ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors discuss explicit references to race comments mentioning Beyonce’s support for BLM or her 2016 Superbowl performance wherein she and her dancers wore Black Panther-inspired costumes. Beyonce’s 2017 Lemonade album had stirred up controversy because the video for the first single, “Formation,” featured multiple images aligning the artist with protests against police brutality. The authors describe the critical comments—comments that opposed Beyonce being part of the Country Music Awards (CMA) or pointed to some aspect that disqualified her from performing. Critical comments opposed or disapproved of the performance or performers, or presented any reason or claim that the performers were not qualified to be included in the CMA line-up. The track has many traits of a country song: a strong narrative, a twang in vocalization, and guitar and fiddle instrumentation, but the song and Beyoncé’s presence were not welcomed by many country fans. There was a backlash against the performance even before it took place.
