three things to know about Queen Bey’s first country opus

Beyoncé’s country album, which she does not wish to discuss in these terms, is already a symbol on the American music scene.

Beyoncé, the queen of pop, arrives in the country universe with Act II Cowboy Carter scheduled for release on March 29. In the meantime, the American singer has already given several clues about an album, including the first two extracts –Texas Hold’Em and 16 Carriages–, were broadcast on February 11, during halftime of the Super Bowl, the biggest American sporting event.

Beyoncé’s upcoming production is already historic since one of its two extracts propelled her, in a few days, to the top of the Hot Country Songs (link in English) from the American reference magazine Billboard. With Texas Hold’Em, the artist with more than 30 Grammys became the first black woman to achieve this feat.

“I’m honored to be the first black woman to be number one on the chart Hot Country Songs“she wrote on the social network Instagram, thanking her fans. “I hope that in a few years, the mention of the race of an artist, with regard to the diffusion of musical genres, will no longer be necessary”.

“It’s not a country album.”

Beyoncé’s latest opus is absolutely not what you think, according to her. “It’s not a country album. It’s not a Beyoncé album. It’s Act II Cowboy Carter and I’m proud to share it with you all!”warned the American artist, still on Instagram where we also discover the visuals associated with her latest opus.

“I focused on this album as a continuation of Renaissance…” The imagery associated with these records is also part of a continuity and augured, with its cowboy universe, what we are discovering today. The glass horse on which the pop star sat Renaissance came to life for Cowboy Carter. Dressed in white and displaying the colors of the American flag as a banner, which she also brandishes, Beyoncé is a perfect match for her horse’s coat.

A long-standing project born from a bad experience

“This album is the fruit of more than five years of work”she reveals. “It was born out of an experience I had several years ago where I didn’t feel welcome…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But this This experience inspired me to delve into the history of country music and study our rich musical archives.

In a sector that is predominantly male and white, Beyoncé’s album promises to be a rebalancing because it reminds us that African-Americans, with their banjo, are at the origin of a musical genre from which they have until now been excluded. Beyoncé confirms this herself. .

“The criticism I faced when I started in this genre forced me to go beyond the limits that had been imposed on me. Act II is the result of a challenge I set for myself, and the time I took to bend and mix genres in order to create this body of work”, she explains again.

Courtesy of the Queen of Country, Dolly Parton

Country star Dolly Parton highly praised her for her performance leading the Hot Country Songs from Magazine Billboard, in a message where the singer said she was impatient to listen to the entirety of Béyoncé’s future album. It was also she who announced that Beyoncé’s latest album could include one of her famous tracks, Jolene. “I think she (L’)has recorded and I think it will probably be on his country album, which I’m really excited about.” declared Dolly Parton to the American media Knox Newsreports Variety (link in English).