this high-profile country star voiced his opinion.

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Luke Bryan performs at the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 8, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images) — Luke Bryan performs onstage at the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 8, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Everyone loved that Beyoncé did a country album. Nobody is mad about it. But where it gets a little trickier… if you want to make country albums, come to our world and be a little country with us.” American Idol said judge Luke Bryan on SiriusXM Andy Cohen Live on September 30, via Life & Style. He believes she hasn't tried to hang out with other musicians in the country music world. So Bryan essentially admitted that the awards were a political game and weren't measured by an album's creativity.

Bryan praised her as “probably the biggest star in music,” but he tells her she has to earn her place at the table. Yikes! “But come to an awards ceremony and give us a high-five, have fun and join the family too. And I'm not saying she didn't do that,” he added. “But country music is all about family.” Has Bryan forgotten how cruel some country fans and radio stations were to Beyoncé when “Texas Hold 'Em” was released in February?

An Oklahoma City radio station tried to argue that Beyoncé didn't belong in country music, but it was Beyhive who set her straight after intense backlash and cries of racism. “We initially refused to play it the same way if someone had asked us to play the Rolling Stones on our country station,” KYKC CEO Roger Harris said in a statement Today in February. “The fact is we play Beyoncé on TWO of our other stations and we love her…she's an icon. We just didn't know anything about the song… then when we found out about it, we tried to get the song… which we did, and we've already played it three times on YKC, our country station.”

Even Dolly Parton, who praised Beyoncé's talent and her cover of “Jolene,” was a little unsure about her stance on the CMA disruption. “There are so many wonderful country artists that, probably in the field of country music, they probably thought we can't really leave out some of the ones who spend their whole lives doing this,” she explained diversity. “So I don’t think it was about excluding yourself, that is, it was intentional. I think it was just more of what the country charts were doing and the country artists who do it all the time, rather than just a special album.”

Beyoncé learns that in the country music industry, it's hard to get support, even if you release a great album.

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