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Beyoncé’s country era is officially under way: Her new album, Cowboy Carter, is out now, and you can listen to it below. The mammoth, 27-track record features a cover of the Dolly Parton classic “Jolene” and the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” as well as brief appearances from country great Willie Nelson on the “Smoke Hour” interludes. Parton appears, too, on “Dolly P.” A promotional poster that Beyoncé shared on social media, titled Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit, alludes to the venue circuit where Black entertainers could tour during the Jim Crow era.
One of Beyoncé’s children, Rumi Carter, is credited on “Protector.” Additional guests on Cowboy Carter include Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Linda Martell, and Willie Jones. Plus, “Buckle Bunny” singer Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts are on “Blackbiird”—a cover of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.” (Writing the Beatles song in 1968, Paul McCartney was inspired by the Little Rock Nine.)
More contributors to Cowboy Carter include: The-Dream, Pharrell Williams, No I.D., Raphael Saadiq, Ryan Tedder, Ryan Beatty, Swizz Beatz, Rhiannon Giddens, Khirye Tyler, Derek Dixie, Ink, Nova Wav, Mamii, Cam, Tyler Johnson, Dave Hamelin, Shawn Everett, the War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel, and Beyoncé’s husband, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
“This album took over five years,” Beyoncé said in a press release. “It’s been really great to have the time and the grace to be able to take my time with it. I was initially going to put Cowboy Carter out first, but with the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God’s timing.”
Cowboy Carter includes the singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ’Em,” the latter of which topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to do so. The song was also a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, becoming Beyoncé’s ninth chart-topper and first since “Break My Soul.”
Upon announcing the LP, Beyoncé described it as Act II, following the Act I framing of Renaissance. She recently shared the artwork and a note on Cowboy Carter. “This ain’t a Country album,” she said. “This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
Read “7 Takeaways From Beyoncé’s New Album Cowboy Carter” on the Pitch.
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