On September 10, Kacey Musgraves released her highly anticipated fourth studio album, Star-Crossed, detailing her painful divorce from ex-husband, Ruston Kelly. However, the album, which veers more mainstream than the singer’s country roots, was recently ruled ineligible to be considered in the country category at the Grammys next year, and will rather contend for the award among other pop albums.
You can take the girl out of the country (genre) but you can’t take the country out of the girl. pic.twitter.com/dZaqoFsI7I
— K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) October 13, 2021
Musgraves, who has won six Grammys in the country category, shared her thoughts on the genre change on Twitter on October 13, taking to the platform to make a lighthearted joke of the situation. The singer tweeted, “You can take the girl out of the country (genre) but you can’t take the country out of the girl,” accompanied by a sweet photo of a young Musgraves wearing a pink cowboy hat and grinning for the camera.
The decision can hardly be considered a snub, however, with Star-Crossed still being considered for best Pop Vocal Album. According to Billboard, the decision was made by the Recording Academy’s country screening board, who deemed the album a pop hit instead. Other contenders for this award are Olivia Rodrigo’s first studio album, SOUR, and Doja Cat’s Planet Her.
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Fans were not thrilled with the latest update, responding to Musgraves’ tweet to share their frustration with the singer. One fan wrote, “The Grammys clearly have no clue what country is or the direction in which the genre is evolving and they obviously aren’t worthy of you gracing their little ceremony with your presence. Love you, Kacey.”
Another person added, “This is literally ridiculous. If Kacey isn’t Country then what could she possibly be? Could Reba or Dolly be something else? There are people classified as “country” who can’t sing a note in any genre, but here we are.” Despite the outrage, Musgraves has still been busy promoting her new album, most recently appearing on SNL in October and performing a collection of songs in the nude behind her guitar–bold!
