NEWSControversy Erupts: Gavin Adcock Calls Out Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' as Non-Country
Gavin Adcock criticized Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter,' calling it non-country.
July 11 2025, Published 9:00 p.m. ET
Country singer Gavin Adcock is stirring the pot with his bold criticism of Beyoncé's song "Cowboy Carter," declaring during a recent live performance that "that s--- ain't country music."
Gavin Adcock went viral for his remarks.
Adcock didn't hold back as he vented his frustrations regarding Knowles' track topping the Apple Music country charts.
"One of them's Beyoncé, you can tell her we're coming for her f-----' a--," he said. "That s--- ain't country music and it ain't ever been country music and it ain't gonna be country music."
Beyoncé won the Grammy for Best Country Album and accepted the award from Taylor Swift.
The artist, who is nominated for new male artist of the year at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards, later took to social media to clarify his stance on "Cowboy Carter," which snagged the album of the year award at the Grammys this past February.
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"I'ma go ahead and clear this up," he stated.
"When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car. I've heard a ton of Beyoncé songs and I actually remember her Super Bowl Halftime Show being pretty kick-a-- back in the day. But I really don't believe her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn't sound country, it doesn't feel country, and I just don't think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top just because she's Beyoncé."
Beyoncé’s Christmas Halftime Show featured songs from 'Cowboy Carter.'
Beyoncé has previously opened up about the inspiration behind Cowboy Carter, sharing that the song was born out of her own feelings of exclusion from the country music scene.
"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," she shared on social media. "But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive."
Beyoncé performed 'Daddy Lessons' with the Dixie Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards.
She likely referenced her performance of "Daddy Lessons" at the Country Music Association Awards in 2016, where she collaborated with the group then known as the Dixie Chicks. Despite the success of Cowboy Carter, a song that shattered numerous records, Beyoncé faced backlash after being shut out of nominations for that same awards show.
