Beyoncé’s eighth studio album “COWBOY CARTER,” the second part of her Renaissance trilogy, targets a new space for the “Crazy in Love” singer: the country music industry.
Although some people questioned whether this would be an album worth listening to, it has done incredibly well on music charts and with critics. The lead single, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” topped the country music charts, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to earn a no. 1 single in this category.
Additionally, “COWBOY CARTER” earned the Best New Music Label on the popular music criticism platform, Pitchfork, and has been praised by publications like NPR and Rolling Stone.
Students at Ohio University have been listening to and loving this album. Aoife McLaughlin, a freshman studying environmental studies, said she’s a big fan of the direction of “COWBOY CARTER.”
“(The album is) a 100 out of 10,” she said, laughing. “If Beyonce is happy, I'm happy.”
McLaughlin also said the “haters” who criticized Beyoncé’s switch to country are simply wrong.
“I think they should be anti-themselves for being haters,” McLaughlin said. “Because what the heck, let people have fun if she wants to do it.”
Nya Brevik, a senior studying sociology, noted the importance of features on songs like “BLACKBIIRD” which featured numerous young Black female country artists.
“I just know country is not very receptive to Black people, specifically Black women,” Brevik said. “So, it was really nice to see her supporting and putting people that are not as well known and really new and starting out. Imagine being put on a Beyoncé album, that's almost the biggest thing you could have in your career, especially starting out.”
Beyoncé’s dive into country music is not entirely unprecedented — in 2016, she released her album “Lemonade,” which featured the twangy track “Daddy Lessons.” Her performance of this song with The Chicks at the 2016 CMAs was met with significant backlash, which was viewed as racist by many.
This rhetoric mirrors the negative response to “COWBOY CARTER.” Country radio stations across the U.S. have declined to play songs from the album, and ones that do face anger from listeners.
Mia Leyland, a sophomore studying media arts and studies, said she feels sympathy for people who hate “COWBOY CARTER” instead of giving it a listen.
“I think they're missing out,” Leyland said “They don't understand … they're missing out on so much amazing (music). They're not getting it, they're missing the whole world. You're missing out on the world.”
Beyoncé has said “COWBOY CARTER” is not a country album. Across New York City, street promotion reading “THIS AIN’T A COUNTRY ALBUM. THIS IS A ‘BEYONCÉ ALBUM” could be easily found.
Brevik said that although the album was not entirely country, Beyoncé was trying to do more than create a country album.
“I think the whole point is that she's trying to reclaim music that was created by Black people, and country music as a genre was created by Black people,” Brevik said. “That’s what she set out to do and she accomplished what she's trying to do. But I think most people are like, ‘Oh it’s not country,’ and they can have that opinion, but that's not what she's fully trying to do.”
Regardless of the genre label, “COWBOY CARTER” falls into country music for many listeners, and country is an increasingly popular genre. McLaughlin noted this and said other artists have been free to create country music, so why not let Beyoncé in as well?
“Country music's in right now,” McLaughlin said. “Lana Del Rey is switching to country, Beyoncé is moving to country. Look at Zach Bryan, look at Noah Kahan. Look at all these folk people, folk and country are in, and if you're not with it, get lost.”
Ultimately, students were more than pleased with “COWBOY CARTER,” giving high marks to Beyoncé’s newest release.
“(The album’s) like a 9.5?” Leyland said. “Actually, people say that all the time, probably just a 10. She's just giving a 10.”
