Beyoncé went into the Grammys on Sunday with 11 nominations, greater than every other artist, most prominently in album of the 12 months for “Cowboy Carter” — her fifth shot for the evening’s most coveted prize, after 4 conspicuous profession losses and an embarrassingly poor historical past for Black girls on the Grammys.
However down the poll there have been 5 possibilities for her to make a splash within the nation discipline. “Cowboy Carter” obtained nods for finest nation album — alongside LPs by Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson and Submit Malone — in addition to nation solo efficiency (“16 Carriages”), nation duo/group efficiency (“II Most Wished,” with Miley Cyrus), nation tune (“Texas Maintain ’Em”) and Americana efficiency (“Ya Ya”).
Beyoncé gained the Grammy for finest nation album, turning into the primary Black artist to realize the feat. “I believe generally ‘style’ is a code phrase to maintain us in our place as artists,” she mentioned in her acceptance speech, “and I simply need to encourage individuals to do what they’re keen about.”
On the premiere ceremony, forward of the primary present, Beyoncé gained for finest nation duo/group efficiency however misplaced out in one of the best nation tune class to Musgrave’s “The Architect.” She misplaced in finest nation solo efficiency to Stapleton (“It Takes a Lady”) and in finest Americana efficiency to Sierra Ferrell (“American Dreaming”).
The 2 wins symbolize a retort of kinds to the Nashville institution, which has largely ignored Beyoncé’s transfer into the clubby world of nation, a narrative that has been constructing for practically a decade.
Her tune “Daddy Classes,” from her 2016 album “Lemonade,” had twangy guitars and a vocal that drew comparisons to Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. The monitor was submitted to the Grammys for a rustic nomination however was rejected by the committee overseeing these awards. (Most of these committees have since been eradicated.) That 12 months, Beyoncé additionally carried out the tune with the Chicks, previously known as the Dixie Chicks, on the Nation Music Affiliation Awards. The tough response to it was apparently what set Beyoncé on a course to delving deeper into nation music, on her personal phrases.
When asserting “Cowboy Carter” final 12 months, Beyoncé wrote on social media: “It was born out of an expertise that I had years in the past the place I didn’t really feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t. However, due to that have, I did a deeper dive into the historical past of Nation music and studied our wealthy musical archive.” She added: “The criticisms I confronted once I first entered this style pressured me to propel previous the constraints that have been placed on me.”
Nation radio stations gave minimal consideration to the songs on “Cowboy Carter,” and Beyoncé obtained no nominations ultimately 12 months’s CMAs.
There’s a lengthy historical past of Grammy voters, who’re drawn from the complete music business, utilizing their ballots to ship messages to Nashville. In 2007, the Chicks gained all three prime awards — together with album of the 12 months, for “Taking the Lengthy Method” — after the group was blacklisted from nation radio stations over its criticism of President George W. Bush and the Iraq battle.
