Beyoncé is drudging up old controversy. In her announcement for her upcoming album Cowboy Carter, the singer subtly shaded the CMAs. She hinted that she didn't feel welcomed during her 2016 performance with the Chicks. Now, Beyoncé's comments are resurrecting The Chicks' Natalie Maines' reaction to the controversy.
"The week we worked with Beyoncé is the single greatest working week of my professional life. It was awesome," Maines told Howard Stern. "She's a perfectionist and to see the power she has as a female and a Black female is incredible."
Maines said her collaboration with Beyoncé went from joy to pain due to the backlash and CMA's response.
"It's the highest-rated 15 minutes in CMA history. She was amazing," she said. "Then they started getting racist a—holes bombarding their website with comments and emails and whatever, so they take her down. They took our performance down and they caved to that bullsh—t ...then within 24 hours they put it back up again."
Beyoncé performed "Daddy Lessons" with The Chicks for the event. However, having Beyoncé ended up controversial. The backlash online caused the CMAs to remove her performance.
Beyoncé Shades the CMAs
She continued, "They're just cowards. It's just crazy. She just gave you your greatest ratings that you've ever gotten. How dare you take her song off?" The Chicks frontwoman said she wouldn't perform at the event again unless Beyoncé attended. "I said I'd never after 2003, but then when Beyoncé calls, you go, 'Oh, maybe this one last time,'" Maines laughed. "So, no. I'll only do it with Beyoncé."
@djjohnmichaelnyc I believe this is the event Beyonce is talking about in her Instagram caption where she said “It was born out of an experience I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear I wasn’t.” in regards to her CMA performance with The Chicks. #beyonce #cowboycarter #thechicks #nataliemaines #howardstern #foryoupage
In her announcement for her new album, Beyoncé shared her own thoughts on the matter. While she didn't specifically call out the CMAs, it's clear what she was referring to.
"This album has been over five years in the making. 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. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history," she said.
Beyoncé is dropping her new album as an answer to what happened at the event. "The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work," she wrote.
