Beyoncé was snubbed by the Academy of Country Music, receiving no nominations at the upcoming awards show for her album Cowboy Carter. But despite the shutout, she did receive an open invitation to perform at the show.
When the Academy of Country Music nominations were announced on March 27, Beyoncé’s genre-bending country album Cowboy Carter was overlooked despite winning multiple Grammys, including Album of the Year, along with several chart-topping hits. She became the first Black woman to win the Grammy for Country Album of the Year.
The ceremony that will take place at The Star in Frisco on May 8 will be without Beyoncé, who country music awards shows have snubbed in the past.
“Were we hoping she’d be nominated? Absolutely,” Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside told Billboard. “We love that Beyoncé is in the country genre. That’s fantastic for all the country artists out there. It’s fantastic for the fans. The more successful she is, the more we’re bringing more mainstream people into the genre, which we want.”
Whiteside explained that the almost 5,000 ACM voters are generally from Nashville and mostly work in country music, in contrast to Grammy voters, who come from all musical genres.
“I think, more likely, they’re going to be voting for artists that they’ve got relationships with and work with on a regular basis and that are in the country music business,” Whiteside said.
The argument is that most voters will vote for artists they are more comfortable with and knowledgeable about rather than nominating artists for their outstanding works within the genre.
Interestingly, Lainey Wilson, a country music star, saw her album Bell Bottom Country win both the Grammy for Country Album of the Year and the ACM award for Best Country Album of the Year in 2024. Chris Stapleton is another example of a country artist who was recognized by both the Grammys and the ACM, with his 2021 album Starting Over winning Best Country Album at both shows. Beyoncé beat out both Wilson and Stapleton for the country album award at the 2025 Grammys.
Despite the defense of familiarity playing a part in another country music snub, there seems to be a lot more at play. Whiteside went on to invite Beyoncé to perform at the show despite the ACM snubbing her once again.
“We’d love to have Beyoncé on the show,” Whiteside said. “She has an open invitation to be on the ACM stage anytime she ever wants to.”
But the Beyhive and country music fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. Beyoncé kicks off her tour for Cowboy Carter on April 28, so she’s probably too busy to perform at a show where she isn’t being honored.
