Luke Bryan is extending Beyoncé an invitation to join the country music community.
After the Cowboy Carter artist was snubbed for a nomination at the 2024 CMA Awards, which air live Nov. 20 8pm EST on ABC and next day on Hulu, the awards show co-host responded to the backlash around Bey’s country debut going unrecognized.
“It’s a tricky question,” Bryan said on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. “Obviously Beyoncé made a country album. And Beyoncé has a lot of fans out there that have her back, and if she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you … as fans should do.”
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He continued, “I mean, listen, I’m all for everybody coming in and making country albums and all that. But just by declaring that, just because she made one… A lot of great music’s overlooked. Sometimes you don’t get nominated.”
Bryan said that Beyoncé should “come into our world and be country with us a little bit” if she wants to be recognized by the genre. “Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to,” he said. “She’s probably the biggest star in music. But come to an awards show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family too … Country music’s a lot about family.”
The Mind of a Country Boy artist joins Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning in co-hosting the 58th CMA Awards, which take place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. This year marks his fourth as host.
After performing with The Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards, Beyoncé previously hinted that her debut country album a result of the backlash around her appearance. She shared in March that Cowboy Carter “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.”
Meanwhile, Cowboy Carter became Beyoncé’s eighth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, breaking several records. The lead single ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ became the first country song by a Black woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts.
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