Beyonce in a promo photo for “Cowboy Carter.” Image: Instagram/@beyonce
Beyonce tapped into traditional country elements, combined with her signature groove, in her eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter” which according to her, took “over five years” to bring to life.
The record — which dropped in March 2024 — was supposed to be released before “Renaissance” but the singer-songwriter delayed it for the time being to come to terms with “too much heaviness in the world.”
“This album took over five years. It’s been great to have the time and the grace to take my time with it,” Beyonce said in a release. “I was initially going to put ‘Cowboy Carter’ out first, but with the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God’s timing.”
It includes 27 tracks, namely, “Ameriican Requiem,” “Blackbiird,” “16 Carriages,” “Protector,” “My Rose,” “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson,” “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “Bodyguard,” “Dolly P,” “Jolene,” “Daughter,” “Spaghettii,” and “Alliigator Tears.”
Also part of the record is “Smoke Hour II,” “Just for Fun,” “II Most Wanted,” “Levii’s Jeans,” “Flamenco,” “The Linda Martell Show,” “Ya Ya,” “Oh Louisiana,” “Desert Eagle,” “Riiverdance,” “II Hands II Heaven,” “Tyrant,” “Sweet Honey Buckiin,’” and “Amen.”
Beyonce opened up about the creative process behind “Cowboy Carter” which combines the country genre with a “cornucopia of sounds” she enjoyed listening to while growing up. “The joy of creating music is that there are no rules.”
A stand against AI
Apart from that, the singer-songwriter said the record is a firm stand against artificial intelligence and digital filters making waves in the music industry. “The joy of creating music is that there are no rules. The more I see the world evolving, the more I feel a deeper connection to purity.”
“With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to return to real instruments, and I used old ones,” she continued. “I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune.”
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Beyonce hoped the songs would feel more “organic and human,” sharing that she recorded “probably 100 songs” before deciding which would fit the album’s overall message.
“I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk. All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, snaps, and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature,” she said.
“I enjoy being open to having the freedom to get all aspects of things I love out and so I worked on many songs… once that is done, I can put the puzzle together and realize the consistencies and the common themes, and then create a solid body of work,” continued the singer-songwriter.
While the record is different from her past work, Beyonce declared it is the “best music” she created so far.
“I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects but it’s the best music I’ve ever made,” she said.
“Cowboy Carter” also featured artists like Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, and Stevie Wonder,” among others.