Beyoncé has ventured into country music with her latest hit, “Cowboy Carter,” which is making waves on the charts!
Her new album, which includes 27 tracks and is also known as “Act II,” was released at midnight and features some of the biggest names in country music.
There has been a lot of buzz around Beyoncé’s powerful cover of Dolly Parton’s classic song “Jolene,” and even Dolly herself makes an appearance on the album with a track titled “Dolly P.”
In the song, Dolly references Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” album and the character “Becky,” sharing a message that reflects on similarities between Becky and someone she knew in the past, albeit with a different hair color.
Beyoncé changed some of the words in her version of “Jolene,” singing lines like, “We’ve been deep in love for twenty years / I raised that man, I raised his kids / I know my man better than he knows himself (Hah, wait) / I can easily understand why you’re attracted to my man / But you don’t want this smoke / So shoot your shot with someone else (You heard me).”
Dolly Parton responded to the cover, saying, “Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble, and she deserves it!”
Country legend Willie Nelson features as a deejay on the album’s pretend KNTRY radio station in songs like “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson” and “Smoke Hour II.”
Beyoncé honors the first Black female country star Linda Martell in an interlude introducing “Ya Ya.”
The album includes duets such as “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus, “Levii’s Jeans” with Post Malone, and “Spaghettii” with Shaboozey.
Miley Cyrus showed appreciation for their collaboration, saying, “My admiration for Beyoncé runs even deeper now that we’ve created together. Thank you Beyoncé. You’re everything & more. Love you.”
Black country artists Rhiannon Giddens, Tanner Adell, and Willie Jones are also featured on the album.
Beyoncé’s 6-year-old daughter Rumi makes her debut on a unique track called “Protector,” where she asks for a lullaby at the start of the emotional song. Bey sings in the chorus, “I will guide you on your journey if you need help / Born to be a protector / Even though one day you’ll shine on your own / I will guide you.”
In the song “Sweet Honey Buckin’,” featuring hip-hop and country artist Shaboozey, Beyoncé talks about continually missing out on the Album of the Year Grammy. Her husband JAY-Z also addressed issues with the Recording Academy during this year’s award show. Beyoncé sings, “A-O-T-Y, I didn’t win (Let’s go) / I wasn’t shaken by it / Take it on the chin / Come back and own it.”
Earlier this month, Beyoncé shared on Instagram, “I have some surprises on the album and worked with talented artists I deeply admire. I hope you can feel my emotions, love, and passion in every sound.”
She also mentioned, “This is not a Country album. It’s a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is Act II COWBOY CARTER, and I am excited to share it with you all!”
Beyoncé expressed her gratitude to fans for supporting her singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” She said, “I am proud to be the first Black woman with a number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. Your support made it happen. I hope that in the future, an artist’s race won’t matter for music genres.”
The Grammy winner explained that the album took over five years to create. It was inspired by a time when she felt unwelcome and decided to explore the history of Country music. Beyoncé believes music can bring people together globally and give a platform to those who teach about music history.
