With over 200 million records sold as a soloist, nine Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers and more than two dozen Grammy’s under her belt, Beyoncé’s musical legacy extends to country music with Cowboy Carter. As part of her trilogy of albums which began with Renaissance in 2022, Cowboy Carter fuses country and R&B into a blend that reasserts country music’s Black roots.
The album contains collaborations with many noted musical figures including Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Post Malone and Linda Martell with a runtime of around 1 hour and 20 minutes. Additionally, several other rising country singers are featured on the album and singers Raye and Raphael Saadiq wrote songs for the album.
The album features notable covers of iconic songs from the 20th century, including “Blackbird” by The Beatles (stylized as “BLACKBIIRD”) which songwriter Paul McCartney said is about Black women’s experiences during the Civil Rights movement of the 60s.
Perhaps the song that most notably signals Beyoncé’s approach to country music with this album is her cover of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic “Jolene.” She includes recognizable elements of the song while still making it her own by adding her signature singing style and relating it to her own life.
After hinting at the project in a Verizon super bowl commercial, the Texas singer dropped two singles during the game including “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” which quickly became the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. When the album released on March 29, it became the biggest album debut of 2024 so far, nearing 80 million streams in 24 hours.
Standout tracks from the album include “PROTECTOR,” “BODYGUARD,” “JOLENE,” “II MOST WANTED” (featuring Miley Cyrus), “LEVII’S JEANS (featuring Post Malone),” and “RIIVERDANCE.” While the album’s run can feel lengthy at times, Beyonce does not waste a moment through the several interludes and collaborations.
Beyonce stated on her Instagram, “(The album) was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t.” Many speculated that the backlash from her 2016 Country Music Awards performance was the experience she referenced. Through this experience, Beyoncé created an album that she said in the same post “ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album” that reminds listeners of the genre’s roots in African-American folk music. Since the release of the two lead singles, several Black country singers’ streams increased, and in some cases by 250 percent.
While the album boasts a lengthy runtime of nearly an hour and a half, Beyonce once again proves her standing as one of the most important musical figures in popular music by expanding her audience and sound through a country-inspired album. Audiences will enjoy the project’s upbeat tracks and will appreciate the important cultural motifs of country music featured throughout the project.
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