Beyoncé's journey in the country music realm has been a topic of much discussion. Despite facing a lack of nominations at the Country Music Association Awards, her album "Cowboy Carter" has continued to make waves. Just recently, it earned her more nominations in the genre at this year's Billboard Music Awards.

Beyoncé's Billboard Music Awards Nominations

The "Ya Ya" singer is nominated for top country female artist, top dance/electronic artist, and top country album at the Billboard Music Awards, which will air on December 12. This year marks the first time Beyoncé is up for awards in country categories. She has a total of 16 career wins at the award show.The country music nods come less than a week after the CMA Awards, where Beyoncé received zero nominations for her acclaimed album. However, she was nominated for 11 Grammys for her eighth studio album, including five awards in the country and American roots field for the first time. Seven different songs from "Cowboy Carter" are nominated across four different genres at the award show, and Beyoncé received more nominations in the country categories than any other artist.The lack of recognition at the CMA Awards was met with criticism, with many fans questioning why the album wasn't recognized at the esteemed country award show. Other country music stars also came to the singer's defense.As fans know, Beyoncé first announced her eighth studio album during a surprise Super Bowl commercial in February when she released singles "16 Carriages" and "Texas Hold ‘Em." The songs instantly took the internet by storm, and the album once it was released.Prior to releasing "Cowboy Carter," Beyoncé opened up about creating the project and her struggles within the country music genre, referencing her 2016 CMA Awards performance.Since dropping the album on March 29, she has broken many records and made history on multiple fronts. The 27-track project has been a huge catalyst for the recent spotlight on Black country artists and the genre's roots.

Collaborator Shaboozey's Nominations

"Cowboy Carter" collaborator Shaboozey is also nominated for Billboard awards for the first time with a total of six nods. He was also nominated at the CMA Awards for new artist of the year and single of the year for his smash hit, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," which interpolates the throwback rap song "Tipsy" by J-Kwon. The "Tipsy" singer also scored five Grammy nods.The Billboard Music Awards ceremony will be broadcast on multiple platforms including Fox, Paramount+, and Amazon Fire at 8 p.m. ET on December 12.Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok, and X as @cachemcclay.