ENTERTAINMENT
Beyoncé Reveals ‘Cowboy Carter’ Album Cover: ‘This Ain’t a Country Album, It’s a Beyoncé Album’
Beyonce during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024. KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY
The icon is just 10 days away from revealing the second act of her Renaissance trilogy. Get all the details.
It’s officially time to saddle up! A little more than a month after making a grand pivot into country music with the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” Beyoncé has finally unveiled the official album cover for her forthcoming LP, Cowboy Carter.
A clear continuation of the Renaissance aesthetic, the album cover for Cowboy Carter finds Queen Bey striking a regal pose while perched atop a striking white horse. She dons red, white and blue chaps, a simple white cowboy hat and flowing platinum blonde locks as she raises the American flag. Like the Renaissance album artwork, the background is completely black — save for the slightly illuminated dirt road at the bottom of the frame.
Queen Bey shared the Cowboy Carter album cover on her official Instagram page on Tuesday (March 19). In her lengthy caption, she detailed the inspiration behind her new record, which has been in the making for “five years.” Cowboy Carter is the official follow-up to 2022’s Billboard 200-topping Renaissance — a sprawling dance record that won four Grammys, housed a pair of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits in “Break My Soul” (No. 1) and “Cuff It” (No. 6) and spawned a record-breaking world tour and accompanying box office-topping documentary concert film.
“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote, possibly alluding to her experience performing the country-indebted “Daddy Lessons” at the 2016 CMA Awards alongside The Chicks. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.” Billboard reached out to the Country Music Association, who had no comment on Beyoncé’s March 19 Instagram post.
At the top of 2024, Beyoncé unleashed a pair of country singles during the Super Bowl. Alongside “16 Carriages,” a gorgeous Americana-nodding ballad, Queen Bey dropped “Texas Hold ‘Em,” an irresistible country-pop tune that made her both the first Black woman to top Hot Country Songs and the first Black woman to top the Hot 100 with a country song. Despite the commercial success of “Texas,” Beyoncé did face some criticism from players in the genre — one country radio station even initially refused to play, but even they couldn’t resist “Texas.”
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she continued. “[Act II] is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work. I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect. I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.”
In her message, Beyoncé both stressed that Cowboy Carter is “a continuation of Renaissance” and acknowledged the Billboard chart history she made with “Texas Hold ‘Em.” “I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” she gushed. “That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
While Queen Bey has kept the Cowboy Carter visuals under lock and key — just as she did with Renaissance — the album cover reveal is one step in that direction. In fact, Beyoncé’s post coincides with the 10-day countdown until the release of Cowboy Carter — which is currently slated to drop on March 29.
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she declared at the end of her message. “This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!”
Check out Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album artwork below.
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