Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’: Rounding up the latest on the new album
LA TimesThe second act of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” is upon us with the Friday release of “Cowboy Carter.” From a splashy announcement during a Super Bowl LVIII commercial to the album’s first two singles making history atop the country charts, the superstar yet again disrupted long-established traditions in the music industry. The winningest artist in Grammy Awards’ history has two-stepped away from the glitzy disco sound of her 2022 album, debuting the twangy “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” in February in apparent homage to her Southern roots. The 42-year-old “Cuff It” and “Break My Soul” singer has since asserted that “Cowboy Carter” “ain’t a Country album” but “a “Beyoncé album” that was five years in the making and wrought from an experience she had years ago when she “did not feel welcome.” Because of that, she “did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.” And with that, the 27-track “Cowboy Carter” rides into town and into the celebrated artist’s oeuvre. And, befitting of the “Renaissance” hitmaker, with Queen Bey triumphantly atop her latest steed on the album’s cover.