Quite a surprise when Beyoncé announces that her next project, expected at the end of March, will be a country album. And yet, the Texan superstar has long claimed his belonging to this musical style.
“ Houston Texas Baby! “. Does this gimmick mean anything to you? Beyoncé proudly claimed her origins in “Who Runs the World”. Because for those who still don’t know, Queen Bey is a pure Texan and she doesn’t hide it. And if it took us a little time to hear it in her music, she did not hesitate to display it from the start in her clothing choices. As a reminder, in 1999, she proudly wore a blood-red cowboy hat matched with a pair of star-studded jeans for the video for “Bug A Boo”. In 2001, the beauty and her friends from Destiny’s Child also wore a western look with their electric blue fringed pants and silver hats. This last accessory having recently resurfaced in Beyoncé’s wardrobe.
And beyond appearance, the “Single Ladies” singer has never forgotten where she comes from. She notably performed twice on the Houston Rodeo stage, the first with Destiny’s Child to perform “Sail On”, and the second, once her solo career was launched. And to everyone’s surprise, it was on the back of a palomino that the beauty then took the stage of the festival. But even if you have to be patient to see these nods to her hometown again, Beyoncé does not disappoint when she does so in 2016 with the famous album “Lemonade”.
“Lemonade”, the album of versatility
“ My Daddy Alabama, Mama Louisiana “. With this chorus, Beyoncé opens the doors to her new era during the Super Bowl in 2016. A new period which necessarily means a new album: “Lemonade”: quite a musical slap. Beyoncé touches all genres, sometimes a rapper, sometimes a reggae singer, nothing stops the young mother, but one title nevertheless creates a surprise. A little less popular than “Formation” or “Hold On”, “Daddy’s Lessons” is the real surprise of this album. For this title in the form of a tribute to her father and their shared memories, Beyoncé joins forces with Diana Gordon to produce her first truly country song. “ I came into the world, a daddy’s little girl/And daddy made me a soldier ”, she sings to guitar tunes accompanied by kicks and applause.
Producer Alex Delicata, who also worked on the project, told Rolling Stone that he had composed some guitar arrangements before Beyoncé got involved to shape the title and give it the form we know it. A more than welcome country parenthesis which adds to the list of multiple registers in which the singer has successfully tried. In 2021, she released an Ivy Park Rodeo, the new collection of her streetwear brand openly inspired by cowboy style with the famous denim chaps of African-American cowboys. “ Many of them were originally cowboys, who faced great discrimination and were often forced to work with the worst and most wayward horses », she explained to Harper Bazaar about this collection which had the air of a return to basics and a duty to remember. And even though some may have wrongly believed that she intended to stop there, Queen Bey has decided to put her cowboy boots and Stetson back on for good.
Beyoncé revives the era of black country
At the beginning of February, the “My House” singer did indeed put on a huge white Stetson for the 2024 Grammys ceremony. An item that accompanied him all year during the Renaissance Tour, since he became the A real essential accessory for any self-respecting fan. So, after unleashing beyhives around the world with her album “Renaissance” with house sounds, Jay-Z’s wife broke the Internet again with big news.
And what could be better for the Grammy record holder (32 gramophones) than to announce the release of her new album on the evening of the Super Bowl, one of the most watched television events in the world. And this new era kicks off with two new singles “Texas Hold’Em” and “16 Carriages”. The artist with many hats announces the runner, the theme of his famous “Act II” will be country. The popular musical style from which superstar Taylor Swift hails and which artists like Luke Combs and his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” are bringing to the forefront.
And as for the reasons that pushed Beyoncé to give her future album this direction, fans already have the answer. According to them, the queen decided to reappropriate musical genres born from African-American culture. After the ball culture of the 70s, it gives way to the origins deeply buried in the black culture of country. Often neglected or marginalized, the African-American population nevertheless plays a significant part in the development of the sounds and speeches of this musical genre generally associated with white America.
Message received, Beyoncé marks the trend again. Proof of the impact of this musical choice in the form of a claim, country radio KYKC refused to broadcast the singer’s songs when they were released, before backing down in the face of fans’ discontent. From now on, it is aboard her famous yellow taxi that Beyoncé continues her journey and places herself at the top of the Billboard Country rankings. A first for a black woman and already a success. March 29, the announced release date of his new album, looks promising.
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