Review of Beyonce’s album “Cowboy Carter”

American singer Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter” became the eighth album in her career to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart. But what is much more important is that “Cowboy Carter” topped the country albums chart immediately after its release. This has never happened to black singers before. About the excitement and controversy over Beyoncé’s new album – Igor Gavrilov.

The “Carter” in Beyoncé’s album title is her married name. But “cowboy” is a word that is actively discussed by both fans and critics of the album. Moreover, on the cover of “Cowboy Carter” the singer appeared with all the cowboy accessories, including a cowboy hat. What does the white horse that Beyonce sits on mean? Why are only the red and white stripes included in the shot of the entire American flag that Beyoncé is holding in her hands?

Time magazine devoted an entire article to deciphering the symbols that fill the album. Journalists remind that Beyoncé Knowles was born in the state of Texas, which is traditionally associated with the concept of “cowboy” in its broadest interpretation. If at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries the “cowboy” was a symbol of the American redneck, then by the middle of the 20th century, cinema, rodeo, pulp literature and country music made the outsider cowboy the personification of the white American, the hero of the nation.

Commentators examining the Cowboy Carter phenomenon point out that in the 19th century, a quarter of all livestock workers were black. The reviews also remind us that black artists were also involved in the creation of the country music style. Along with country’s British folk roots, musicologists note the rhythmic characteristics of black Americans, as well as the use of banjo and harmonica in the arrangements, instruments that were once popularized by black musicians.

It’s easiest to think of Cowboy Carter as a manifesto album that celebrates the role of African Americans in shaping a huge cultural phenomenon.

However, Cowboy Carter is not a full country album. It is collected as a broadcast of a non-existent Texas radio station, where, along with country, they play blues, soul, rock, R’n’B, zydeco, folk, bluegrass, opera and even flamenco with fado. This conventional radio station employs country legends Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Linda Martell as DJs, and the songs feature the voices of young black country stars Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Rayna Roberts. There are also cameos by superstars—Stevie Wonder, Nile Rodgers, Jon Batiste, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus. And Paul McCartney: he took part in the recording of a cover version of The Beatles song “Blackbird”.

You can have any attitude towards Beyoncé’s persona, her gigantomania and desire to surpass everyone and everything, but “Cowboy Carter” definitely does not belong to the country routine and is not a collection of monotonous rural songs with caramel vocal parts and solo violins. You can talk as much as you like about the fact that country music is a whole universe, a tree with a mighty crown and an arena for innovative solutions. For the world outside the US, this is still very specific music. And Beyoncé’s album sparkles with wit and amazes with the diversity of its sound.

“Cowboy Carter” is the second part of a trilogy conceived by the singer during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first part was the album “Renaissance” (2022), in which Beyonce demonstrated her dance, club side. Fans are already arguing about what the third part will be. It is probably a rock album, and according to tradition, all the leaders of the genre will be involved in the recording. Then Beyoncé will have to reincarnate as the late Tina Turner – the place of the black rock queen is empty.

There is one more height that she has to reach: she really wants to become a billionaire singer. So far there is only one like this on Earth. Her name is Taylor Swift and she is white. If Beyoncé really wants to become a symbol of black America, she needs to step up her game.