It’s no secret that the biggest Beyoncé fans and non-BeyHives (her fandom’s name), were all surprised by her new wishes to create a country album. Beyoncé’s music has previously fallen under the R&B and pop music genres, and fans never saw her secret southern side appear in her music until now. This new album is called Cowboy Carter, which contains 27 songs. Overall, Cowboy Carter is a truly odd album, but it remains an enjoyable listening experience. 

Each of these songs has many unexpected collaborations with different country artists. Beyoncé’s featured artists include big names such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, and Post Malone. Other artists who collaborated with Beyoncé in Cowboy Carter include Britney Spencer, Linda Martell, and Willie Jones. People who enjoy listening to country music will enjoy all the features from fan-favorite country artists. Cowboy Carter also contains some covers of songs by these artists, mixed in with newer lyrics from Beyoncé. 

This album has a strong southern tang, yet still contains hints of her original pop sound. The album itself was a good idea to try something new that no BeyHive would’ve expected from Beyoncé. The fact that she took on such a giant switch in music genres shows how she went out of her comfort zone for herself and her fans. 

While the album has lots of amazing songs, there was one that stood out from the rest. Sweet Honey Buckland was one of the highlights of the album because half of it was pop and half of it was country. Known as one of the many major pop sensations of our generation, Beyoncé has never made a musical genre switch until now. Many of the songs in this album are surprisingly short, and some aren’t even songs, but rather just country artists, such as Dolly Parton, speaking. Not only did Beyoncé switch genres, but she made multiple unique songwriting decisions. Four different tracks of Cowboy Carter don’t include lyrics at all. This is interesting considering that albums are usually always music, but given the new genre and a new setup in the album’s tracks, this choice could have been something that gives Cowboy Carter more flavor. 

The album as a whole is not as bad as people would imagine. However, one downside to this album is the song Oh Louisiana. While only 52 seconds long, the track is considerably annoying. The whole song is in a high-pitched, altered voice that sounds like nails on a chalkboard. However, it’s forgivable because Beyoncé included many good songs on the album, such as YA YA, and Spaghetti.

Beyoncé has an amazing track record when it comes to music. As a woman who has been in the industry for 34 years, it’s safe to say that she’s had much experience and deserves to take a big step such as releasing Cowboy Carter. In 2022, she released the hit pop album RENAISSANCE, which grew popular with many people. When Cowboy Carter was released, fans quickly noticed how it was linked to RENAISSANCE, as the album cover is almost identical. Beyoncé grew up in Houston, Texas, so it makes perfect sense why she would want to connect with the southern part of music. Her album has many upbeat and slow songs that’ll hit right where that little country spot in everybody’s heart is.

Beyoncé took a huge chance on collaborating with all different artists and risked her music career if people didn’t like this change. Cowboy Carter is great for everyone wanting to experience a new lane in the country music genre.