For over two decades , Beyoncé has been an unstoppable force in contemporary music. She reigns as an undisputed icon celebrated for her powerhouse vocals, electrifying performances, and boundary-pushing artistry.
However, while she is widely regarded as an experimentalist, she’d never explored the genre of country music. That changed in 2024 when Beyoncé dropped Cowboy Carter. The singer has showcased her country roots in bits and pieces throughout her career. But until 2024, she had never put out an entire body of work with primarily country elements.
The beyhive knows she is an intentional artist and master strategist, so they know she didn’t just stumble upon making a country album. However, many fans, old and new, remain curious as to why Beyoncé made an album like Cowboy Carter.
The conception of Cowboy Carter
Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed sixth studio album Lemonade was released on April 23, 2016. The experimental masterpiece included “Daddy Lessons,” a standout track notable for its country sound. However, several months after Lemonade dropped, “Daddy Lessons” became popular for another reason. During the 50th Annual Country Music Association Awards in November 2016, Beyoncé, accompanied by The Chicks, performed the song.
The performance sparked controversy among fans of country music, many of whom had discouraging reactions. Beyoncé’s performance at the CMAs that year was one of the most polarizing of 2016. While she was praised by many, there seemed to be an equal number of people who gave her flak for it. Unknown to most of us, the heavy criticism she faced following that performance ignited a spark in her heart. It would be several years before we would get to witness what that spark birthed.
Why did Beyoncé make a Country album?
Beyoncé officially kicked off the Cowboy Carter era on February 12, 2024. After her iconic Verizon ad premiered during the Super Bowl, she released the first two singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” The country-leaning tracks gave listeners a taste of what to expect from the then-unnamed album. However, many fans were still clueless about why she chose to go the country route for Act II. Subsequently, on March 19, 2024, Beyoncé revealed Cowboy Carter as the album title. In the caption of the Instagram post, she also revealed why she decided to make an album like Cowboy Carter.
This album has been over five years in the making. It 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. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history. The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.
The exact experience she was referring to was very apparent to many fans as they also witnessed the backlash that followed Beyoncé’s 2016 CMAs performance. In conclusion, Beyoncé wrote that Cowboy Carter “ain’t a country album” but rather is a “Beyoncé album.”
History in the making
Cowboy Carter was officially released on March 29, 2024, and with it, Beyoncé has broken new grounds. The album remains on top of the Billboard 200 chart, and has deservedly achieved widespread critical acclaim. Just as she did with her sixth studio album, Beyoncé took the lemons life gave her and made one-of-a-kind lemonade on Cowboy Carter.
