LOS ANGELES, March 28 — The wait is almost over. On March 29, Beyoncé will release her eighth studio album, titled Act II Cowboy Carter. On this record, the American singer tries out new registers and proves, for those who might still doubt it, that she is one of the most versatile voices in American music.
“Act II Cowboy Carter” channels country influences
Just under two years after the critical and public acclaim of Renaissance, Beyoncé is back with a new album in which she redraws the contours of country music. Fans of the superstar may have already anticipated this musical shift following her appearance at the recent Grammy Awards on February 5. For the occasion, Beyoncé donned a wide-brimmed white cowboy hat, heralding a new era in her music.
A few days later, the multi-platinum artist confirmed her fans’ suspicions during the Super Bowl by announcing new music in a commercial and then immediately sharing two tracks from her forthcoming eighth studio album on the internet. Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages are produced by Raphael Saadiq, with whom Beyoncé’s sister Solange Knowles previously collaborated on her album A Seat at the Table. 16 Carriages is the track where the country sound is most strongly evident, although the acoustic guitars and bass drum of Texas Hold ‘Em also recall this emblematic genre of the American Deep South.
While Act II Cowboy Carter is an exploration of traditional American music, Beyoncé insists that it is not a country album. “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she explains on Instagram. She adds that the album is Act II of her three-part “Renaissance” project.
Musical and social vindication
The notion of renaissance is at the heart of Act II Cowboy Carter, first of all, from a musical point of view. Beyoncé first explored the country repertoire in 2016 with Daddy Lessons, from her hit album Lemonade. This song, in which the singer settles scores with her husband, Jay-Z, and her father, Mathew Knowles, was denied the “country” label to compete at the Grammy Awards. This setback did not prevent her from performing Daddy Lessons at the Country Music Association Awards, accompanied by The Chicks.
But once again, Beyoncé’s performance wasn’t appreciated by everyone. Her performance was roundly criticised by some country music fans, and even by such icons of the genre as Travis Tritt. “As a country artist I’m insulted that the CMA thinks we have to have a pop artist on our award show to appeal to big crowds,” he said at the time, according to ET Canada.
The American superstar recently recalled this episode in her career in an Instagram post. “[‘Act II Cowboy Carter’] 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 .... The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she wrote.
In releasing a country-sounding album, Beyoncé joins a long line of African-American artists who have tried their hand at this musical genre. These include Lesley Riddle, Ray Charles, Lionel Richie and Charley Pride. Pride released over 50 successful country songs between the 1960s and the 1980s, according to the New York Times. Linda Martell, The Pointer Sisters and Tina Turner have also released country-style tracks.
More recently, Lil Nas X rejuvenated the old-fashioned, conservative image of the country repertoire with a rap twist in his track Old Town Road. In the video for this song, the artist rides a horse in a faded cowboy outfit. Despite these allusions to the world of the Western, and the participation of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road does not feature in Billboard’s chart dedicated to this musical genre. The magazine judged that the song did not “embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”
Already seeing critical and popular success
Luckily, Beyoncé didn’t suffer the same fate with the first two singles from Act II Cowboy Carter. Texas Hold ‘Em debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, while 16 Carriages reached number nine. This feat earned her the congratulations of country icon Dolly Parton. “Congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single. Can’t wait to hear the full album,” the legendary artist wrote on Instagram.
Beyoncé is the first African-American woman to have a single top the Hot Country Songs chart She is also the second solo female artist in history to debut at number one on that chart, according to the Guardian. Before her, Taylor Swift scored debut number ones in the Hot Country Songs list with the re-recordings of her tracks Love Story and All too Well” It’s safe to assume that more songs from Act II Cowboy Carter will appear on this chart when the album is released on March 29. — ETX Studio
