Photo by Amy Harris/REX
On Wednesday, November 2, many of country music’s biggest stars came together for the 50th Country Music Association awards, and among the country stars was the surprising addition of pop star Beyonce.
The megastar joined the Dixie Chicks on stage for a medley of songs including Beyonce’s apparent country track “Daddy Lessons,” and her involvement in the country music event was met with mixed reactions.
Many fans have voiced their displeasure of having a pop star steal the spotlight when she already has lots of attention in her own genre, and some country stars weren’t particularly happy about it either including Travis Tritt. The country artist took to his twitter to rant about the performance, writing, “Thanks to everyone who came out to see us in Bowling Green, KY tonight. Sorry we weren’t able to do any Beyonce for all the country fans.”
He continued, “FYI- My band and I are gonna try to work up Beyonce’s “All The Single Ladies” for all you die hard country fans who love traditional music! I want to know when the BET or SoulTrain awards are gonna ask a country artist to perform on their awards show?”
As some began to defend Beyonce, Tritt clarified his words, tweeting, “As I see it, country music has appealed to millions for many years. We can stand on our own and don’t need pop artists on our awards show. I love honest to God country music and feel the need to stand up for it at all costs. We don’t need pop or rap artists to validate us.” Soon, many Beyonce fans, and other social media users labeled Tritt’s critcisms as racist causing him to add, “…Never thought I would ever be labeled as a racist. What is so wrong with allowing pop/rap/country/R&B/soul/gospel/bluegrass/blues or rock shows celebrating their backgrounds?”