Luke Bryan's 'country albums' comment shuts down any hope of Beyonce's return to 'American Idol'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Beyonce's chances of being a part of the singing reality show 'American Idol' have become dimmer after one of the show's judges, Luke Bryan, delivered the 'country albums' remarks.

Bryan seemed to defend the Country Music Association's (CMA) snub of Beyonce's crossover album 'Cowboy Carter' after it received zero nominations at the 2024 CMA Awards, according to Life & Style Magazine.

Luke Bryan's comments on Beyonce hampers her chances of appearing on 'American Idol'

Luke Bryan, who is set to host the CMA Awards in November, said during an appearance on Andy Cohen's 'SiriusXM' show, "If you’re going to make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit."

He added, "I'm all for everybody coming in and making country albums and all that. But just by declaring that, just because she made one, I don't need [a nomination], just 'cause I make one."

Bryan's remarks led to Dolly Parton’s apparent diss that branded Beyonce's effort a "specialty album". She said during an interview with Variety, "There’s so many wonderful country artists that, I guess probably the country music field, they probably thought, well, we can’t really leave out some of the ones that spend their whole life doing that. But I didn’t even realize that until somebody asked me that question."

She added, "But it was a wonderful album. She can be very, very proud of, and I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good. So I don’t think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose. I think it was just more of what the country charts and the country artists were doing, that do that all the time, not just a specialty album."

Moreover, a source claimed that the makers of 'American Idol' were not impressed with Bryan's remarks and would have been thrilled to have Beyonce appear on the reality show.

The R&B star last appeared on the show for the season 10 finale in 2011 when she performed her hit 'Crazy in Love.'

Luke Bryan clarifies remarks about Beyonce and country music

Luke Bryan clarified his remarks about Beyonce and country music after receiving backlash from both county music and Beyonce fans. Bryan took to X on Monday, October 7, to address the situation and emphasized that his remarks were not meant to be negative or dismissive of Beyonce's accomplishments.

He wrote, "Hey y'all, I’m wrapping up the last night of my tour tonight and it’s been an amazing time. For that, I am thankful. I am posting tonight based on the ridiculous nature of the headlines I have read the last couple days from an interview on the Andy Cohen show I did this week when I was promoting my album."

He went on, "I feel in my heart I could not let media create a false narrative. As I read thru the comments of some of you I just want to say that I encourage all of you to listen to the interview instead of reading click bait headlines."

He concluded, "You will hear my tone and intentions which were not negative. I respect Beyonce and I love how loyal her fans are. I spend a lot of time supporting other artists. I want everyone to win. Love yall."