The American Music Awards just did what too many award shows continue to do: propped up a pop superstar in the country categories while ignoring the very artists keeping the genre alive.
Despite openly stating that her record wasn’t a country album, Beyoncé picked up two nominations—Favorite Female Country Artist and Favorite Country Album for Cowboy Carter. In her own words, it was “a Beyoncé album.” But apparently, name recognition matters more than genre integrity at the AMAs.
And who did they leave off?
Cody Johnson is selling out arenas, topping the country charts, and making records that sound like Texas and blood and grit. Zero nominations.
Miranda Lambert is the most awarded woman in ACM history and is still putting out heat and collaborating on high-profile projects. She has been completely ignored.
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Zach Top may be the most exciting young name in real-deal country music, whose Cold Beer and Country Music sounds like something George Strait would’ve cut in ’92. Also, nowhere to be found.
That’s not just disappointing. That’s deliberate.
And fans are calling it what it is:
“Zach Top got snubbed because he plays country music that actually sounds like country.”
“Cody’s doing the work. Stadiums. Hit records. No fluff. And they pretend he’s invisible.”
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“Beyoncé herself said Cowboy Carter wasn’t country. So why are we pretending it is?”
Even Zach Bryan, who earned five AMA nominations, didn’t get a single nod in the country field. Instead, the AMAs shoved him into the rock categories—next to Linkin Park and Pearl Jam. This is despite Bryan selling out shows as one of country’s biggest current voices and earning praise across the format.
The only thing the AMAs got remotely right? A Favorite Country Duo or Group nomination for The Red Clay Strays—a band grinding on the road and bringing real Southern roots back to the forefront. That pick? Fans applauded it.
The rest of the list? Feels like someone closed their eyes and picked whatever name was trending on TikTok.
And the problem isn’t Beyoncé herself. She can do whatever kind of music she wants—so can anyone else. But when award shows rebrand country music to fit in stars from other formats, they’re not elevating the genre—they’re erasing the people who live it.
This isn’t about genre “evolution.” It’s about respecting the artists who built the road Beyoncé’s now being chauffeured down.
Country doesn’t need outsiders to validate it, and it doesn’t need celebrity reinvention projects to be labeled “country” because they feature a banjo on track nine.
It needs artists like Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, and Zach Top to be recognized when they put in the work and keep the tradition alive.
The AMAs didn’t celebrate country music this year. They used it.
And fans? They’re not buying it.
