Beyoncé shakes up the codes of country music

Even before the release of her new album which promises to explore country music, Beyoncé this week became the first black singer to rank a song at the top of the charts of this musical genre, writing a new page in the history of music American.

Released on February 11, in the middle of the Super Bowl, the title Texas Hold’Ema rhythmic song with the sound of the banjo, reached first place on the “Hot Country Songs” chart of Billboard magazine, while his other piece 16 Carriages settled at 9e place. “Before the triumph of Texas Hold’Emno black woman, nor mixed race woman, had reached this peak, wrote the Billboard site.

While country is a musical style that draws on the African-American roots of the United States, notably the banjo, used by African slaves deported to the continent, black artists have historically been kept apart.

In 2019, one of the songs of the year, Old Town Road by rapper Lil Nas

In recent years, black artists have still managed to break into country music, like Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer. A sign of this late recognition, the famous folk and country song written by Tracy Chapman and released in 1988, Fast Carreceived the 2023 Best Song award at the Country Music Awards, but that was after singer Luke Combs gave it a second life with his cover.

Beyoncé’s new album, Act II, is due out March 29. Promised as a country album, it is the second chapter of a trilogy that began with Renaissance in 2022, a record with much more dance and house accents.

Act II will be the 8the album by the Texas native singer. She is the most successful in the history of the Grammy Awards, the American music industry awards, with 32 gramophones.

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