Queen B Dons a Cowboy Hat: How Beyoncé Made History with Her Surprise Country Album
Music icon and Houston homegirl Beyoncé has gone and done it again, darlings. With her just-released surprise album, the sequel to 2022’s acclaimed Renaissance, she has made history as the first Black female artist to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Two tracks from the highly anticipated project, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” debuted at No. 1 and No. 9 respectively on the chart dated February 22nd. Leave it to our gal Bey to shake up the Nashville establishment with her signature flair.
As Billboard announced on Tuesday, it’s the first time a Black woman has reigned over the country charts since they originated in 1958. But for those paying attention to Queen Bey’s 30-year career, the crossover into country territory comes as no shock. With her Lone Star state roots and that undeniable Texas twang in her speaking voice, Beyoncé has been embracing her down-home side for decades through hits like “Daddy Lessons” and “Check on It.” She’s long been a masterful mix of genre, blending R&B, rap, pop, soul – so why not add “country western shero” to her extensive (and ever-expanding) repertoire?
Sashaying onto the music scene at that tender age of 9 as part of Girl’s Tyme (which later became Destiny’s Child, launching four No. 1 hits – but we all know the story), Beyoncé has traversed the evolution of 21st century sound, refusing to be categorized or contorted to fit into any one box. She occupies all the boxes – blowing them wide open with each unexpected new release. Her country debut is no exception, burning up the charts almost immediately and crashing Billboard records in the process.
With “Texas Hold ‘Em” and its western-swing melody, Bey taps into the genre’s rich yet complicated history. While country music has strong roots in Black musical traditions, the industry itself has marginalized Black artists, especially Black female talents like Rissi Palmer and Mickey Guyton who have only recently begun carving out space for themselves in Nashville. As the self-proclaimed “Mama of All Mamas,” Beyoncé is opening doors for the next generation of artists, challenging preconceived notions about who gets to don cowboy boots and belt out ballads about pickup trucks.
The track itself is a quintessential country bop straight from Bey’s Lone Star State childhood – full of banjo twangs and her signature honeyed vocals. In the lyrics, she weaves together poker references with Western imagery: “Won’t you ante up your heart?/We could have us a full house before it all falls apart.” Romantic yet edgy, it displays Queen Bey doing what she does best: establishing her rule over any and all musical realms. All hail the Queen of Country!
In her trailblazing new era of western wear and yeehaw energy, Beyoncé has earned herself a seventh No. 1 hit across Billboard charts, trailing only Justin Bieber who currently boasts eight chart-toppers. But with a surprise album dropping any day now sure to lasso in more records, is Bieber’s lead truly safe from music’s reigning Queen? We’ll be awaiting those gorgeous gospel-country harmonies with bated breath here at Harper’s Bazaar. Yeehaw!
