Ahead of the CMA Awards on Wednesday, Billy Ray Cyrus weighed in on the discourse surrounding Beyoncé‘s snub from the nominations list.
The country singer took to his Instagram earlier in the day to congratulate all the nominees, but also share that she was “surprised” that the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer wasn’t among the nominees this year.
“I’m so happy and proud to see country music opening their doors and format to be inclusive to all people, all styles,” he wrote in the post’s caption. “@lilnasx and I won this award in 2019 for Event Of The Year… but you wouldn’t have seen it because they didn’t air it in the show.”
Cyrus continued, “I was surprised to see @beyonce wasn’t nominated??? Her album was brilliant… her single ruled. But she knows that. She doesn’t need a trophy from the CMA… or permission …. or approval from any of their judges. He also quoted Muhammad Ali, adding, “When ya knock em out…. Ya don’t need no judge“.
The “Achy Breaky Heart” musician isn’t the first country artist to share their thoughts on Beyoncé’s lack of CMA nominations, despite her country album Cowboy Carter reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The singer also had several songs from the album reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “Texas Hold ‘Em” peaking at No. 1.
In September, Kelly Clarkson said she was confused by the singer’s snub “because I feel like those songs were everywhere.”
Luke Bryan also recently clarified comments he made regarding the nominations controversy, saying, “You will hear my tone and intentions which were not negative. I respect Beyoncé and I love how loyal her fans are. I spend a lot of time supporting other artists. I want everyone to win.”
That was in response to previous remarks he made on Beyoncé’s CMA snub: “Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it. But where things get a little tricky — if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit. Like, Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to. She’s probably the biggest star in music. But come to an award show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family, too. And I’m not saying she didn’t do that … but country music is a lot about family.”
Bryan is co-hosting the 58th annual CMA Awards ceremony in Nashville on Wednesday with Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson.
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