Kacey Musgraves' New Album Ineligible for Country Music Nomination at Grammys, Label Reacts

Kacey Musgraves‘ new album, star-crossed, is not eligible to be nominated for Best Country Album at the 2022 Grammys.

Cindy Mabe, the president of Universal Music Group Nashville, responded to the news with a letter penned to Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. about the decision, via Billboard on Tuesday (October 12).

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The decision was made during the Recording Academy’s annual screening committee meeting last week, according to the letter.

“This decision from the country committee to not accept star-crossed into the country albums category is very inconsistent and calls into question the other agendas that were part of this decision,” she wrote.

“As a prime stakeholder in country music, I would really like to frame what’s happening in our genre right now and help you and the Grammy’s [sic] fully understand the importance of Kacey Musgraves to country music and why this decision is so much more than an entry point for an awards show. Taking her out of the country category actually does harm to a format struggling with change and inclusivity overall,” she continued.

“The numbers speak and are a matter of public record with women making up only 10 percent of all country airplay. This year alone country music has been mired in the controversy surrounding one of the formats biggest artists, Morgan Wallen, who used a racial slur and grew fans and audience from it. THIS IS NOT ALL THAT WE ARE. Under the surface are the artists that change it all and they are led by the example of Kacey Musgraves.”

According to the description for eligibility for best country album, the album must contain “51% playing time of new country recordings.”

“Sonically, it’s got more country instrumentation than Golden Hour which won Country Album of the Year in 2019. To compare Golden Hour to star-crossed, both albums were produced by Ian Fitchuk, Daniel Tashian and Kacey Musgraves…there is no departure in sound from these two projects. This album was consistently classified as country throughout it’s [sic] metadata and overall labeling across the DSP accounts and partners,” the label exec also pointed out.

“I haven’t slept all weekend because I’m really sad for our format. I’m sad for fans of our music and the ramifications of how we’ll continue to define success in country music. This short-sided, biased decision will send ripples throughout our format to continue to insure [sic] that the message is sent that country music can only be for the limited few that enjoy the same perspective,” she added in the letter.

Kacey Musgraves recently stripped down live and made history while doing so.