Just like the CMAs (Country Music Association Awards) before it, the 2025 ACMs (Academy of Country Music Awards) left Beyonce fans – affectionately called the #Beyhive – stunned with its snub of her last album ‘Cowboy Carter.’
The groundbreaking LP, which nabbed the Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Album trophies at this year’s GRAMMYs just last month, was completely absent from the ACMs’ 2025 nominations roster revealed on Thursday (March 27).
And while the Academy’s CEO Damon Whiteside says the zero nods for ‘Carter’ came as a surprise to him as well, he believes he knows why the Queen Bey was royally snubbed.
Chatting it up with Billboard, Whiteside says he was hoping Bey’s ‘Carter’ would be nominated but the Academy voters apparently didn’t agree.
“Were we hoping she’d be nominated? Absolutely,” Damon said. “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.”
And though the music megastar will not be invited for the chance to compete for an award, she has an “open invitation” to grace its stage with a performance.
“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 365,” the ACM CEO said before adding, “We’d love to have Beyoncé on the show. She has an open invitation to be on the ACM stage anytime she ever wants to.”
His sentiment echoes a controversial take that landed Country superstar Luke Bryan in hot water, a stance that suggests Bey’s distance from Nashville is what keeps her work from being recognized by local industry insiders.
“[She should] come into our world and be country with us a little bit,” he stated. “…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 Reba McEntire-hosted ACMs will air live on May 8 at 8 pm EST. See the full list of 2025 nominees here.
His right. She made this album as a gimmick and they don’t appreciate that, there are real country artists that deserves to be recognized for their 365 work and she shouldn’t take that from them just because she wants to cosplay as a country artist for an album.
+ She said that it’s not a country album so what else do you need?
He’s
Madonna had a country flavored song and she didn’t dare to ask for a country award for it or cry about it.
Beyonce makes POP not even R&B…
Stfu phaggott
First off its music, so an artist shouldnt be categorized for only having one genre of music, anyone who knows…knows Beyonce is Country.
Doesn’t even matter at this point, she’s already proven she can do whatever she wants and WILL succeed at it. Winning Best Country Album, and Album of the Year at the Grammy’s is literally THEE ultimate revenge 😂 gotta love Queen Bey 👑 🐝
She didn’t earn it. She got it as a consolation prize because of her husband’s threats.
If that helps you sleep at night. Either way it is written in stone, she’s a winner baby 🏆 Not to mention she also won Best Country Duo with Miley. The gworls can’t take it 😂 Cowboy Carter is that b itch yeeeeehawww! 🐎 🤠
Everyone is kicking rocks not Q Bee its onward and upward….You can’t stop greatness work dat stage…
Beyonce’s Country Flopbum only won AOTY because Jay-Z bought it, not because it was good. It wasn’t good or deserving. White folk are racist. Everybody knows this. H e l l, even they know this, but I think this time is mostly because this album wasn’t really country, and because when compared to actual country albums it didn’t measure up.
Didn’t measure up but won all the main country categories and Album of the Year 😂 go cry about it b itch. The Queen has spoken 👑🐝
It won’t AOTY because it was a statement against perceived racism. She said she made it because of the treatment she got at the CMAs for performing daddy issues. Had the Grammys not given her AOTY, it would have fuelled further racism debates in an already fractured US discourse. Plus TayTay (Ashy version) doesn’t need anymore smoke blown up her ass
Somebody with some understanding and some sense, Chile.
The album sucked. Period