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THE EIGHTH STUDIO ALBUM, FROM THE WORLD’S MOST INNOVATIVE ARTIST, COMES AFTER A MONUMENTAL RELEASE OF TWO SONGS AS A NON-LIMITED MULTIGENRE NOD TO AMERICAN COUNTRY CULTURE
THE HISTORIC “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” LANDED IN NINE DIFFERENT GENRES ON THE US MUSIC CHARTS AND AT NO. 1 IN SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL TERRITORIES, MAKING BEYONCÉ THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE ARTIST TO REACH NO. 1 ON THE HOT COUNTRY SONGS LIST AND ON THE HOT 100 CHART WITH A COUNTRY SONG.
COWBOY CARTER IS NOW AVAILABLE
LOS ANGELES, March 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Beyoncé’s eighth studio album is now available worldwide. act ii COWBOY CARTER arrives today following the successful release of two lead singles, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES” on February 11, Superbowl Sunday.
“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” landed in nine different genres on the US music charts, including Pop, Hot AC, Country, Rhythmic, Urban and R
COWBOY CARTER, produced by Beyoncé, is about genres, all of them, although deeply rooted in Country. This is the work of an artist who thrives on her freedom to grow, expand and create limitlessly. She neither apologizes nor seeks permission to elevate, amplify and redefine the sounds of music, as she dismantles false accepted norms about American culture. She pays homage to the past, honoring the musical pioneers of country, rock, classical music and opera.
The album is a cornucopia of sounds that Beyoncé loves and grew up listening to, between visits and eventually performances at the Houston Rodeo: Country, Rhythm
“The joy of creating music is that there are no rules,” Beyoncé said. “The more I see the world evolve, the more I feel a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments and I used very old instruments. I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and perfectly tuned organs. I kept some songs raw and leaned towards folk. All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, clicking and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature “
And the inspiration also takes into account Southern and Western culture beyond music, Rodeo, Western movies and the stories of the original Western cowboys. It was at the Rodeo where she first saw the diversity and camaraderie among people who love Country music and an American lifestyle, steeped in community, culinary offerings, barbecue and Western clothing. And it was for everyone. Among the crowd were black cowboys, Hispanics and Native Americans, who brought their valuable and authentic contribution to the culture. Their stories are synonymous with American history.
The music is wrapped in a passionate and bold narrative that captivates the listener with Beyoncé’s well-known and powerful voice at the center. Her voice shines a blinding light on a narrative steeped in truth, revealing hidden stories and delighting with all the magic one seeks when undertaking an intentional journey back to one’s roots. Beyoncé is a student of history, continuing the masterclass in American music that began with act i RENAISSANCE in 2022, which was a deep dive into dance music and its creators, and the celebration of those who lived with joy despite of being made to feel marginal.
In COWBOY CARTER the work of an artist who created on her own terms, in the absence of rules, persists boldly. The songs caress, cradle and encourage the listener’s curiosity through 27 gifts of revolutionary surprises, erasing the limitations placed on genre-based music. As a producer, Beyoncé explores and experiments with chord changes and keys, effortlessly blending genres, modifying and combining the unexpected to break down every wall of musical confinement. It’s a rare work that could so perfectly house remakes of classics like The Beatles’ “BLACKBIIRD” and Dolly Parton’s “JOLENE” with sonically diverse creations like “SWEET HONEY BUCKIN,” “RIIVER DANCE” and “II MOST WANTED.”
“My process is that I usually have to experiment,” Beyoncé said. “I enjoy being open to having the freedom to bring out all aspects of the things I love and that’s why I worked on a lot of songs. I recorded probably 100 songs. Once that’s done, I can put the puzzle together and realize the consistencies and common themes , and then create a solid body of work.”
The album is really an experiment. Each song is its own version of a reimagined Western movie. He was inspired by films such as “Five Fingers For Marseilles,” “Urban Cowboy,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Space Cowboys,” “The Harder They Fall” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and often screened the films on a screen during the recording process. Some aspects of the percussion were inspired by the ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ soundtrack, where it was more Bluegrass. This body of work ripples from cowboy singing and Blaxploitation to spaghetti westerns and fantasy with Beyoncé weaving in personal experiences, honoring black history, to exaggerated character building. The limited edition vinyl represents a microphone in the shape of a gun ala Thelma and Louise fleeing the law, but the gun is an invisible, hyper-exaggerated reality.
The character, Cowboy Carter, was born from these experiences and was inspired by the original black cowboys of the American West. The word cowboy itself was used derogatorily to describe former slaves as “boys,” who were the most skilled and had the hardest jobs of handling horses and cattle alike. By destroying the negative connotation, what remains is the strength and resilience of these men who were the true definition of Western strength.
While RENAISSANCE was a declared revival after the pandemic, COWBOY CARTER is a declarative frequency and academic shift, as the world prepares to change again, that redefines and reconstructs what Country and Americana is, and who can be included . The album opens with “AMERICAN REQUIEM,” a hymn-like alarm that incinerates old ideas about art and the people who create it.
Beyoncé set up shop with an all-star lineup of collaborators, including The-Dream, Pharrell, NO I.D., Raphael Saadiq, Ryan Tedder, Ryan Beatty, Swizz Beatz, Khirye Tyler, Derek Dixie, Ink, Nova Wav, Mamii, Cam, Tyler Johnson, Dave Hamelin and Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter to find the secret gems of each song. The process, which sometimes took years to complete, often meant combining pieces from different recordings, changing instrumentation here, adding a snare drum there, to land in the perfect place at the right time.
“This album took more than five years,” he said. “It’s been really great to have the time and grace to be able to take my time with this. Initially I was going to put out COWBOY CARTER 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 in God’s time.”
And the musical alliance here includes contributions from an impressive list of artists as vocalists, musicians and speakers, including Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Mylie Cyrus, Post Malone, Jon Batiste, Rhiannon Giddens, Nile. Rodgers, Robert Randolph, Gary Clark, Jr., Willie Jones, Brittney Spencer, Shaboozey, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy.
COWBOY CARTER is the musical concoction you didn’t expect from the world’s most innovative artist and producer, who has made it the norm to push boundaries by offering art that challenges the senses. It’s about culture, legacy, and a vital addition to the American songbook of the most important and creative talent in a century.
“I think people will be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects,” Beyoncé said, “but it’s the best music I’ve ever made.”
COWBOY CARTER is now available.
COWBOY CARTER SONG LIST:
1. AMERIICAN REQUIEM2. BLACKBIIRD3. 16 CARRIAGES4. PROTECTOR5. MY ROSE6. SMOKE HOUR ★ WILLIE NELSON7. TEXAS HOLD ‘EM8. BODYGUARD9. DOLLY P10. JOLENE11. DAUGHTER12. SPAGHETTII13. ALLIIGATOR TEARS14. SMOKE HOUR II15. JUST FOR FUN16. II MOST WANTED17. LEVII’S JEANS18. FLAMENCO19. The LINDA MARTELL SHOW20. YA YA21. OH LOUISIANA22. DESERT EAGLE23. RIIVER DANCE24. II HANDS II HEAVEN25. TYRANT26. SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’27. AMEN
Note to Editors: For a full list of credits, log in here.Click here for the COWBOY CARTER Media Toolkit.Album cover photo photographed by Blair Caldwell, available here: https://beyonce.lnk .to/cowboycarter
About Parkwood EntertainmentParkwood Entertainment is a film and production company, record label and management company founded by artist and businesswoman Beyoncé in 2010. With offices in Los Angeles and New York City, the company houses music, film, video departments , live performances and concert production and management, business development, marketing, digital, creative, philanthropy and advertising. Under its original name, Parkwood Pictures, the company released the film Cadillac Records (2008), in which Beyoncé starred and co-produced. The company has also released the films Obsessed (2009), starring and executive producing Beyoncé, the Peabody Entertainment Award-winning Lemonade (2017), the Emmy®-nominated Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé (2019), which documents Beyoncé’s historic performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018, and the Emmy®-winning film Black Is King (2020). Parkwood Entertainment produced The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013-2014), The Formation World Tour (2016) and the aforementioned “Homecoming” performances at Coachella (2018) and co-produced ON THE RUN Tour (2014) and ON THE RUN II (2018), and RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR (2023).
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