Beyoncé earned no nominations at the 2025 ACM Awards despite making history with her country-leaning album Cowboy Carter at the 2025 Grammys earlier this year.

After Beyoncé made history with her country-inspired album Cowboy Carter at the 2025 Grammy Awards in February, the “16 Carriages” singer was noticeably absent from the nominations for the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards when they were announced March 27.

The apparent snub was notable given the widespread critical acclaim for the project, which earned Queen Bey—the most decorated artist in Grammys history—her first-ever win for Album of the Year after four previous nominations in the category.

In fact, the 43-year-old also scored wins for Best Country Duo/Group Performance—which she shared with Miley Cyrus for their duet “II Most Wanted”—and Best Country Album, becoming the first Black artist in Grammy history to receive the latter award.

“I’d like to thank all of the incredible country artists that accepted this album,” she said during the Feb. 2 ceremony. “I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent.”

Beyoncé’s efforts to push the boundaries of the genre have been overlooked before. She was also shut out from the list of nominees at the 2024 CMA Awards after previously hinting that the backlash from her performance at the show eight years prior helped inspire her latest album.

Beyonce, 2025 GrammysEmma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

“[Cowboy Carter] was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote on Instagram in March 2024. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.”

And while some institutions continue to resist embracing the Destiny’s Child alum, she seemingly has little interest in being put in a box anyway.

“This ain’t a country album,” she noted. “This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”

For a deep dive into some of the standout tracks from Cowboy Carter, keep reading.

Beyoncé, 2024 Grammys, Grammy Awards 2024Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

“Ameriican Requiem”

Within the first single on Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé lays it all out for her critics, seemingly referencing the backlash she faced after she performed at the CMA Awards in 2016.

“They used to say I spoke, ‘Too country’ / And the rejection came, said I wasn’t, ‘Country ‘nough,’” she sings, “Said I wouldn’t saddle up, but / If that ain’t country, tell me, what is? / Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years / They don’t, don’t know how hard I had to fight for this.”

At the time, fans noted that the CMA Awards appeared to take down footage of her surprise performance alongside The Chicks. However, in a statement to E! News, the organization shared they took down a promotional clip instead.

Beyoncé, Halftime Performance, NetflixParkwood Entertainment

“16 Carriages”

Along with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the Grammy winner’s song “16 Carriages” was one of the two lead singles to come from her multi-faceted record. In the ballad, Beyoncé seems to sing about working from a young age and focusing on her dreams. After its release, her fans online classified it as one of her most personal songs yet.

“Sixteen carriages drivin’ away / While I watch them ride with my dreams away / To the summer sunset on a holy night / On a long back road, all the tears I find.”

Beyonce, RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR(Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood)

“Protector”

One of her more melodic singles, “Protector” opens up with none other her daughter Rumi asking about a lullaby.

The singer—who is also mom to Rumi’s twin brother Sir and their oldest sibling Blue Ivy—reflects on her role as a mom. “Born to be a protector, mm-hmm / Even though I know someday you’re gonna shine on your own.”

“I will be your projector, mm, mm-hmm / An apricot picked right off a given tree,” she notes. “I gave watеr to the soil / And now it feeds me, yeah, yеah (Yeah) / And there you are, shaded underneath it all / I feel proud of who I am /Because you need me.”

Beyoncé, Halftime Performance, NetflixParkwood Entertainment/Julian Dakdouk

“Texas Hold ‘Em”

An instant hit that frankly needs no introduction: The up-tempo single “Texas Hold ‘Em” held onto the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Beyoncé’s ninth solo number one song. Not to mention, her hit also topped the Hot Country Songs chart, making the Destiny’s Child alum the first Black woman with a number one country song in Billboard history.

Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE WORLD TOURKevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood

“Dolly P” & “Jolene”

Not only did the Grammy winner take Dolly Parton’s hit “Jolene” and make it her own: “Jolene, I’m a woman too / Thе games you play are nothing new / So you don’t want no hеat with me, Jolene,” but she also recruited the country star for an interlude that tipped its hat at another well-known character: Becky with the good hair.

“Hey miss Honey B, it’s Dolly P,” Dolly says, “You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? / Reminded me of someone I knew back when / Except she has flamin’ locks of auburn hair / Bless her heart / Just a hair of a different color but it hurts just the same.”

Though Beyoncé made it clear that her take is more of a stern warning: “But you don’t want this smoke, so shoot your shot with someone else (You heard me).”

Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, Halftime Performance, NetflixParkwood Entertainment

“II Most Wanted”

The now Grammy-nominated collaboration with Miley Cyrus remains a favorite of fans, with the duo’s lyrics about being a “shotgun rider” becoming a standout instantly. Last June, the Hannah Montana star reflected on the writing process, sharing that she penned the song years before Beyoncé reached out about Cowboy Carter.

“I told her, ‘We don’t have to get ­country; we are country,’” Miley told W Magazine. “’We’ve been country. You know, between you being from Texas and me being from Tennessee, so much of us is going to be in this song.(add single quotation) Getting to write a song, not just sing, for Beyonce was a dream come true.”

Together on the track, they sing their notable chorus, “I’ll be your shotgun rider ’til the day I die / Smoke out the window flyin’ down the 405/ And I’ll be your backseat baby / Drivin’ you crazy anytime you like.”

Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE WORLD TOURKevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood

“Sweet Honey Buckin’”

On this track, the 32-time Grammy winner made note of one snub that stood out noticeably during the 2024 Grammys: Her not winning Album of the Year for Renaissance.

In fact, when her husband Jay-Z took the stage that night, he couldn’t help but call it out then and there—a moment that she doesn’t hesitate to highlight.

“A-O-T-Y, I ain’t win (Let’s go) / I ain’t stuntin’ ’bout them,” she sings, “Take that s–t on the chin/ Come back and f–k up the pen (Yeah).”

Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, Halftime Performance, NetflixParkwood Entertainment

“Levii’s Jeans”

Her sultry collab with Post Malone was not only one of the songs that served to be a match made in heaven (“Boy, I’ll let you be my Levi’s jeans / So you can hug that ass all day long”)—but the singer would later strip down for a denim-filled campaign that September with the iconic clothing brand.