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Country singer Shaboozey's reaction to Megan Moroney's comment about the Carter Family during the 2025 American Music Awards has gone viral. On Monday, May 26, 2025, the pair took the stage in Las Vegas to present the award in the Favorite Country Duo or Group category.
The A Bar Song (Tipsy) hitmaker began by noting that country music has been an integral part of the AMAs' history. He pointed out that Charley Pride was the first-ever recipient of Favorite Male Country Artist. However, things took a turn when Moroney began reading off the teleprompter, saying:
"That same year, Favorite Female Artist went to Lynn Anderson, and this award (Favorite Country Duo or Group) went to the Carter family, who basically invented country music."
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Initially surprised, Shaboozey paused, gave a quick side-eye to Megan, then laughed and continued with the presentation. Here's a look at the singer's reaction:
Notably, the Carter Family was an American folk music group that performed between 1927 and 1956. The original members were A.P. Carter, Sara Carter, and Maybelle Carter. They are credited with putting country music on the commercial map.
Shaboozey's side-eye and laugh went viral, with many sharing hilarious reactions. One netizen wrote:
"Lmao bombastic side eye."
Here are some more responses seen under @theneighborhoodtalk's post on Instagram:
Some netizens clarified that the aforementioned group was unrelated to Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z (Shawn Carter).
It is worth noting that country music is a complex genre with roots in several older musical traditions. These include folk songs and traditional music brought by English, Celtic, and other European immigrants, the musical heritage of enslaved Africans, Indigenous music traditions from North America, and even traditional music from Mexico and Canada.
In an interview with the HuffPost, Alice Randall—a bestselling author and a professor at Vanderbilt University—explained that the Black roots of the genre often get ignored.
The Carter Family is hailed as the First Family of Country Music by the Country Music Hall of Fame
The Carter Family made their first recording at the famed 1927 Bristol Sessions—a series of recording sessions held in Bristol, Tennessee, by producer Ralph Peer. These sessions are hailed as the "Big Bang" of modern country music, launching the genre onto the commercial front.
A.P. Carter, along with his wife Sara Carter and her cousin Maybelle Carter (who married A.P.'s brother Ezra Carter), auditioned for Peer after seeing an advertisement placed in a local newspaper, according to Britannica.
The trio grew up in southwest Virginia, listening to local mountain gospel music and sharp note singing, according to a profile on the group by the Country Music Hall of Fame. A.P., known as one of the greatest song collectors and arrangers in country music history, later incorporated these influences into the group's songs.
Sara sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar or autoharp. Maybelle, a teenager at the time, sang harmony and played lead guitar. She helped create the group's hallmark sound with her distinctive guitar-playing style (using her thumb to play the melody on the bass string while using her index finger to play the rhythm), a.k.a. Carter Scratch.
The Carter Family's very first recording was Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow, an old folk song that A.P. modified. From there, they became country music stars and one of the first groups to record commercially produced music in the genre.
Over the next two decades, they recorded over 300 songs for various labels, encompassing old ballads, humorous songs, sentimental songs, and even religious music. The Carter Family's musical experiments influenced genres like bluegrass, country, southern gospel, pop, American folk revival, and rock.
The group disbanded in 1943, but its members later formed other groups. Maybelle performed with her daughters (including June, who would go on to marry Johnny Cash) and also performed with Cash. The original trio's grandchildren revived the group as Carter Family III, releasing their first album, Past & Present, in 2010.
Some of their well-known songs include Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Wildwood Flower, and Keep on the Sunny Side. Despite their fame and recognition, the Carter Family never enjoyed financial success like Jimmie Rodgers, another Bristol Sessions find.
Nevertheless, they were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and given the nickname The First Family of Country Music. The Carter Family was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988.
The Favorite Country Duo or Group eventually went to Dan + Shay. The 2025 AMAs are available to stream on Paramount+.
