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John Rich isn’t buying Beyoncé’s Queen of Country crown.

Beyoncé, an R&B legend, was handed the Best Country Album for “Cowboy Carter” at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Rich – a Christian, clued-in culture critic, and Country Music veteran – questioned the legitimacy of the awards process.

Beyoncé’s win was “historic” not because she’s black. She won because of the quid-pro-quo ‘Payola’ turning songwriters and musicians into puppets for profit.

Who wins and who doesn’t isn’t determined by the quality of music or quantity of sales, Rich argued.

Winning is all about who can make the best deal.

“Last night, the Grammys outed themselves in a big way,” he wrote on X.

“Labels/publishers all have blocks of votes. They make deals with each other: ‘You vote for mine, we’ll vote for yours’ type thing.

“It has ZERO to do with who made the best music, thus, Beyoncé with ‘Country Album of the Year’.

“Nice, right?

“The same thing is true with the CMAs, ACMs, Billboard, etc… all work exactly the same.”

In a follow-up post, Rich tagged Country Music’s Lainey Wilson and Beyoncé, making it clear he thought that if the system wasn’t shifty, Wilson would have won.

. @laineywilson > @Beyonce

— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) February 3, 2025

Wilson and Beyoncé were two of the five nominees for the Best Country Album award.

Chris Stapleton, Post Malone, and Kacey Musgraves were also nominated.

Corruption

When calling out the music industry’s quid-pro-quo culture, John Rich wasn’t overreaching.

The United States’ FCC has been asked by Republican Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn to investigate Payola schemes.

FCC boss Brendan Carr posted Blackburn’s letter on X, along with a commitment to defend songwriters and musicians from backroom pay-to-play deals.

Senator Blackburn wants the FFC to close loopholes that allow companies to exploit content creators.

“From what we’ve learned,” Blackburn wrote, “restrictions are being side-stepped by radio stations and networks by pressuring artists into performing free shows in exchange for airplay.”

If an artist refuses to play without getting paid, their airtime is quietly reduced.

“Radio stations and networks receive financial benefits from these shows,” Blackburn explained.

They profit from “ticket sales, sponsorships, and other income, while the artist and record labels frequently absorb the costs.

“It’s not unusual for artists to perform anywhere from 10 – 50 shows in any given year. Those just starting out often perform more.

“Free labour in exchange for airplay has to end,” Blackburn’s letter concluded.

John Rich and Senator Blackburn’s concerns about forced free labour in the industry appear well-founded.

Kalamity Kills frontman and co-founder Jamie Rowe told Caldron Pool,

“While Beyonce’s album is good pop music, it’s about as country as Kalamity Kills is Urban.

“I think the industry voting block system of the Grammy’s was undeniably revealed this time,” he added.

The former Guardian frontman and independent artist, with over 30 years of experience in the industry, just hit the Billboard Top 40 with Kalamity Kill’s suicide prevention song, Starry Skies (988).

So Inclusive

When accepting the award, Beyoncé said she didn’t expect to win.

The Fighting Temptations (2003) actress then thanked God for a long career and all the country artists who accepted the Cowboy Carter album.

Encouraging other artists to get Woke to being trans-genre, Beyoncé added,

“I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists.”

“I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent.”

Nominated 99 times throughout her career, Beyoncé has 33 Grammys on her shelf.

Expressing concerns about the quid-pro-quo probability behind Beyoncé’s Grammy, Megyn Kelly seemed to suggest the album – and win – was a complete DEI stunt, calling Beyoncé “overrated”.

“Frank Sinatra got 11 Grammys. The Beatles won 7. Judy Garland won 2.”

Quoting John Rich, Kelly asserted, “We’re not buying it.”

“We know how she got this award, and how she got her 33 Grammys.”

Kelly’s stand supports Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville star John Schnieder’s February 2024 criticisms.

Schnieder was labelled a racist for suggesting the album was rigged.

He compared the Woke Left parading Beyoncé around as a Country artist to a dog marking its territory.

“The lefties in the entertainment industry just won’t leave any area alone, right?”

“They just have to seize control over every aspect, don’t they?” he protested on One America News.

His comments were quickly misconstrued by rank n’ file keyboard “antiracists” as a racist attack on Beyoncé.

Dishonest critics then tried to frame Schnieder’s words as justification for CRT, DEI, and BLM Inc., claiming his “hate” was evidence of systemic racism.

TMZ illustrated the majority of attacks – vis-a-vis garbage revisionism – by accusing Schnieder of “comparing Beyoncé to a urinating dog.”

Spotting the agenda, Schnieder stared down the frenzied assault, and in an April 2024 Facebook post, said that people were abusing Beyoncé’s foray into Country music to push their own racist doctrines.

Finding an earlier alignment with John Rich, Schnieder protested the industry’s quid-pro-quo practices, adding,

“It is painfully obvious to me that her team has simply figured out a way to use what we used to call ‘Payola’ to purchase a hit.”

Schnieder said he had nothing against Beyoncé or her talent; his argument was with Cultural Marxists forcing identity politics into Country Music.