Miranda Lambert won’t have to compete against Garth Brooks at the 2020 CMA Awards, but she has mixed feelings about the living country music legend withdrawing himself from consideration in the Entertainer of the Year category. She shared her reaction to this move during an interview with the Los Angeles Times that was published on September 16.
Many country fans weren’t exactly thrilled when the “Friends in Low Places” singer took home his seventh EOTY award in 2019. Those who were the most unhappy about his win seemed to be Carrie Underwood fans, who did not hold back when voicing their displeasure on social media. As reported by The Inquisitr , Garth recently revealed that the social media backlash played into his decision to announce that he did not want to be considered for the honor in 2020.
Miranda has always been a staunch supporter of other women in the country music industry, and she sided with the fans who believed that it was her “Somethin’ Bad” duet partner’s turn to take home the trophy in 2019.
“I think that last year was b— and that Carrie should’ve taken it,” she said.
Now, Miranda has become competition for the “Jesus Take the Wheel” hitmaker in the EOTY category. The three male singers they’re going up against are Eric Church, Luke Combs, and Keith Urban. This is Miranda’s fourth nomination and Carrie’s third. The last female singer to win the award was Taylor Swift, who took it home in 2011.
L.A. Times reporter Mikael Wood wrote that Miranda’s reaction to Garth’s gesture captured a feeling that it was “more about him” and less about the often undervalued female artists who might benefit from his withdrawal. Miranda went on to say that she felt a bit “grudge-y” about the male musician’s announcement, even though she’s loved him as an artist since she was a little girl. She revealed that she actually thinks he made the wrong move, but she’s satisfied with how the 2020 EOTY nominations turned out.
“There’s times and places for things, and I just felt like it was the wrong thing. But this year I’m excited because I feel like it’s the way that it should be,” she said. “And maybe that’s because he pulled out of it; I don’t know. But I think everyone in the category deserves to be there.”
Miranda leads in nominations for the 54th annual CMA Awards . The “Bluebird” songstress also received nods in the album, music event, single, song, female vocalist, and video categories. The awards ceremony will air on Wednesday, November 11, on ABC.