Dolly Parton Reacts To Beyoncé’s 2024 CMAs Snub

Dolly Parton wants to keep the peace in the country world. In an interview with Variety, published on Sept. 17, the legendary singer sounded off on Beyoncé’s snub at the 2024 Country Music Awards, where she did not receive any nominations for her latest album.

Cowboy Carter features Parton on the song “Tyrant” and interlude “Dolly P,” and includes Beyoncé’s cover of “Jolene.” “I thought that was a great album,” she said. “She’s a country girl in Texas and Louisiana, so she grew up with that base. It wasn’t like she just appeared out of nowhere.”

She explained that “you never know” what award-voting bodies think when deciding nominations. “There’s so many wonderful country artists that, I guess probably the country music field, they probably thought, well, we can’t really leave out some of the ones that spend their whole life doing that,” she said. “But I didn’t even realize that until somebody asked me that question.”

Parton emphasized that Cowboy Carter “was a wonderful album” that Beyoncé should “be very, very proud of,” no matter the recognition.

“I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that was good,” she said. “So I don’t think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose. I think it was just more of what the country charts and the country artists were doing, that do that all the time, not just a specialty album.”

Beyoncé’s History With The CMAs

Before releasing Cowboy Carter in March, Beyoncé explained the album was inspired by “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed.” Fans immediately connected this to her 2016 CMAs performance with The Chicks, which received backlash from conservative viewers.

The singer suffered another sting that year. “Daddy Lessons,” the Lemonade track that she performed at the CMAs, was rejected by the Grammys country committee, who ruled it was not eligible for nominations in country categories.

After facing rejections, she was motivated to create Cowboy Carter, which emphasizes the Black roots of country music, stretches the definition of the genre, and makes it clear that she’s always been country.

However, Beyoncé may not be worried about the snubs since she considers Cowboy Carter a work that transcends genres. “This ain’t a country album,” she declared in March. “This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”