Beyoncé released her new album Cowboy Carter last Friday.
The country project features 27 tracks including duets with both Post Malone on Levi’s Jeans and Miley Cyrus on II Most Wanted. Also featured are musicians Shaboozey, Willie Jones Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Tanner Adell and Reyna Roberts.
The album includes a handful of country music legends such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Linda Martell and also sees Beyoncé cover Parton’s generation-defining tune Jolene.
There was mixed feedback ahead of the release of Cowboy Carter with critics questioning if Queen Bey is risking her entire music career to go country. However, the two singles already released, Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages have not only been commercial success, but her venture into this new genre has ignited excitement surrounding country music and the culture associated with it.
The singer revealed that the album was inspired by backlash to her entering country genre. This project was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed,” she explained.
Cowboy Carter is the second instalment of a three-part musical project that started with the release of Beyoncé’s 2022 dance music album, Renaissance, and many believe it is her powerful attempt to reclaim genres of music that were originally pioneered by Black artists.