The nominations for the 2024 CMA Awards have been unveiled, and the list is dominated by names like Morgan Wallen and Post Malone. However, one noticeable absence from the list of nominees is Beyoncé, who had one of the year’s biggest country albums with Cowboy Carter and a massive country hit, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Despite her chart-topping success, Beyoncé was completely shut out from the CMA nominations, raising eyebrows across the industry.
Morgan Wallen leads this year’s CMA Awards with seven nominations, including big categories like entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year. Close behind him are Chris Stapleton and Cody Johnson, each with five nominations, while Post Malone and Lainey Wilson picked up four nods apiece. Wilson, who won entertainer of the year in 2023, will be defending her title this year against Wallen, Stapleton, Luke Combs, and Jelly Roll. The highly anticipated show will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 20 on ABC.
While Wallen and Malone are basking in the glow of their multiple nominations, Beyoncé’s snub is raising questions, especially given the success of her country album Cowboy Carter. The album spent four weeks atop Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, making her the first Black woman to achieve this feat. Her single “Texas Hold ‘Em” also made history, becoming the first song by a Black woman to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, where it held the top spot for 10 weeks. The album and single also dominated Billboard’s all-genre charts, with Cowboy Carter topping the Billboard 200 and “Texas Hold ‘Em” reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100.
The 27-track album, which features collaborations with country legends like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell, as well as stars like Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, has sparked conversations about the role of Black artists in country music. Many praised Cowboy Carter for its cultural significance, as Beyoncé delved into the roots of country music, a genre heavily influenced by Black musicians.
Despite all of this, Beyoncé received no nominations for the CMA Awards. She qualified for several categories, including single of the year, song of the year, album of the year, female vocalist of the year, and music event of the year. She also qualified for entertainer of the year, though this award is traditionally given to artists who have been consistently involved in the country music scene for several years. Yet, none of these recognitions materialized for the global superstar.
The Country Music Association, which votes on the CMAs, is made up of industry professionals, including artists, executives, songwriters, musicians, and more. To be eligible for this year’s awards, albums and singles had to be released or reach peak prominence between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. The final round of voting will take place from October 1 to October 29.
This snub brings back memories of Beyoncé’s controversial appearance at the 2016 CMA Awards, where she performed “Daddy Lessons” alongside The Chicks. While some applauded the performance, others from the country music community voiced disapproval, with some even calling for a boycott. In response to the backlash, the performance was later removed from the CMA website. Beyoncé herself seemed to allude to this experience earlier this year when teasing Cowboy Carter. “This album has been over five years in the making. It 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,” she said in March. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Interestingly, another artist who released his first country album this year was Post Malone, who received four nominations. His hit single “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, earned nominations for single of the year, song of the year, musical event of the year, and music video of the year. Wallen’s seven nods include these four with Malone, as well as additional nominations for male vocalist of the year and entertainer of the year.
The 58th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live on Wednesday, November 20, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on ABC. Although hosts, performers, and presenters have yet to be announced, all eyes will be on how this year’s event unfolds, especially with the conversation around Beyoncé’s exclusion from the nominations continuing to swirl.
Check out the full list of 2024 CMA nominations:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Shaboozey; Producers: Sean Cook, Nevin Sastry; Mix Engineer: Raul Lopez
“Dirt Cheap” — Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon; Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen); Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
“Watermelon Moonshine” — Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“White Horse” — Chris Stapleton; Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton; Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Deeper Well — Kacey Musgraves; Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian; Mix Engineers: Shawn Everett, Konrad Snyder
Fathers & Sons — Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews
Higher — Chris Stapleton; Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton; Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
Leather — Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon; Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke
Whitsitt Chapel — Jelly Roll; Producers: Andrew Baylis, Brock Berryhill, Zach Crowell, Jesse Frasure, David Garcia, Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft, Austin Nivarel, David Ray Stevens; Mix Engineers: Jeff Braun, Jim Cooley
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Burn It Down” — Parker McCollum; Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Parker McCollum, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose
“Dirt Cheap” — Cody Johnson; Songwriter: Josh Phillips
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen; Songwriters: Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters
“The Painter” — Cody Johnson; Songwriters: Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins
“White Horse” — Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Ashley McBryde
Megan Moroney
Kacey Musgraves
Lainey Wilson
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
The Red Clay Strays
Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War And Treaty
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Cowboys Cry Too” — Kelsea Ballerini featuring Noah Kahan; Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen; Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins
“I Remember Everything” — Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves; Producer: Zach Bryan
“Man Made A Bar” — Morgan Wallen featuring Eric Church; Producer: Joey Moi
“you look like you love me” — Ella Langley featuring Riley Green; Producer: Will Bundy
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Tom Bukovac
Jenee Fleenor
Paul Franklin
Rob McNelley
Charlie Worsham
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Dirt Cheap” — Cody Johnson; Director: Dustin Haney
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen; Director: Chris Villa
“I’m Not Pretty” — Megan Moroney; Directors: Jeff Johnson, Megan Moroney
“The Painter” — Cody Johnson; Director: Dustin Haney
“Wildflowers and Wild Horses” — Lainey Wilson; Director: Patrick Tracy
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Megan Moroney
Shaboozey
Nate Smith
Mitchell Tenpenny
Zach Top
Bailey Zimmerman
