In November, when the nominations were made, social media was flooded with commentary on the inclusion of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter. Fans were either overjoyed with her nomination or angry at what seemed like an industry stunt. Outside the obvious, the nominees across the four categories were relatively weak. Aside from Brothers Osborne, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Stapleton, their company has been the centerpiece of pop-country debates. It’s not that the Grammys have ever been especially representative of the country, but this year was explicitly not indicative of how fans feel.
The Recording Academy had 13,000 voting members, yet they managed to highlight an impressively unfair sliver of country music that came out this past year. Considering the winners who were not named Beyonce, it’s essential to consider the other nominees and the specific category. When someone is nominated for Song of the Year, they’re up for a songwriter award. In this respect, the nominees were underwhelming, with all the songs having the same manufactured and artificial feel except for the eventual winner, “The Architect” by Kacey Musgraves. “I Had Some Help,” supposedly the biggest song of the year, took eight people to write, which is not something that needed to be highlighted given how bland and uninspiring the song is overall. Every nominee this year is represented by a major label, which isn’t out of the ordinary for a major award show, but when acts like Muscadine Bloodline and Zach Top, who are on independent labels, are the center of attention on social media, many fans don’t feel heard.
Maybe the only winner most fans can agree on is Chris Stapleton, who won Best Country Solo Performance for “It Takes a Woman.” For starters, Jelly Roll’s voice does not warrant celebration; it relies on an overstrained holler rather than a distinct, textured rasp. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is not this magnificent display of vocal talent; rather, it is just a catchy song sung by someone with a mature baritone voice. Kacey Musgraves should have been the appropriate runner-up for this award, with her voice being angelic and cornerstone of country music. Lastly, “16 Carriages” was a superbly impressive display of Beyonce’s raw ability; she’s always had such an iconic range and knew exactly how to move up and down scales. However, it’s. Not. A. Country. Song.
For years, award shows have felt like a slap in the face to many fans, failing to represent the quality country music out there today. Even Old Dominion winning duo of the year more times than Tom Brady has won the Super Bowl is ridiculous, with fans considering a lonesome nomination in that category a win for their favorite acts. Anyone can upload a song to Spotify and Apple Music and click that country box, but that doesn’t always make it so. Albeit Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson have the full-fledged support of Nashville behind them, their music is undeniably country with all the traditional elements in their songwriting and production. This year, The Recording Academy voters did nothing but alienate true fans of the genre and highlight the lack of trust fans have in legacy corporations in the music industry.
