“Time to Let the Fans Vote”: Dylan Scott and Other Country Artists React to Beyoncé's Controversial 2025 Best Country Album Grammy Award Win

During the momentous 2025 Grammy Awards in LA, Beyoncé took home a trio of coveted accolades for her debut country record, COWBOY CARTER, including Best Country Album, Best Duo/Group Country Performance for ‘II Most Wanted’ with Miley Cyrus and the most prestigious gong of the evening, Album of the Year.

While many have been celebrating the ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ hitmaker's triumphs for pushing the genre into a new echelon of global visibility, a number of country artists have taken to socials to express their frustration at the Record Academy's choices.

Dylan Scott, for instance, has voiced his anger at Beyoncé winning Best Country Album in the comments sections of an array of country music social media outlets, with the ‘Boys Back Home’ crooner arguing that awards shows should be fan-voted.

Under one post, Scott outlined, “Time to let the fans vote! Award shows have become fake and what the narrative is. The fans are the ONLY thing that’s real. So instead of a “board” of industry people voting and manipulating the system, leave it to the fans”.

In another, the Louisiana singer-songwriter vented about the Grammy Awards’ voting system, with only Recording Academy members able to take part in the process, “🤐…actually, nah I’ll say something. If “Award” shows let the fans vote, they’d actually MEAN something. The fans are the ONLY reason any of us get to do this, not some big wigs/or a board of people inside the industry. LET THE FANS SPEAK!”

Dylan Scott went on to pose the question directly to listeners, asking, “Deserved or nah? Time to let the fans vote! That's the only REAL way to see who deserves an award”.

Elsewhere on social media, up-and-coming country artists Conner Smith and Greylan James offered thinly veiled digs at Beyonce's Best Country Album win, commenting under a post announcing her victory with a sarcastic “Lol” and “wut” respectively. Another fast-emerging artist, Coby James, went a step further, claiming, “It’s only so Hollywood can appease her so she doesn’t get mad or whatever. We all know this makes absolutely no sense and no one listened to this album”.

When Beyoncé's Best Country Album Grammy win was announced, the camera panned to Kacey Musgraves, with some suggesting her nonplussed expression betrayed a sense of aggravation at the result - but this feels like somewhat of an exaggeration.

Other artists, of course, have hailed Beyoncé's unprecedented victories in these categories as a colossal moment for the genre, with the global phenom continuing to introduce brand new fans to country music. Last year, Spotify revealed that COWBOY CARTER had brought more than 36 million listeners to country for the first time.

While there appear to be a plethora of reasons behind this backlash that has met Beyoncé's Grammy wins, it seems the leading motivator is the idea that other nominated artists had been contributing to the genre for years, while Beyoncé's foray into country music has been framed by some as a fleeting, cursory move that arose due to the genre enjoying bolstered traction and popularity in recent years.

Another bone of contention appears to be that COWBOY CARTER was interpreted by many as a slight directed at the genre, stemming from the hostile response Beyoncé's 2016 CMA Awards performance with The Chicks. COWBOY CARTER has been compared to Beyoncé's fellow Best Country Album nominee, Post Malone's F-1Trillion - another mainstream act that has crossed over - and the way in which Post immersed himself in the Nashville scene to craft the record, before performing at both the Ryman and the Opry as part of the rollout.

The country world remains divided on Beyoncé, with traditionalists lamenting her triumphs, while genre-blurring aficionados champion COWBOY CARTER as a huge step forward.

Wherever you stand on the subject of Beyoncé in country music, it seems safe to say this won't be the last time you see the Houston trailblazer donning a cowboy hat, with Beyoncé plotting a blockbuster Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour for 2025, featuring stops in New York, London, Paris, Las Vegas and more.

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