In a commercial for an American television company, in the middle of the Super Bowl, she dropped the big news: Beyoncé, Queen B, the artist with the most Grammy awards in world history, is releasing new music. A few minutes later, the songs “Texas Hold ’em” and “16 Carriages” were out on the internet. But what was this? Banjo, steel guitar and stomping with cowboy boots? Country?!? Many raise their eyebrows when the black pop star will now release an entire album with America’s whitest music genre. But if we examine her career so far, the new career path makes sense. Beyoncé is on the warpath, and country is the battlefield. Summer bird in country country Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (42) grew up in Houston, Texas, in the thickest country country. As a child, she and her little sister were taken to the town’s big rodeo, where there were bulls, horses and cowboy hats. TWO SISTERS: Beyoncé (9) and little sister Solange (4) decorate with Christmas balls in their home in Houston, Texas. Photo: Paul S. Howel / Houston Chronicle Nevertheless, it was impossible for the song-loving girl to become a country artist. Who were the black role models for in the music genre? Totally absent. There have been, and still are, very few black country artists. Then it was more natural for young Beyoncé to lean in the direction of pop and R&B. As a nine-year-old, she joined the girl group Girl’s Tyme, which later changed its name to Destiny’s Child. The group topped the charts, won Grammy awards and sold millions of records. YOUNG STARS: Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé Knowles and Michelle Williams made up Destiny’s Child. The group was active from 1990 to 2006. Photo: Mark J. Terrill / AP In the 2000s, she went solo and married the rapper Jay Z. She continued to top the charts with monster hits such as “Crazy in Love”, “Halo” and “Single Ladies”. The Grammy awards flowed in, and the records flowed out at an even greater pace than before. For many years, everything seemed to go smoothly for the pop artist. Everything she touched turned to gold. An entire generation of young girls learned that they should always be themselves, unless they could be Beyoncé. Always be Beyoncé. But wasn’t this perfect facade a little too perfect? Yes, then. In 2016, it would turn out that life was not just a bed of roses, not even for Queen B. Hurt and bitterly pissed off, on 23 April 2016, Beyoncé released her most ambitious project so far in her career: “Lemonade”. The album came together with a 65-minute art film and contains a wide range of genres, guest artists and references. Although “Lemonade” is an artistic work and not a proof of actual events, the message is clear and obvious: Jay Z has been unfaithful, and Beyoncé is hurt and furious. But “Lemonade” is so much more than a revenge album from a disappointed wife. The album title plays on the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This was Beyoncé’s project: She was to make tasty lemonade from the sour lemons, not only in her own life, but the whole of American history. In the art film, she takes the tennis star Serena Williams to a mansion on a sugar plantation. Here, thousands of blacks were forced into slavery in the 19th century. But this time Beyoncé sits on the “throne” in the house, while Williams shakes her ass around her. TWERK: Beyoncé and Serena Williams at Madewood Plantation House, near Napoleonville, Louisiana. According to artist, songwriter and Beyoncé expert Lise Mæland (known under the stage name Melis), “Lemonade” is by far Queen B’s best and most important album. – This is Beyoncé’s big healing project. She takes back what has been lost, not just for herself, but for all generations of black people in the United States. In that sense, it is fitting that “Lemonade” also contains Beyoncé’s first country song, “Daddy Lessons”. The white music genre has deep roots in black culture. The black country Few instruments are more closely associated with country music than the banjo. The instrument is originally African and came to the United States with the slave fleet in the 17th century. Country as a music genre arose at the beginning of the 20th century in the American southern states. The music was played on guitar, banjo and fiddle, and drew inspiration from “black” genres such as spirituals and blues. The first artists were both black and white, but this was to change in the interwar period when the music genre was commercialized. Then the major record companies noticed that the increasing white audience was reluctant to buy “black music”. EARLY COUNTRY: Three black musicians from the American state of Tennessee at the end of the 19th century. Photo: Blount County Public Library / WO Garner Photograph Collection In just a few years, almost all the black artists were phased out, and since then country music (with a few exceptions) has been known as a “white genre”. So how did the country crowd react when Beyoncé released a country song in 2016? So so. When she performed the song together with the band The Chicks at the Country Music Association Awards, the comment field overflowed with negative reactions. “GOOD MOOD”: Not all country listeners appreciate the performance of The Chicks and Beyoncé. Criticism was mostly about the Black Lives Matter commitment, lack of country cred and the wrong skin color. Photo: RICK DIAMOND / AFP Beyoncé also submitted the song to the Grammy Awards’ country committee, but was rejected. This caused many to react, especially since the (white) artist Maren Morris was nominated with her pop album “Hero”. The black rapper Lil Nas X also did not feel welcomed with open country arms when he climbed up Billboard’s country list in 2019 with the song “Old Town Road”. Because suddenly one day the song was completely gone from the list. Those who drew up the lists thought the song lacked enough known country elements to be called country – without everyone necessarily buying that explanation. RECORD SETTER: Lil Nas X broke all records when the song “Old Town Road” spent 19 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. But he only got to enjoy the country chart for a short while. Photo: Jerritt Clark / AFP So how will it go now – when Beyoncé releases a pure country album? Will she get the cold shoulder, or is the country church sound ready to take her into the heat? First black woman on top Recently, Beyoncé has done everything she can to embrace the country look. She wore a cowboy hat at the Grammy Awards this year and has launched her own cowboy collection with Adidas and Ivy Park. But Beyoncé can wear as many cowboy hats as she wants; in the USA you cannot call yourself a proper country artist until you are played on American country radio channels. COWGIRL: Beyoncé donned cowboy hats (and other cowboy attire) already in 2021 to promote her clothing collection. Photo: Adidas x Ivy Park It might sound narrow and niche, but in the US country radio channels are a big deal. The country has over 2,000 such channels that reach several million country-loving Americans every day. The biggest stations report their playlists to the music magazine Billboard, which in turn makes lists of the most popular songs. During the last 80 years, only six black, female country artists have appeared on these lists. Now it’s seven. Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’em” came in at number 50 on Billboard’s “Country Airplay”. A week later, she reigns at the top of the list. No black female artist has done that before her. QUEEN B: Beyoncé has long been queen of both. Now she is well on her way to also becoming the queen of country. Photo: Adidas x Ivy Park According to Lise Mæland, who has worked with one of Beyoncé’s songwriting teams, the country album has been on the mend since the pandemic. Queen B just waited for the right time and therefore released the house album Renaissance first. Whether she really manages to break through on the country market remains to be seen until the album comes out. But Lise Mæland has no doubts in any case: – What she has already managed is a feat. She has stepped over an invisible border that no one has managed before. Then write history. Mæland also points out that this is not just about country listeners getting to know Beyoncé, but that Beyoncé listeners also get to know country. – People who otherwise never listen to country, listen to country now. They put on their cowboy hats and make dance videos on TikTok. And this is not country pop, but real country. It’s pretty crazy! COUNTRY ARTIST: How about ending the case with this picture of Beyoncé looking into the camera before riding off into the sunset? Yes, it can fit. Photo: Adidas x Ivy Park PS: Queen B’s country album will be released on 29 March 2024. The album is the second part of a trilogy called “Renaissance” in which Beyoncé “takes back” various genres of music that were originally black. The first was a house album, the second will be country, and the third…? Many speculate on rock. PPS: Although “Daddy Lessons” from 2016 is considered Beyoncé’s first country song, one can also argue that the hit “Irreplaceable” from 2006, written by Espen Lind among others, was the very first. In any case, Lind wrote the song as a country song, before the producer duo Stargate added drum beats. The song became one of Beyoncé’s first monster hits and topped Billboard’s top 100 list for ten consecutive weeks. Hi! Do you have any thoughts on this matter or tips for other stories we should look at? I will be very happy for all input!
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Beyoncé – the queen of country – Culture
