My New Internet Crush...Beyonce / Beyoncé UPDATE: Renaissance Act II: Cowboy Carter UPDATE: 1st Black woman with No. 1 country song
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Beyoncé lassoes historic No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Album chart
Beyoncé becomes first Black woman to top Billboard's Country Albums chart with Cowboy Carter
Beyoncé becomes first Black woman to top Billboard's Country Albums chart with Cowboy Carter
The cowgirl also made history by scoring a No. 1 country hit with the album's lead single, "Texas Hold 'Em."By
Lester Fabian Brathwaite
Published on April 8, 2024
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter continues to make herstory as the queen of KNTRY became the first Black woman to hit No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.
Released March 29, Bey's eighth solo studio album also topped the Billboard 200, Americana/Folk Albums, and Top Album Sales charts, with sales of 407,000 equivalent album units in its first week of chart eligibility.
Beyoncé Cowboy Carter.
BLAIR CALDWELL
Featuring collaborations with country pioneers Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell, contemporary country crossover stars Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, and a host of upcoming Black country artists, Beyoncé's sprawling Cowboy Carter has been met with both praise and criticism.
Though in the words of the artist herself, Cowboy Carter is not a country album but "a Beyoncé album," the country establishment has been wary of embracing the project, with stalwarts like Parton and Carlene Carter endorsing the superstar's foray into the genre.
"I've caught wind of some negativity over the release of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, her new country album," Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash, said in a statement upon the album's release. "As a Carter Girl myself and coming from a long line of Carter Girls, I'm moved to ask why anyone would treat a Carter this way? She is an incredibly talented and creative woman who obviously wanted to do this because she likes country music, In my book, she's one of us Carter women and we have always pushed the boundaries by trying whatever music we felt in our hearts and taking spirit-driven risks."
However, that kind of polarizing reaction is par for the course as the album itself was born of an experience where the 42-year-old singer did not "feel welcomed" in country — a 2016 performance with The (then-Dixie) Chicks at the CMA Awards.
Still, Cowboy Carter has proven a groundbreaking hit. Prior to topping the Country Album chart, the lead single "Texas Hold 'Em" went straight to No. 1 on Billboard's Country Songs chart, another historic first for a Black woman.
Carlene Carter welcomes Beyoncé to the country music fold
With the release of Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' album, country music star Carlene Carter is welcoming her into the fold: 'In my book, she's one of us Carter women.'
Country music star Carlene Carter welcomes Beyoncé to the fold: 'I admire and love her and all she does'
The daughter of June Carter Cash has nothing but good things to say about Bey and her new album "Cowboy Carter."By
Maureen Lee Lenker
Published on March 29, 2024
In Carlene Carter's book, Beyoncé is as country as they come.
Carter, the daughter of June Carter Cash and a country music star in her own right, issued a statement Friday in full-throated support of Beyoncé and her much anticipated new country album, Cowboy Carter. In the run-up to the album's release, there's been hubbub over Beyoncé's move into the genre and the legacy of Black artists in country music.
"I've caught wind of some negativity over the release of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, her new country album," Carter said. "As a Carter Girl myself and coming from a long line of Carter Girls, I'm moved to ask why anyone would treat a Carter this way? She is an incredibly talented and creative woman who obviously wanted to do this because she likes country music, In my book, she's one of us Carter women and we have always pushed the boundaries by trying whatever music we felt in our hearts and taking spirit-driven risks."
Beyoncé and Carlene Carter.
KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY; JASON KEMPIN/GETTY
"Carter" is, of course, Beyoncé's married surname, which she uses in the album title. But it's also a name associated with decades of country history, given the immense impact of the Carter Family and their musical dynasty. The Carters first began recording in the 1920s, earning particular notice for Maybelle Carter's guitar skills and helping to define the sound of country music. They were eventually dubbed the "first family of country music."
The family's influence only grew with the musical careers of Maybelle's daughters, Helen, Anita, and June, the latter of whom gained particular fame for her marriage to and many collaborations with Johnny Cash. The line continues today with the work of Carlene, Laura Cash, and John Carter Cash.
Now Carlene is welcoming Beyoncé into the musical tradition of the Carter family. "I am here to let Beyoncé and all those nay sayers know that I admire and love her and all she does," she continued. "I am delighted to know that Carter spunk is in her just like it's been through nearly 100 years of us Carters choosing to follow ours hearts, hearts that are filled with love not just for country music but for all kinds of music."
She concluded, "Here's a warm welcome to the Carter Girl Club! It's only a matter of time before those nay sayers become Bey sayers."
The singer-songwriter isn't wrong, as Beyoncé has been tearing up the charts since the release of her album's first two singles, "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," in February. "Texas Hold 'Em" made Beyoncé the first Black female artist to reach No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 1 on the Hot 100 Chart with a country song.
"I think people are going to be surprised because I don't think this music is what everyone expects," Beyoncé said in a recent press release. "But it's the best music I've ever made."
Singer-Songwriter Cam Discusses Working on Five Tracks for Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’: ‘She’s Just Such a Creative Genius’
Country singer-songwriter Cam discusses writing, producing, engineering and singing on Beyoncé's new album 'Cowboy Carter.'
variety.com
Singer-Songwriter Cam Discusses Working on Five Tracks for Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’: ‘She’s Just Such a Creative Genius’
By Steven J. Horowitz
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Courtesy of Dennis Leupold
In June 2021, Cam got a call from her publisher who told her that a different songwriter couldn’t make a session and asked if she could go instead. Details were scarce — she didn’t even know whose session it was — and off she went to the studio on a whim. Little did she know she’d be walking into sessions for Beyoncé’s new chart-topping album, “Cowboy Carter,” which inevitably would feature writing, production, engineering and background singing from Cam on five of its songs.
“[Beyoncé‘s] just such a creative genius,” Cam tells Variety. “I literally just got to show up as myself. So purely myself, and give the pieces that I felt were so correct from my point of view, then she wove it all into this masterpiece. And I’m just like, honestly I think it’s one of the moments in my life where I feel like I can see so clearly how I only want to do this here on out. I only want to be 100 percent myself, and the collaborators and people that are working with me, I want to do what they have done for me where I felt like I can just contribute what I was put on this earth to contribute… So it’s just comforting, it’s a release, it’s so much joy.”
https://variety.com/2024/music/news/beyonces-cowboy-carter-number-one-album-sold-1235963405/Since debuting in 2010, the 39-year-old has etched a name for herself as an artist and songwriter, releasing a pop album in 2010 before a heel-turn to country with 2015’s “Untamed.” That record spawned her highest-charting hit to date, the confessional “Burning House,” which landed her a Grammy nomination. But she hit a different stride with 2020’s “The Otherside,” working with longtime collaborator Tyler Johnson and Jack Antonoff for a collection of songs that conveyed a deeper sophistication in her writing and performance.
She carries that to “Cowboy Carter,” a sprawling compendium of country, Americana and folk signifiers. The album was an instant hit, becoming Beyoncé’s eighth solo album to bow at No. 1 and the biggest debut of 2024 so far. Like many artists who have spoken on their work for the album, Cam is coy when it comes to details about recording with Beyoncé out of respect to her approach to her craft, explaining that the album is entirely Beyoncé’s vision. But you can hear traces of Cam all over the records where she has credits: the wall-of-sound harmonies that set off “Ameriican Requiem” and “Amen” mirror the starting moments of her 2017 single “Diane”; the stripped-down vulnerability of “Protector” and “Daughter” reflect back to “Burning House”; the intro chants set against handclaps on “Tyrant” has echoes of “The Otherside.”
Cam recalls that she worked on the album for the latter half of 2021, encouraged to share her ideas to be threaded into the bigger picture. “I could show up with these pieces that were purely myself,” she says. For instance, she channeled her love of requiems, which she sang in choir as a kid, for some of her contributions. “There’s no way you could even guess where she’s going. That’s one of my favorite things about Beyoncé and about this album, is that even though there are so many ties to the past and you hear everything woven through, it’s so forward-facing. She’s singing to us about the future and where we’re going, and I want to go there. So I think spiritually, I definitely felt aligned once I heard it all together. I couldn’t even realize that that’s where this was going back then. I was just contributing these pieces and building blocks that came from me that obviously were on the same journey.”
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Right as “Cowboy Carter” released, Beyoncé revealed that she initially intended to put it out before 2022’s “Renaissance,” the first of a planned trilogy that centered on house and dance music. Cam states that she was surprised when “Renaissance” dropped instead, unsure of when the music she worked on would see the light of day.
“I was like, no!” she says with a laugh. “But I absolutely love ‘Renaissance’ so it was a no with a smile and a dance at the same time. The difference between me as an artist and writing for myself and getting to control the timeline and how it all goes and then deciding you’re going to collaborate and be in service as a writer, it’s a whole different ride. I’d like to say I have more understanding and patience for it, because I know how hard it is on the other side of things when you’re trying to direct the flow of traffic, but I definitely was like, this album is so important… So yeah, it was a big sigh of relief when it was finally released.”
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She beams as she talks about “Cowboy Carter,” and recalls listening to “Protector” as a finished product for the first time. Cam is mother to her five-year-old daughter Lucy, and identified with the nurturing message of the song. “I just remember I was flying on a plane with [Lucy] and she was probably two and I was so overwhelmed,” she says. “I just remember thinking, all our parents have done this for us. They did it for us and now I’m doing it for her, and I just bawled my eyes out when I first heard that.”
An accomplished songwriter for others with credits on tracks from Miley Cyrus and Sam Smith, Cam is drawing from the collaborative approach she experienced while working on “Cowboy Carter” for her next solo album, which is currently without a release date. “I have just been so incredibly inspired by this process,” she says. “I really took it and have tried to make as much time for myself alone and in very intentional collaborative spaces to be working on the music for my next album. So it’s been so fun because it’s coming from such a good place and it feels so purely me and what I want to do and what I want to express. I’m just so excited to be in it and making it.”
Beyoncé's 'Blackbiird' country collaborators got matching tattoos
Beyoncé's country collaborators on 'Blackbiird' — Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy — got matching blackbird tattoos.
Beyoncé's 'Blackbiird' country collaborators all got matching tattoos
Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy each got a blackbird tattoo with an original design.By Dustin Nelson
Published on April 10, 2024 02:50PM EDT
Working with Beyoncé on her song "Blackbiird" had a lasting effect on her collaborators.
The superstar's reimagining of the Beatles classic features four Black country singers — Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy — and they recently revealed that they got matching tattoos to commemorate their time recording the track from the Grammy winner's chart-topping new album, Cowboy Carter.
The musicians did not get identical tattoos, opting instead to personalize their blackbird designs, which were inked by tattoo artist Hannah Matthews. Roberts shared the story with Billboard on the CMT Awards red carpet.
Beyoncé.
BLAIR CALDWELL
"We actually got matching tattoos," Roberts said. "Mine isn't exactly matching, but we all got a symbolism of our blackbird." Hers features black wings next to the words, "Thou shall reign heavenly fire."
Reyna Roberts and Tanner Adell's blackbird tattoos.
REYNA ROBERTS/INSTAGRAM
Roberts offered a detailed look at her tattoo on Instagram along with Adell's blackbird.
Kennedy showed off her cowboy hat–touting bird in flight in an Instagram reel, saying it was inspired by the singers' "Blackbiird" cover and "I Ain't a Cowgirl," her recent single: "They both remind me of my strength and remind me that with the Lord, I can do anything."
Matthews also shared photos, including close-ups of the art and portraits of the singers. "Long story short— these stunning, sweet sweet, AMAZINGLY talent black female country artists (@tanneradell @brittneyspencer @thereynaroberts @tieramusic) were featured on Beyoncé's new country album!!!" she wrote on Instagram.
"I was lucky enough to be able to give them each a blackbird tattoo to commemorate this milestone and great achievement in their career," Matthews said. "Once again, feeling like my life is a movie and I don't know how I got here. Forever grateful to have spent time with each of these empowering women!!"
Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, and Tiera Kennedy.
JOHN SHEARER/GETTY
The remake recently got the stamp of approval from none other than Beatles member Paul McCartney, who wrote the original track.
"I am so happy with @beyonce's version of my song 'Blackbird,'" McCartney wrote on Instagram. "I think she does a magnificent version of it, and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place. I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!"
Article was well written and thought out. I'm not a Beyonce fan. But I've been playing the CD for the last few weeks. I'll be honest and say that it's the best thing I've heard from her. But still it's Beyonce being "Beyonce".
Williams brings some great point that I've thought about as I've been listening. Beyonce used her Country controversy as a tool. But the work is not so "Country" at all. Using Parton and Nelson to display Country Royalty is one thing. But to not use relatively unknown (young) Black Country artists other than Giddins and Randolph was misguided. And the blaring omission of Charlie Pride (with vocal snippets at least) was unfortunate.
Like "COWBOY CARTER". But with caveats.
Beyoncé’s country album drowns out the Black music history it claims to celebrate
Williams brings some great point that I've thought about as I've been listening. Beyonce used her Country controversy as a tool. But the work is not so "Country" at all. Using Parton and Nelson to display Country Royalty is one thing. But to not use relatively unknown (young) Black Country artists other than Giddins and Randolph was misguided. And the blaring omission of Charlie Pride (with vocal snippets at least) was unfortunate.
Like "COWBOY CARTER". But with caveats.
Beyoncé’s country album drowns out the Black music history it claims to celebrate
