Shaboozey Supporters, Including Lil Nas X, Rally Behind Him After CMAs Treatment

Shaboozey is gaining supporters of all stripes, including Lil Nas X, after the musician behind the hit country single "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" — the unmistakable Shaboozey smash that spent eighteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 this year — failed to take home the Single of the Year award at the 2024 CMAs on Wednesday (Nov. 20).

While "A Bar Song" was nominated in that category, it was passed over in favor of Chris Stapleton's "White Horse" as Single of the Year. Shaboozey was also nominated for New Artist of the Year, but he lost that CMA to Megan Moroney at the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

To add insult to injury, Shaboozey was "plagued by microaggressions being played off as jokes" at the CMAs on Wednesday, as Rolling Stone wrote — such as when his name was used as the butt of a joke to present a category he wasn't even nominated in.

"I got to tell you, this is for this cowboy who's been kicking Shaboozey for a lot of years," producer Trent Willmon joked when Cody Johnson accepted the Album of the Year award.

"Ain't nobody kicking me!" Shaboozey responded on social media, the quip appended to a photo of him raising his arms in what appeared to be a jokey show of faux frustration. "Keep doing ur sh*t!!" Lil Nas X replied. "They can't stop u!!" (See the posts below.)

However, Shaboozey also said he was grateful. After all, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" charted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, succeeding Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em," making it the first time that two consecutive Black artists held the number-one position on that chart. (However, Bey's country music turn, this year's Cowboy Carter, was not recognized by the CMAs.)

"Couldn't have ever in my wildest dreams imagined being here," Shaboozey conveyed in a series of follow-up posts. "I'm grateful for all of it." He also said, "Win or lose, I'm blessed by something or someone that has a power beyond my understanding."

Further embracing positivity, Shaboozey said, "I'm here today hopefully living in my purpose and if my music makes even the tiniest positive impact in someone's life I can die with a smile. Country music changed my life and I'm forever grateful to it and for it."

Still, those miffed with the CMAs voiced their opinions. "The fact that Shaboozey didn't win a single Country Music Award despite having the #1 country song for like 3 months straight is proof that they don't want somebody black to be the face of country music," the artist Breezy Supreme said on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday (Nov. 21).

See several more commenters sticking up for Shaboozey below:

Tags

CMA Awards, Lil Nas X, Country Music, CMA