Beyonce sets an “unprecedented” record in country music history
COWBOY CARTER’ is making way for Beyoncé to get everything she is owed after setting unprecedented streaming records.
If Beyoncé is on a mission to reap everything that is owed to her, then the early critical acclaim of COWBOY CARTER is making certain that she gets it all and then some. Within 24 hours of its March 29 release, the highly talked about project garnered the iconic entertainer multiple firsts: It is Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day of the year, and it made Amazon Music history when its debut was declared the biggest on the platform as well as racking up the most first-day streams for a female country album.
With 27 tracks, the sonic exploration of Americana culture features an array of artistry and inspiration from the likes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Mylie Cyrus, Post Malone, Rhiannon Giddens, Tanner Adell and more. The second installment of her three-part RENAISSANCE album series was five years in the making and originally lined up to precede the opulent and dance-inspired album. In her own words, “It’s the best music I’ve ever made.”
A flood of reactions to the music can be seen across social media. Among them is a message from Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jon Batiste, who echoed Beyoncé’s sentiment about the body of work being an artistically freeing one. “This is the moment, y’all, where we dismantle the genre machine,” tweeted Batiste, who, along with singer and producer NO ID, crafted “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” the project’s opening track. After giving fans background on how the collaboration unfolded and expressing gratitude to his collaborators, he spoke directly to the impact of the album and Beyoncé’s “artistic firepower.”
He noted, “Producing and writing for ‘AMERIICAN REQUIEM’ was an example of extraordinary alignment — when many leading artists see a similar vision at the same time, that’s when you know a major shift is happening. A new era, long time coming. Let’s liberate ourselves from genre and break the barriers that marginalize who we are and the art that we create.”
Soon after the release of the lead singles “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES,” she became the first Black woman to top the Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, with the songs respectively landing in the No. 1 and No. 9 spots. On Monday (April 1), she will be honored with the Innovator Award at the 2024 iHeart Music Awards.
