There’s a new sheriff in town, and her name is Cowboy Carter. On Friday (Mach 29), Beyoncé finally unleashed her eighth solo studio album in its entirety.
The Grammy winner first introduced her Cowboy Carter era with a pair of country singles — “16 Carriages” and Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Texas Hold ‘Em” — released during the 2024 Super Bowl. While both singles are undoubtedly country tracks, they were mere teases of the sonic odyssey Queen Bey embarks upon throughout her new LP. One thing is for certain: she wasn’t lying when she said, “This ain’t a country album. This is a Beyoncé album!”
With assists from a star-studded cast of collaborators — including Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Tanner Adell, Willie Jones, Raphael Saadiq, The-Dream, Shaboozey and more — Beyoncé spends the 27-track record staking her claim across country, funk, hip-hop, rock and more. Formatted in the style of radio program, several spoken word interludes introduce the album’s different sequences, making for a well-balanced mixture of introspection, humor and fearless exploration.
Cowboy Carter marks the second act of a “three-act project” Beyoncé recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first installment, Renaissance, debuted atop the Billboard 200, helped Beyoncé become the artist with the most Grammy wins in history, housed a pair of Hot 100 top 10 hits in “Break My Soul” (No. 1) and “Cuff It” (No. 6) and spawned a record-breaking tour and accompanying box office-topping documentary concert film.
Although Beyoncé crafted Cowboy Carter as “a continuation of” Renaissance, she did note that the album was inspired by an unsavory event several years ago — likely her controversial performance of “Daddy Lessons” alongside The Chicks (fka The Dixie Chicks) at the 2016 CMA Awards.
Throw on your cowboy hat, secure your belt buckles and dig into Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter now.
