Kelsea Ballerini Defends Beyoncé’s Country Grammy Nominations: ‘It’s Amazing’

Kelsea Ballerini believes there’s room for everyone in the country world.

While visiting SiriusXM’s Fierce: Women in Music, the “Peter Pan” star shared her support for Beyoncé, who shifted into the country music space with her Billboard 200-topping album Cowboy Carter and faced unnecessary controversy for her decision to do so. The project is nominated for multiple Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 2), including album of the year, and Ballerini is in support of it.

“That category, to me, represents what country music has been this year, and that’s what the album of the year category should represent,” Ballerini shared. “What has happened in country music has been successful and groundbreaking this year. I don’t really understand the other opinions other than like, it’s amazing to have huge, respected artists and other genres come in and celebrate ours.”

She continued, “I don’t understand why that would be anything but great. You don’t have to be a country artist to make a country record. Those don’t have to exist in the same plane.”

Bey is nominated for 11 awards at this year’s Grammy ceremony, with Cowboy Carter up for album of the year and best country album. The project’s lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” is nominated for song of the year, record of the year and best country song. Meanwhile, “Ya Ya” is up for best Americana performance, “16 Carriages” is nominated for best country solo performance, “Levii’s Jeans” with Post Malone is up for best pop duo/group performance, “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus is nominated for best country duo/group performance, “Spaghettii” with Linda Martell and Shaboozey is up for best melodic rap performance and, lastly, “Bodyguard” snagged a best pop solo performance.

The star was noticeably snubbed at the 2024 CMA Awards, receiving zero nominations despite Cowboy Carter‘s critical and commercial success.