Cowboy Carter didn't receive any CMA nominations. Did Beyoncé make her point?

Despite its commercial success, critical acclaim and superstar features from country music legends, Beyoncé's thunderous album Cowboy Carter didn't receive a single nomination at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards.

The record marked her eighth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. It also reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, making her the first Black woman ever to have topped the list.

Today on Commotion, culture critics Pablo The Don, Reanna Cruz and artist Rollie Pemberton (a.k.a. Cadence Weapon) join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss whether they anticipated Beyoncé's nomination snub at the CMAs, and if the news bodes well for the Grammys.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, including the panel's takes on the controversy behind Linkin Park's new lead singer Emily Armstrong and the backlash to Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl announcement, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Pablo, what's your reaction to Beyoncé being completely shut out of the CMAs this year? 

Pablo: I'm happy. 

Elamin: Woah! 

Pablo: I'm happy she got shut out. 

Elamin: OK, go on. 

Pablo: I don't believe in faking the funk. As everyone knows, it was widely speculated when Beyoncé dropped Cowboy Carter that she made this off of an experience that she had where she felt unwelcome, and everybody pointed back to that 2016 performance at the CMAs with the Dixie Chicks. So I'm happy they're keeping the same energy. I don't think she made this album for their approval, and I think she's happy that they weren't trying to fake the funk, get her there and get the views off of her, because you already know the BeyHive is showing up in droves if Beyoncé is there. So I'm happy. I'm glad we're not playing this fake industry game about it.

Elamin: You're like, "Actually, keep her out of your space. You don't really mean it." OK. Alright, you know what? I hadn't thought of it that way. Rollie, this news probably wasn't that surprising to people who were keeping up with how the country music industry operates in general, especially towards Black country musicians. But I'm curious, when you first heard about this, what was your reaction? 

Rollie: You know, honestly, I was a little surprised.

Elamin: Were you?

Rollie: Yeah, because she did everything she possibly could have done to show these gatekeepers of country music. She got the co-signs from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson on the album, and it still wasn't enough to be even nominated once. It really just made me think America maybe has a pretty far way to go, and maybe musically it's still quite segregated.

Elamin: And Pablo is over here being like, no, keep her actually out of it. So do you think it had to do with the machinery of Beyoncé appealing to the country music industry, that's why she was shut out? Or do we think there's something bigger going on here, Pablo? 

Pablo: I feel like Beyoncé made Cowboy Carter for the people like Shaboozey, to show that country is not a monolith, and here's this guy that probably is primed and ready to be the next great country star.

Elamin: He's on the record.

Pablo: He's on Beyoncé's album, and here he is following up. He was primed. He was ready to be that next star, and then A Bar Song comes out and it's got a J-Kwon song on it. Like, she was ready to show everybody country is not what you think it is, and here's the next guy you're actually really going to like. So I think Cowboy Carter served its purpose — and the CMAs was not part of its purpose. 

Elamin: Someone made the joke that Cowboy Carter was like part of the rollout for Shaboozey's album, because basically Cowboy Carter came out and Shaboozey is on two songs with Beyoncé. And then, like, three weeks later, Shaboozey's album drops and the song goes straight to No. 1. So, hey, happy for Shaboozey, but we can still be a little frustrated.

Rollie, this is the second time the CMAs have given, let's say, unwelcome energy towards Beyoncé. There is that performance from 2016 where Beyoncé performed Daddy Lessons with the Chicks, and that is rumored to have been the inspiration for Cowboy Carter — the idea that she felt unwelcome in that space. She wanted to make an album that is like, no, country music is Black music. Where do you think Beyoncé goes from here, really? 

Rollie: I think, ultimately, the Grammys. 

Elamin: Ayy. 

Rollie: That's really the ultimate goal here with this album, in my opinion. I don't think it was the CMAs. It's really trying to win that album of the year that's been eluding her. I feel like this album is really well-suited. It appeals to pop, country and R&B voters. I think this is probably her best chance.

Elamin: I want to have you back here the day after the Grammys next year, when the Grammys again give it to Billie Eilish, and then you remember this exact moment.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Ty Callender.