Country singer Gavin Adcock has spoken out against Beyoncé‘s “Cowboy Carter,” stating during a recent live performance “that shit ain’t country music.”
Adcock put Beyoncé in the crosshairs after opining that “Cowboy Carter” was ahead of other records on the Apple Music country charts. “One of them’s Beyoncé, you can tell her we’re coming for her fuckin’ ass,” he said. “That shit ain’t country music and it ain’t ever been country music and it ain’t gonna be country music.”
Adcock, who was nominated for new male artist of the year at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards, later posted a follow-up on social media explaining the reasoning behind his words for “Cowboy Carter,” which took home album of the year at the Grammys in February.
“I’ma go ahead and clear this up,” he said. “When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car. I’ve heard a ton of Beyoncé songs and I actually remember her Super Bowl Halftime Show being pretty kick-ass back in the day. But I really don’t believe her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top just because she’s Beyoncé.”
Beyoncé previously explained that the idea for “Cowboy Carter” came to her after she went through an experience where she did “not feel welcomed” by the country music establishment. “It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed… and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she said on social media. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
She was likely referring to her performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the Country Music Association Awards in 2016 alongside the group then known as the Dixie Chicks. Even after she released “Cowboy Carter” and broke several records with the album, she was shut out of nominations for that same show, sparking a backlash against the institution.
Adcock, meanwhile, is gearing up for the release of his new album “My Own Worst Enemy” on August 15. He’s next slated to open for Morgan Wallen on four of the singer’s “I’m the Problem Tour” in Miami Gardens and Toronto.