Sugarland Remember 2007 Beyoncé Collab, Praise Her Move Into Country: ‘It’s Just About Time’

When Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles was asked on the the red carpet at Sunday night’s (April 7) 2024 CMT Music Awards if she’d listened to Beyoncé‘s Billboard 200 No. 1 album Cowboy Carter the answer was a no-brainer.

“Of course! Who hasn’t?” Nettles said in mock horror about the country-leaning collection that secured Bey’s eighth chart-topper on the album chart. “What rock are you under if you haven’t?” Bandmate guitarist Kristian Bush added, “Oh my God and it’s just about time,” noting that the duo actually worked with Bey more than 15 years ago when they performed a cover of her song “Irreplaceable” at the 2007 American Music Awards that included Beyoncé joining them on stage for the second verse.

“She wanted to do it then,” Bush said of what seems to be a long-held desire by the Houston-bred R&B superstar to dip her toes into the country music world. “And we did it. We said yes, so we did and I’m so happy it’s finally come around. I’m so happy for her.”

Nettles noted that she was excited that Bey’s move into a proper country space “expands” the conversation around genre lines into a new place. “Real artists hate the idea of genre anyway,” she said. “It’s a manufactured thing for marketing. She wants to sing what she wants to sing. We want to sing what we want to sing. Everybody wants to write and sing what we want to write and sing and expand, so let her! Let her live!”

The pair also talked about the group’s excitement about their just-announced Take Me Home fall/winter 2024 tour with Little Big Town. “All the fans are excited,” Nettles said of the dates that were revealed on Sunday (April 7); the duo also performed their new single, a collaboration with Sugarland on Phil Collins’ 1985 solo single “Take Me Home,” which they played live at last night’s 2024 CMT Music Awards.