They’re staying home, home on the range.
After crowning Beyoncé’s debut country album, “Cowboy Carter,” as album of the year in 2025, the awards show snubbed the genre this year, giving not a single nominations to a country artist in the four main categories: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist.
The diss is not sitting well with country stars, and we’re told giants Miranda Lambert, George Strait and Morgan Wallen are planning to cool their boots on the sofa rather than show up for the awards ceremony.
Sources tell Page Six that all three are skipping this year’s show, despite two of them being nominated in country categories.
“A lot of country artists are not going… They think the Grammys don’t give a f–k about country music,” one source said.
Wallen comes as no surprise, as he did not submit his “I’m the Problem” album for consideration.
We hear the snub is all the buzz in country music capital Nashville, Tn.
Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., addressed the lack of country music representation in an interview with Variety’s Jem Aswad ahead of Sunday night’s show.
According to Mason Jr., it pretty much boils down to voter representation, which he says, he feels is currently “very well balanced.”
“But the moment is changing, and it continues to change every week, every month, all year long, and we’re going to keep an eye on how we can make sure we’re being reflective of what’s going on in music,” he said.
He further told the trade, “It’s hard to predict why we get the results that we do. All I know is, it’s heartbreaking for me when somebody’s not represented, whether that’s an individual artist or a genre, because I know how hard people work in this business.”
“I want us to make sure we’re getting it right, so we continue to do everything we can as an organization, along with our elected leaders, to make sure we’re positioning our voters to make the best decisions they can,” he continued.
Lambert is nominated for Best Contemporary Country Album, Best Country Song, and twice in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category. Strait is also nominated in Best Country Duo/Group Performance for his song “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” with Chris Stapleton.
Reps for the Recording Academy, Lambert, Strait and Wallen did not comment.
Meanwhile, back in LA, Grammys fever is in full swing – with too many parties to bop around too.
Warner Music hosted its annual pre-Grammy bash on Thursday. The Black Music Collective honored Brandy, Pharrell and Kirk Franklin. MusiCares will honor Mariah Carey with their prestigious Person of the Year Award on Friday. Pioneers music executive and former Epic Records chief, Sylvia Rhone, will be inducted into the Grammy Board of Trustees on Saturday, following the label’s Friday pre-Grammy bash. And Clive Davis’ annual soiree will be the pre-Grammy party finale before Sunday night’s big show. New Yorkers Lion Babe were also on the scene, performing at Legendary Damon’s pre-Grammy bash at the Edition.
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