We should have realised Beyoncé was a little bit country. Not only does she hail from Texas, but she ended her Renaissance tour by riding around football stadiums on a giant glitterball horse. The signs were there all along.
She made it official in March with the release of Cowboy Carter, an album inspired by righteous anger (she was treated like a pariah at the 2016 Country Music Awards), and a desire to explore country music’s forgotten black roots.
Over 27 sprawling tracks, Beyoncé tipped her hat to rodeo culture, the chitlin’ circuit, Honky Tonk, bluegrass, folk and gospel – connecting the dots between genres, and daring the country music establishment to look itself in the eye.
It flinched, of course. Acclaimed as it was, Cowboy Carter failed to pick up a single nomination at the 2024 Country Music Awards.
