In the recent 2025 Grammys, the most talked about – and most outrageous – award in the Stone Ridge halls is Best Country Album. Though the winner, Beyonce, is a recognized and applauded artist – is her album, Cowboy Carter, truly deserving of this award? While some claim the academy is at fault for being out of tune with their listeners, others argue that this was the academy’s apology for not honoring Beyonce’s earlier albums with album of the year award. No matter the reason, the country scene is distraught and angry – and not staying silent about it, either.
The other nominees for this award were Higher by Chris Stapleton, Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves, F – 1 Trillion by Post Malone, and finally, Whirlwind by Lainey Wilson. To be considered for this award is worthy of congratulations within itself – so, why are Pop artists such as Beyonce and Post Malone even being nominated? Though their music may technically have some twang to it, the nomination and selection process this year stripped true country artists of being recognized for their dedication and work. So, what even goes into consideration when choosing who gets this award?
Academy of Country Music claims, “The factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, success at radio, consumption, success of music videos, vocal performances, live concert ticket sales, artistic merit, appearances on television, appearances in films, songwriting, success in digital media, and contributions to the country music industry.” If this award was based off of streams, Morgan Wallen (an artist not even considered for the award) would have won with his outstanding, 6,513,621,229 streams for his album, One Thing at a Time. Chris Stapleton follows behind with a whopping 2,569,545,456 streams. The actual winner of the award had an upward surge following her recognition, earning her 700 million streams – all of which I’m convinced are not true country listeners, just Beyonce fans.
Of course, it is immensely important to recognize not only black country artists, but specifically black women in this category. Further, Beyonce is an immensely talented singer who has earned her fame and her spot in history. That said, I have grown up serenaded in country music. My childhood was filled with memories of my family and I at the Broken Spoke, watching my sister dance with my grandpa, listening to Willie Nelson and George Strait. Never – and I mean, never – would Beyonce’s trial-run of a country album be played in an authentic country scene. My frustration is also for the new and upcoming artists such as Lainey Wilson who have created albums I would consider masterpieces that were robbed of a deserved award. There are also artists such as Chris Stapleton who I would consider the “Beyonce” of country that have earned the right to be recognized for their dedication to the country music industry.
There were many agreeable ways in which this award could have been distributed – yet, having to argue that country artists deserved a country award was not in my cards. Though Beyonce may be a grammy-worthy artist, perhaps it’s best to leave Best Country Album to the real and authentic country artists.
