Queen Bey has been praised for her first country album, Cowboy Carter, as fans say they’re ‘obsessed’ hours and even minutes after it drops.
Beyonce has received glowing reviews, even after the star re-wrote the lyrics on her cover of Dolly Parton’s Jolene.
It comes after the lead singles Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages went viral on TikTok and streaming platforms, but county radio stations across the country didn’t play them.
KYKC, an Oklahoma radio station, received backlash after an email to a listener went viral after they stated they refused to play Beyonce’s songs. However, when they came under fire they later said they didn’t realize the singer released country songs.
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Billboard reports only eight out of the 150 country stations, that report to them, had played Texas Hold ‘Em.
Nicholas Hautman, from Page Six, has claimed country music is on life support and Bey could be the one that saves it. He says her new album is ‘the revival that country music so desperately needed’. He called the 27-track record ‘instantly timeless’.
Beyonce explained she recorded the album after feeling ‘unwelcome’ while presenting at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards.
Fans have been anticipating her cover of Dolly Parton’s classic tune Jolene, originally released in 1973. In the new track, we hear Parton herself slamming the infamous ‘Becky with the good hair’ before it begins.
Will Hodgkinson from The Times says it ‘has a refreshing sense of fun and adventure’ but feels it’s ‘too long’.
Fans of the 42-year-old have already declared it’s ‘album of the year’ after its release, which was on Friday. Her eighth record also features a brief appearance from her youngest daughter, Rumi, who is six years old.
Collaborators include Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, and Post Malone.
“The way I’m loving these collabs,” one fan said. “Beyonce got Post Malone into a country song. We won so hard.”
“Damn now Jolene got 2 divas looking for her,” another joked.
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Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter tracklist
1. Ameriican Requiem
2. Blackbiird (feat. Tanner Ardell)
3. 16 Carriages
4. Protector
5. My Rose
6. Smoke Hour (Willie Nelson intro)
7. Texas Hold ‘Em
8. Bodyguard
9. Dolly P.” (Dolly Patron intro)
10. Jolene
11. Daughter
12. Spaghetti (feat. Shaboozey)
13. Alligator Tears
14. Smoke Hour II
15. Just For Fun
16. II Most Wanted (feat. Miley Cyrus)
17. Levii’s jeans (feat. Post Malone)
18. Flamenco
19. The Linda Martell Show (intro by Linda Martell)
20. YaYa (feat. Willie Jones)
21. Oh Louisiana
22. Desert Eagle
23. Riverdance
24. II Hands II Heaven
25. Tyrant (feat. Dolly Parton)
26. Sweet Honey Buckin’
27. Amen
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