Beyoncé’s eagerly awaited country album Cowboy Carter is finally here. The follow-up to Renaissance, which is the star’s eighth record, dropped at midnight on 29 March 2024, featuring 27 tracks with a run time of 80 minutes. In a press briefing, Beyoncé revealed that she recorded "probably 100 songs" for the album. "My process is that I typically have to experiment," she said. "Once that is done, I am able to put the puzzle together and realise the consistencies and the common themes, and then create a solid body of work."
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That work is already receiving rave reviews from fans and critics alike, who are praising the fierce creativity and instant classic tracks. Celebrity fans have also commented, including Hailey Bieber, who posted a screenshot of the album playing on Instagram stories with the simple caption: "whew😤". There are even official "Hashmojis" for the album on X.
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Cowboy Carter’s release has produced answers to the wild speculations about which artists Beyoncé has collaborated with on the album. Among the most talked-about is Dolly Parton’s "appearance", and the fact that Queen Bey has rewritten the lyrics to the country icon’s classic 1973 hit, "Jolene".
Parton introduces the rewrite in the spoken word track "Dolly P". The interlude, reportedly taken from a voicemail, includes a reference to Becky from the song "Sorry" on Bey’s 2016 album, Lemonade. "You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? Reminded me of someone I knew back when. Except she has flamin' locks of auburn hair. Bless her heart. Just a hair of a different colour but it hurts just the same."
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This leads into Beyoncé’s "Jolene", which first departs from the original with the lyric: "I’m warning you, don't come for my man". The version seems to include further lyrical references to infidelity, including, "Takes more than beauty and seductive stares / To come between a family and a happy man’ and ‘I’m still a Creole banjee b***h from Louisiana (Don’t try me)".
This article was first seen on ELLE UK.