Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has been the rightful queen of pop culture since the 2009 Grammy for Song of the Year went to “Single Ladies.” However, in my heart, she’s given us the song of the year time and time again. With 88 Grammy nominations and 32 wins, she is what it means to be a superstar. Fast forward to 2024, and she’s still changing the game. As is common in many celebrity careers, Beyoncé desired to break out of the industry-produced box she’s existed in for years. For an artist who seemingly did it all, this came as a return to her Texan roots. After dropping “TEXAS HOLD ’EM” and “16 CARRIAGES,” the “ACT II: COWBOY CARTER” album came out on March 29, and fans went feral. 

The music itself is a delightful blend of inventiveness and fun, infusing a Western twist into pop. Beyoncé’s impressive collaboration list features country legends like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton along with pop icons like Post Malone, Miley Cyrus and Brittney Spencer. The entire album is worth a listen, but my personal favorites are “DAUGHTER,” an intrinsically beautiful song, and “JOLENE,” which has created ripples of controversy. Whenever an artist attempts to engage with classics like “Jolene”, their work runs the risk of being scrutinized by diehard fans of the original piece — but I found Beyoncé’s version to be a fun, modern twist on the already stellar song. 

Many have offered their own take on the album. A critic for the New York Times claimed it was “overstuffed” and a review in The Washington Post referred to “Jolene” as “Dolly Parton karaoke.” For some, “COWBOY CARTER” falls short because it is not a conventional country compilation. To that end, I would quote Queen B herself: “This ain’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album.” It is an artist exploring uncharted waters of the music industry. The album may not be entirely country by some standards, but becoming the first Black woman to reach the #1 single spot on the Hot Country Songs chart for “Texas Hold ’Em” speaks for itself. 

I felt that, combined with some of the best songs deserving an almost perfect rating, the only fault in the album was that some of the features detracted from the explorative nature of breaking genre boundaries and held it in the pop realm.

Another layer of the release itself is Beyoncé’s sentiments about her exploration of the country scene. The album was inspired by a moment of hostility at the 2016 Country Music Awards that encapsulates just how polarizing race can be regarding artistry. For Beyoncé, this appears to have encouraged an effort to make the country music scene a space for all. Although her present efforts are to integrate diverse voices into a previously monotonous style, her ultimate goal seems to be that an artist’s identity, specifically their race, should be irrelevant in dictating what genres of music they thrive in. Her goals in releasing the album significantly impacted my experience listening to it, adding a more meaningful layer to an already delightful album.