Shaboozey is speaking out after that viral moment during the 2025 American Music Awards.
On Monday (May 26), the 30-year-old “Tipsy (A Bar Song)” singer and Megan Moroney presented the Favorite Country Duo or Group award winner at the ceremony.
“Country music has been an important part of AMA history,” he said. “The very first year of this show, the award for Favorite Male Country Artist went to the great Charley Pride.”
“That same year, Favorite Female Artist went to Lynn Anderson. And this award went to the Carter family, who basically invented country music,” Megan read off the teleprompter, which prompted Shaboozey to side-eye the comment.
Keep reading to find out more…
He let out a brief laugh before introducing the “very impressive” nominees for the Favorite Country Duo or Group category, as the reaction went viral on social media.
The next day (May 27), Shaboozey seemingly addressed the viral moment.
“When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased…” he wrote on social media, seemingly in reference to Black influence on country music.
The Carter family are considered the first family in country music, per the Country Music Hall of Fame and “essentially invented the kind of harmony singing used for years in the music, and popularized numerous songs that became country standards.”
When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased…
— Shaboozey (@ShaboozeysJeans) May 27, 2025
However, the Carter Family was influenced by Lesley Riddle, a Black guitar player who assisted the family in gathering “song material” almost 100 years ago, via Time. The publication also notes that the genre “is indebted to African and African-American traditions, but commercial decisions by white industry executives led to their exclusion from the genre for decades.”
Country musician Hank Williams was mentored by Black guitar player Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, while Gus Cannon served as a mentor for Johnny Cash, People also notes.
DeFord Bailey, a Black harmonica player, was the first artist to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Beyonce dedicated her Cowboy Carter win to Linda Martell, the first Black female country singer who worked with her on the album.
Find out more about the viral moment.
Source: justjared.com