Beyoncé’s eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter” dropped Friday, and it did not disappoint the Beyhive.
To start, the list of collaborators is stunning. Across 27 tracks, Beyoncé is joined by a host of fellow genre-bending Black artists such as Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Tanner Adell and Reyna Roberts.
Not to mention the likes of country music legends Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Linda Martell. Then there’s Miley Cyrus and Post Malone.
Here’s everything we know about “Cowboy Carter,” from the track list to the collaborators to other standout moments. We’ll be updating this story throughout the night as we learn more.
‘Jolene’
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has given fans (and Dolly Parton) exactly what they’ve been waiting for — a cover of the country music legend’s hit 1973 single “Jolene.” But she’s put her own twist on it.
On her new album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé first includes Parton on an interlude titled “Dolly P.” in which Parton refers to her as “Miss Honey Bey” and bridges the gap from Jolene to “Becky with the good hair” from Beyoncé’s 2016 hit “Sorry.” In Parton’s version of “Jolene,” she pleads with a rival not to steal her man. However, Yoncé puts her own spin on the song, warning off her adversary with freestyle energy.
Read more about the cover track.
‘Blackbiird’
The inclusion of African-American country artists Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Brittney Spencer and Reyna Roberts on the harmonious and spiritual Beatles cover “Blackbiird” on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” is much more than an homage to the anthem Paul McCartney wrote for the White Album to address racial despair in the American South in the 1960s.
For instance, Tanner Adell’s not just featured because the world-traveled singer-songwriter is a student and scholar of the 32-time Grammy winner’s storied, three-decade-long career.
Rather, it’s because, in her own regard, the African-American female performer has developed a rabid social media following of what she once described to The Tennessean as a “passionate, yet unseen” group of people.
All four women have carved unique paths in Nashville.
Shaboozey
Shaboozey is featured on her tracks “Spaghettii” and “Sweet Honey Buckin'”
Born in Virginia, Shaboozey is a Nigerian-American singer and rapper who is best known for bridging hip-hop and country music. His single “Let It Burn” received over 8 million streams.
Last month, he released a music video for his latest single “Anabelle.” His album “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going” is set to be released May 31.
Read more about “Spaghetti” and “Sweet Honey Buckin.”
Willie Jones
Willie Jones is featured on “Just for Fun.”
The Louisiana musician is known for his fusion of hip-hop, R&B and country music. His 2023 album “Something To Dance To” was released under Sony Music Nashville in partnership with The Penthouse.
Ahead of this year’s Super Bowl, he released a cover of Usher’s hit “OMG.” He also hosts a show on Apple Music radio called “The Crossroads Radio With Willie Jones.”
Linda Martell
Linda Martell became the first female Black artist to crack the Top 25 of Billboard’s country charts in 1969 and was the first Black woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry stage, making 11 appearances between 1969 and 1975.
Beyoncé, who last month became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, features Martell in the interlude “The Linda Martell Show.” Martell introduces a song that “stretches across a range of genres.” She is also featured on a song titled “Spaghett,” along with crossover artist Shaboozey.
Miley Cyrus
Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus teamed up for a song about a classic Americana topic: cars and road trips. The two singers blend their distinctive voices on a new song on Beyoncé’s highly anticipated album “Cowboy Carter.”
The track “II Most Wanted” meanders down the 405, with hands and smoke drifting in the wind. Beyoncé and Cyrus are outlaws riding shotgun and in the backseat into a future together.
Last year, Cyrus reflected on performing alongside Beyoncé and Rihanna in 2008 for the Stand Up to Cancer program, when she was just a teenager.
During her “Used to Be Young” TikTok series, Cyrus said, “What I remember most from doing this performance is I was standing in between two of the big legends and icons that I was looking up to at the time, and they treated me like a little sister the entire time.”
Read more about “II Most Wanted.”
Post Malone
There’s likely one big reason Beyoncé featured Post Malone on her new album “Cowboy Carter.”
They grew up 300 miles apart along Interstate 45 in Texas — Post grew up between Dallas and Fort Worth in Grapevine and Beyoncé is from Houston.
Now they appear together on the sultry pop anthem “Levii’s Jeans.”
Their Texas roots now involve an anthem to lovestruck blue jeans alongside a love of everything from Red Dirt boot-scooting to Miranda Lambert ballads.
Read more about the collaboration.
Willie Nelson
It’s only appropriate that Beyoncé’s love of her Texas roots would extend to a deep admiration for 90-year-old Country Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Willie Nelson.
But having him prelude “Texas Hold ‘Em” is another level of Lone Star State fun.
The artist whose career spans over 150 albums has the type of peerless, genre-resistant influence that Queen Bey likely aims to have herself.
Read more about their collaboration.
‘Cowboy Carter’ track list
- “Ameriican Requiem”
- “Blackbiird,” featuring Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts
- “16 Carriages”
- “Protector,” featuring Rumi Carter
- “My Rose”
- “Smoke Hour,” interlude featuring Willie Nelson
- “Texas Hold ‘Em”
- “Bodyguard”
- “Dolly P,” interlude featuring Dolly Parton
- “Jolene”
- “Daughter”
- “Spaghettii,” featuring Shaboozey and Linda Martell
- “Alliigator Tears”
- “Smoke Hour II,” interlude featuring Willie Nelson
- “Just for Fun,” featuring Willie Jones
- “II Most Wanted,” featuring Miley Cyrus
- “Levii’s Jeans,” featuring Post Malone
- “Flamenco”
- “The Linda Martell Show,” interlude featuring Linda Martell
- “Ya Ya”
- “Oh Louisiana”
- “Desert Eagle”
- “Riiverdance”
- “II Hands II Heaven”
- “Tyrant”
- “Sweet Honey Buckin’,” featuring Shaboozey
- “Amen”
‘This ain’t a Country album’
Beyoncé first announced her eighth studio album during a surprise Super Bowl commercial on Feb. 11. Simultaneously, she released her first two singles, “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The two songs quickly took the internet by storm as many fans saw the music as a reclamation of country music’s Black roots. On YouTube, Beyoncé reached over 2 million views on each song in just two days. Within weeks, Beyoncé made history as the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart when “Texas Hold ‘Em” hit No. 1.
The new album is “Act II” of a three-part series. The superstar released her first act, the “Renaissance” album, on July 29, 2022, through her company Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. “Act III” has yet to be announced.
Prior to its release, the singer opened up about “Cowboy Carter” on Instagram. Beyoncé wrote while she was “honored” to become the first Black woman to Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, she still hopes for the day “the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
She revealed the new album took five years to make, adding 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.” The singer was likely referencing her 2016 performance of her song “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks at the Country Music Association Awards, which received mixed reactions on social media.
“But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” she wrote. “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.”
She signed off with, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
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