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Country music legends Linda Martell and Willie Nelson are
featured on the album released on Friday, which also had duets
with Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and a cover of Dolly Parton's
famed "Jolene."
Many critics offered praise for the album with Page Six's
Nicholas Hautman calling it "the revival that country music so
desperately needed".
Experts and fans view Beyoncé's foray into country music as a
reclamation and homage to the legacy of Black Americans within
country music and culture – a history that has largely gone
unrecognized in some mainstream music circles.
They say Beyoncé, who was born and raised in Houston, Texas, is
now walking in the footsteps of many acclaimed Black country
music legends who came before her.
"The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced
me to propel past the limitations that were put on me," the
singer wrote on Instagram ahead of the album's release.
She had first teased the album when she released two new songs
after making a surprise appearance in a Super Bowl commercial
recently. The album serves as the second in a three-album
project that kicked off with her 2022 critically acclaimed
"Renaissance."
Beyoncé has been vocal throughout her career about her ties to
country music and southern culture, dropping hints throughout
her career of the impact both have had.
In a post, she described how a negative experience with the
country music crowd led her to do "a deeper dive into the
history of Country music."
The album has a theme of uncovering Black identity in country
spaces. One of the album's 27 titles is called "The Linda
Martell Show," after the first Black woman to perform at the
Grand Ole Opry in 1969.
The album also features a cover of The Beatles' classic track
"Blackbird," retitled "Blackbiird," which Paul McCartney
originally penned as an ode to the nation's civil rights
movement, racial tensions and the struggles Black women in
particular endured to achieve equity.
Beyoncé's version features Black country artist Tanner Adell and
credits other Black artists, including Brittney Spencer, Tiera
Kennedy and Reyna Roberts.
"The instantly timeless 27-track project is a soulful
celebration of Southern values and the genre's African American
roots," Hautman wrote in Page Six.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Kat
Stafford and David Gregorio)
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