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It’s been less than a day since Beyoncé finally dropped her Cowboy Carter album, and the project is already breaking records. The album is officially Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2024, the streaming service announced on Friday (March 29). This is the first time a country-album holds the title this year. Before […]
When Beyoncé released her Cowboy Carter album on Friday (March 29), the second in a trilogy of albums following 2022’s Renaissance, one of the immediate standouts from the country music-influenced project was a lush, harmony-stacked version of The Beatles’ classic “Blackbird” (stylized as “Blackbiird” on the album).
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Beyoncé’s lilting, gentle singing on the spare arrangement is accompanied by gorgeous, soaring backing vocals from a collective of rising Black female country artists — Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts and Brittney Spencer — whose profiles are already rising less than 24 hours since the album came out.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Kennedy, who also provides background harmonies on the Cowboy Carter track “Tyrant,” as do Spencer and Roberts. Of “Blackbiird,” she says, “It was so beautiful. It feels like we were having a little Destiny’s Child moment. To get to share that moment with them on such an important song, with Beyoncé, is cool.”
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Paul McCartney, with contributions from John Lennon, wrote the original song as a tribute to the Little Rock Nine, a group of Black students who in 1957 endured racial discrimination after enrolling at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. McCartney told GQ in 2018 that according to slang used in England in the 1960s, “A bird is a girl, so I was thinking of a Black girl going through this – you know, now is your time to arise, set yourself free, and take these broken wings.”
The women did not know that their song had made the final cut until Beyoncé released the track list on Wednesday and did not hear the recording until the album was released first thing Friday.
“I posted some pictures of me [on social media] seeing the track list for the first time,” says Adell — who, like the other women, added that her phone has been ringing off the hook all day. “I was waiting along with the rest of the world. You never know, right? Things change all the time. So to see my name on that track list was just as much of a gasp moment [for me] as it was for everybody else, I promise.”
The women, who recorded their four parts together without Beyoncé in the studio, are prohibited from sharing specifics about how they became involved with the record or the actual recording process. There is so much privacy around the project that Adell could not answer if she had already recorded the song by the time she posted this message to Instagram on Feb. 11: “As one of the only Black girls in the country music scene, I hope Bey decides to sprinkle me with a dash of her magic for a collab.”
Kennedy says she heard the final version of “Blackbiird” the same time as the rest of the world, when the album came out at midnight. “It was crazy emotional hearing it for the first time,” she says. “I was bawling. Hearing my voice for the first time on that song and seeing my name, I’m still trying to process it. I dreamed that this would happen, but I never imagined.”
While Beyoncé sings lead on the majority of the track, Kennedy’s lead vocal can be heard as the song draws to a close, on lines including “Take these wings and learn to fly.”
“I get choked up every time thinking about it,” Kennedy says. “I’ve been in Nashville almost eight years, and there have been a lot of highs but a lot of lows, and sometimes you do feel broken. Being on the Beyoncé album, I feel like I’m soaring.”
“When I heard it, I thought it was so beautiful,” adds Spencer. “We hear it when we’re recording, but to hear the finished mix and the master, it’s really overwhelming. I listened to it with the ears of a fan.”
Though the four women were aware of each other and some of them are close friends, the quartet had never sung together and did not know how stunning their vocals would sound together. “It’s amazing just to hear the blend of all of our voices together and just how impactful it is — the fact that Beyoncé is lifting all of our voices simultaneously and taking it to the next level,” Roberts says. “I’ve been listening to it kind of nonstop, but it was definitely crazy to hear all of us together. It just sounded so beautiful, angelic and powerful.”
Adell, who also sings on the album’s “Ameriican Requiem,” says her father’s favorite song is The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” so even though it came out long before she was born, she was very familiar with the song and its message. “It’s a powerful statement to have four Black country females on this track accompanying Beyoncé. … I’m grateful for Beyoncé to shed some light on other country artists like myself.”
To the women, Beyoncé — whose Cowboy Carter lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” stands at No. 35 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and has spent six weeks atop Hot Country Songs — has long served as a paragon of possibilities and hope, even in a genre where they feel they are often swimming upstream, both as women and women of color.
“Beyoncé has always been my biggest inspiration and I’m just so thankful, because I feel like to hear all of us on her song, it just shows that she believes in us and that is so empowering,” Roberts says. “I’m still in awe of the fact that my favorite artist in the world that has shaped my music, my art and my vision is now uplifting me.”
“I’ve adored Beyoncé for so long. I can’t count how many times I’ve been in Nashville and would say to myself, ‘What would Beyoncé do?’ At times when things felt really hard or when I wanted to elevate my thinking or feel better, there’s so many times where she’s just been a beacon of light in my life personally,” Spencer says. “Just being on a record with her, I just never thought that would happen and so it’s really beautiful.”
Each of the women is already making inroads on their own.
Alabama native Kennedy, who hosts Apple Music’s The Tiera Show, has released songs including “Jesus, My Mama, and Therapy.” The former Valory/Big Machine artist also performed in a tribute to Shania Twain at the 2022 ACM Honors and appeared in Dolly Parton’s music video for “Peace Like a River.”
Tiera Kennedy at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards from Ford Center at The Star on May 11, 2023 in Frisco, Texas.
Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images
Adell broke through with her debut single “Honky Tonk Heartbreak.” She followed with “FU-150,” “I Hate Texas” and “Buckle Bunny,” all included on her 2023 Columbia Records EP Buckle Bunny, a mesh of country, rock, hip-hop and R&B sounds. She has since parted with Columbia. Both her and Roberts’ songs saw an immediate increase in streaming after “Texas Hold ‘Em” was released.
Tanner Adell performs onstage for the 3rd Annual “BRELAND & Friends” benefit for the Oasis Center at Ryman Auditorium on March 26, 2024 in Nashville.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BRELAND & Friends
Elektra artist Spencer first garnered attention in 2021 after she covered “Crowded Table” from The Highwomen, who have invited her on tour with them. Spencer released her debut full-length album, My Stupid Life, earlier this year.
Brittney Spencer
Jimmy Fontaine
Roberts released her debut album Bad Girl Bible, Vol. 1 last year and has opened concerts for Reba McEntire. ESPN has used her tracks “Stomping Grounds” and “Countdown to Victory” on Monday Night Football.
Reyna Roberts
Mark Gonzales
Spencer hopes their participation — and Beyoncé’s support of new Black country artists (Willie Jones and Shaboozey are featured on other songs on the album) — sends a message to the country community and its lack of diversity.
“I don’t know what exactly her intention is, but I think we can all assume that it’s a good one,” Spencer says. “She’s definitely made a statement, and I think she’s paying attention and she cares about what’s happening and she cares about Black country music. It’s powerful to watch. She’s the biggest artist in the world and she’s seeing what’s happening. To me, that says a few things: It says that the state of what’s going on is actually way more dire than I think people give it credit for. When I talk about that, I talk about, just honestly, the bigotry of this town. I think the world is watching. I think she’s making a statement. If anybody can get people’s attention in Nashville, I think it might be Beyoncé, and she’s done it in her own way. And it’s brilliant.”
Kennedy praises Beyoncé’s inclusion of country legends as well. “I think it is so beautiful what she has done with this album — the collabs with Willie [Nelson], Dolly [Parton] and Linda Martell and for her to give a spotlight to up-and-coming artists like me, I have no words,” she says. “I’m so thankful to her for giving us this spotlight, and I intend to keep shining that spotlight on other artists. There are so many amazing artists in country music who have been working so hard. There are so many different sounds in country music — hip-hop country, R&B country like I sing, Latin country — and she’s brought this entire audience to country music.”
For Roberts, her participation is a sweet victory of another sort. “I actually sang [‘Blackbird’] in middle school, and I remember auditioning for a solo and I did not get it,” she says, with a laugh. “It’s full-circle, because I definitely got it now.”
A little context if you care to listen: Raye had a major role on Beyoncé freshly released album, Cowboy Carter. The “Escapism” superstar took to Instagram to reveal that she co-wrote one of the project’s standout tracks, “Riiverdance.” Alongside a video of her posing with a cowboy hat, she wrote in a caption on Instagram […]
In the hours since Beyoncé dropped her new album Cowboy Carter first thing Friday (March 29), the expansive, genre-bending project has captured a lot of people’s attention — including a number of fellow celebrities. That includes the A-list collaborators featured on the LP, who are now able to hear all 27 tracks for the first […]
When fans play Dierks Bentley’s “American Girl” video online, they may find themselves a tad confused by the presence of a pipe organ.
Why the hell, one might ask, are a bunch of country musicians covering Tom Petty in a church?
But it’s actually a daily occurrence in Music City. As denominations across America consider the meaning of Good Friday and Easter this weekend, Nashville’s music infrastructure has drummers, producers, marketers and label executives working on their secular product in old churches that have been resurrected for a different purpose.
“I’m one who would never advocate for tearing down an old building if we could figure out a way to salvage it and make it useful in today’s age,” says Ryman Auditorium senior events manager Chrissy Hall. “If its use as a church isn’t necessarily what it’s needed for anymore, I think that’s a wonderful thing. It’s a great use of history.”
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The Ryman is the most prominent example of a former place of worship becoming a modern Nashville music structure. Nicknamed the “Mother Church of Country Music,” it opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, but in short order it was adapted as a significant meeting place. It earned particular notice as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974.
It was the place where Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams all made their Opry debuts. It stands as a sort of “temple-ate” for other conversions from church to music-related structure. Clementine Hall – the place where Bentley shot his “American Girl” video – is an event space renovated from a Methodist church by Dragon Park. The company also turned an old Baptist sanctuary into Ruby, a hall that’s housed music events for Don Henley, Jordan Davis and Dan Tyminski.
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At least two working studios – Ocean Way, owned by Belmont University; and Neon Cross, owned by producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Ashley McBryde) – are repurposed houses of worship. Marketing company Ave East and management firm Q Prime South are also in buildings once reserved for sermons.
“It is like Hogwarts meets a medieval church,” says MARB MKTG CEO Faithe Dillman of the Q Prime locale. “I love working from there.”
MARB only recently moved into its new office, aptly located on Chapel Avenue. Dillman adapted the original Hobson Methodist Episcopal Church covenant as a company pledge to be a positive force in the community, “to listen to and learn from each other, treating each other with respect and dignity.” The company also keeps a hand-written set of “Humble and Kind” lyrics, signed by songwriter Lori McKenna, above the fireplace. Dillman has cultivated an atmosphere that values maturity and spirituality, qualities that come in handy as they work for such disparate clients as Dolly Parton and even Megadeth. They even attempt to maintain that atmosphere when the structure itself breaks down.
“You don’t move into a 150-year-old building and think this thing is gonna run without problems,” Dillman says. “[It’s even] down to little things like we’re having to have custom window treatments made. All of our windows are arched, and they’re not standard sizes. Those were things that I didn’t consider actually when I moved in that I needed to.”
The quirks of a converted church can give repurposed buildings some unique qualities. The inside of the old steeple has become an artful appendage in the Q Prime office. The wooden pews in the Ryman are much less amenable to concert-goers’ backsides than the old-time preacher man’s words were for the congregation’s insides. And the stained glass in the main room at Ocean Way sets an inspiring atmosphere.
“We have good light from the streetlights and everything, so it’s already predetermined to have an other-worldly experience, whether it’s day or night, just from the windows,” says Ocean Way director of studio operations Joe Baldridge.
Joyce named his recording room the Neon Cross Studio, paying homage to a blue-lit symbol at the crown of the former Baptist church’s roof. Inside, Joyce originally placed the soundboard at the front of the auditorium. After a couple years, he had the console moved to the center of the room.
“It felt a little weird with me talking to the band from the altar,” Joyce says.
Not every old church appointment is completely appreciated at first. When Dragon Park owners Dan and Brenda Cook bought Clementine Hall from the Methodist Church in 2017, they had every intention of getting rid of the pipe organ. When word got out that they planned to remove it, churches from as far away as Germany and Australia inquired about purchasing it. Ultimately, producer T Bone Burnett and Widespread Panic’s JoJo Herman convinced the Cooks to keep it.
“We thought the organ could be a detriment for a couple reasons,” Dan notes. “One, it quite frankly just takes up space. It might be considered too churchy, I guess, to some elements, and we want to appeal to the broadest number of potential clients, like any business. And then, of course, it was the idea of if you keep it, you got to kind of restore it and maintain it. There’s a commitment element to it.”
The organ practically announces Clementine’s previous incarnation, though its current usage is often distinctly different from its original purpose. It’s hosted a Big Loud party for Mason Ramsey; a Universal Music Group Nashville showcase, Rhythm, Rebels, Revival; and a Brantley Gilbert TV appearance. Despite those activities, the most popular reason to rent Clementine is to exchange vows. It dictates some of the property’s rules.
“We don’t do shots here,” Cook says. “And it’s not because of the church history, because we certainly allow alcohol. It’s just I don’t think that that’s a classy thing to do at a wedding.”
Despite their spiritual histories, the venues don’t generally place any restrictions on the creative work that occurs on the premises. Ocean Way’s past client list includes 5 Seconds of Summer, Alice Cooper and Evanescence, acts that are more raucous than religious. Policies are focused on preserving the facilities, not on regulating creativity.
“We do have a policy that if you’re out of hand and don’t respond to suggestions, that you can lose your time,” Baldridge says. “But that’s not based upon anything other than poor behavior – like if Phil Spector was shooting a gun into the ceiling, it would probably be, ‘You’re not coming back.’ Common sense.”
It’s appropriate that churches play a role in the physical landscape of the country music business, given the gospel influence on the genre. Artists have tended to receive early musical training at church, and acts such as The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, The Gatlins and Connie Smith picked up pieces of their sound from Christian music.
For Good Friday and Easter weekend, it will be business as usual for the companies occupying the former Nashville churches. That includes the Ryman, which had an A.J. Croce concert planned for March 29. Going to a show or recording a new song might be the most appropriate way to observe the holiday, given music’s ability to connect with the individual’s heart.
“It doesn’t matter your religious affiliation,” Hall says. “Music can be very moving in whatever way you need it to be, whether that’s spiritual and bringing you closer to God, or whether you’re having a bad day and it brightens your mood, or it expresses the sorrow that you’re feeling over love or loss. Music is such a powerful emotional tool.”
“In my opinion, music is God’s language,” Joyce agrees. “I mean, when you think about it, everything is vibration. So us musicians and people who make music are to me more like High Priests than some Billy Graham guy. Like, we’re actually using God’s word – I mean, the music, the sound. It’s 100% spiritual.”
Jake Shane, who has nearly 3 million followers on TikTok thanks to his viral comedy videos under the handle @octopusslover8, is reviewing albums for Billboard with exclusive new essays and videos. Find his first Billboard album review below, for Beyoncé’s just-released Cowboy Carter album.
“People don’t make albums anymore,” Beyoncé declared in her 2013 HBO documentary Life Is But a Dream. “They just try to sell a bunch of lil quick singles. And they burn out, and they put out a new one, and they burn out, and they put out a new one.” She was right, finding a real “album” is becoming scarcer in the age of streaming, where songs with shorter run lengths are viewed as more “streamable.” A real album might be hard to find, but luckily we have Beyoncé, and boy does Beyoncé make a good one.
Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, the country-influenced and genre-defying Cowboy Carter, is a tour de force and yet another example of Beyoncé’s innate ability to put together an album. Much like Renaissance, most of the songs blend beautifully into each other, almost forcing the modern listener to hear the album in order — exactly how Beyoncé intended it. This is especially notable in the jump from the “Dolly P” interlude to Beyoncé’s stunning reworking of Parton’s classic “Jolene.” Instead of Parton’s infamous “begging” of Jolene to not take her man, Beyoncé changes the narrative — she’s not begging you; she’s warning you. It’s a perfect rendition of the classic song in 2024. We’ve heard a million and one versions of superstars “begging” for the villainous Jolene to not take their man, but Beyoncé isn’t most superstars, and she’s not going to beg; she’s going to tell you.
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Beyoncé follows up her rendition of “Jolene” with perhaps the most cinematic moment on the album — track 11, “Daughter,” is a scorching country ballad-turned-Italian opera that finds our protagonist setting the scene of smoke, bodies and, of course in true Beyoncé fashion, bloodstained custom couture.
Beyoncé’s duet with Miley Cyrus, “II Most Wanted,” finds the two stars going line for line, Miley’s rasp perfectly matching Beyoncé’s powerhouse vocals. Beyoncé and Cyrus’ harmonies flowing, they insist “I’ll be your shotgun rider, till the day I die.” The two superstars might be singing about their respective romantic partners, but it’s just as easy to believe they’re singing about each other. As they lyrically and sonically ride side by side, their chemistry is tangible and undeniable.
If “II Most Wanted” weren’t proof enough of Beyoncé’s undeniable talent for a cohesive duet, look no further than “Just for Fun,” which features country star Willie Jones. Another standout is “Levii’s Jeans” featuring Post Malone, who delivers some of the cleanest vocals of his career — setting the scene for a hot summer day in the South, where we find our superstar wearing a perfectly fitted pair of Levi’s.
It would be remiss to talk about Cowboy Carter without mentioning Beyoncé’s cover of The Beatles classic “Blackbird,” which she aptly restyled as “Blackbiird.” The cover features rising country star Tanner Adell. Once again, we find our superstar making an already-classic song her own entirely. It’s a pin-drop moment on the album — talking about it almost feels like I’m taking away from the time you could spend listening to it instead.
Beyoncé said, “This ain’t a country album, it’s a Beyoncé album.” And while Beyoncé has never been wrong, she has also never been so right. “Genres are a funny little concept,” Linda Martell (country star and trailblazer) states at the beginning of “Spaghettii” — almost laughing at every single Beyoncé detractor who questioned how the superstar would fit into the country genre. Country? Genre? This is Beyoncé. Just press play.
Fans are parking their Lexuses and throwing their keys up ever sing Beyoncé’s highly anticipated country-tinged album, Cowboy Carter, arrived on Friday (March 29). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The Grammy winner first introduced her Cowboy Carter era with a pair of country singles — “16 Carriages” and Billboard […]
Linda Martell is passing the torch. Shortly after the release of Beyoncé‘s new album Cowboy Carter Friday (March 29) — on which the living legend is featured twice — she shared a touching message praising the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer’s decision to embrace country music through the project.
Regarded as the first Black woman to become commercially successful as a country soloist, Martell lent her voice to two tracks on Cowboy Carter: “Spaghetti” and “The Linda Martell Show.” Sharing a screenshot of the latter track, the musician wrote on Instagram Friday morning, “I am proud that @beyonce is exploring her country music roots.”
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“What she is doing is beautiful, and I’m honored to be a part of it,” she continued. “It’s Beyoncé, after all!”
On “Spaghetti,” Martell introduces the song — which also features Virginia country star Shaboozey — with a voice note touching on Bey’s experimentation with musical styles on Cowboy Carter. “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they?” she says. “In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined.”
Released as the second act to 2022’s Renaissance, the Ivy Park founder’s new album also features cameos from Dolly Parton — whose classic hit “Jolene” Bey reimagines on the album — Willie Nelson, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus and Willie Jones. On a haunting rendition of The Beatles “Blackbird,” the 32-time Grammy winner invited a handful of modern Black female country stars — Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts — to sing harmonies.
Cyrus posted her own thank-you note to Beyoncé Friday morning in celebration of their Cowboy Carter duet, titled “II Most Wanted.”
“I’ve loved Beyonce since long before I had the opportunity to meet & work with her,” the “Flowers” singer wrote. “My admiration runs so much deeper now that I’ve created along side of her. Thank you Beyonce. You’re everything & more.”
See Martell’s post about Cowboy Carter below.
Beyoncé is officially in her country era — and she doesn’t care what you think about it. The superstar opened her freshly released Cowboy Carter album on Friday (March 29) with “Ameriican Requiem,” a half-spoken word declaration of her intentions with the country-tinged project. “Looka there, looka in my hand / The grandbaby of a […]
Chayce Beckham’s “23” flies from No. 6 to No. 1 on Billboard’sCountry Airplay chart (dated April 6), becoming his first leader on the list. The single gained by 22% to 28.2 million audience impressions during the March 22-28 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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“I’m so grateful for my family, my team and all the country music fans around the world who made this possible,” Beckham tells Billboard. “Thank you to country radio for embracing this song and making this all a dream come true for me.”
“23” makes the biggest jump to the Country Airplay summit since Thomas Rhett’s “Angels Don’t Always Have Wings” also soared 6-1 last September.
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Plus, as “23” hits No. 1 in its 60th week, it completes the longest trip to the pinnacle since Dylan Scott’s “Can’t Have Mine” did so in its 62nd frame last December.
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“23” (not the same composition as Sam Hunt’s song of the same name that topped Country Airplay for a week in April 2022) is Beckham’s second entry on the chart. His Lindsay Ell duet “Can’t Do Without Me” hit No. 46 in June 2022.
The 27-year-old Beckham, from Apple Valley, Calif., was crowned the winner of ABC’s American Idol in 2021 and performed “23” – which he solely penned – live on air during that season. He had written “23” a year before and became the first hopeful to win the competition performing an original song.
Beckham is the fourth Idol winner to top Country Airplay, joining Carrie Underwood (16 No. 1s, after she won in 2005), Scotty McCreery (five; 2011) and Kelly Clarkson (one; the inaugural winner in 2002).
Meanwhile, “23” is the first Country Airplay No. 1 written by a single person since Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s self-authored “Fast Car” ruled for five weeks beginning last July. The only other leaders written by one person in the last 10 years: Garth Brooks’ “Ask Me How I Know,” written by Mitch Rossell (No. 1 on Dec. 16, 2017); LANCO’s “Greatest Love Story” (frontman Brandon Lancaster; Dec. 2, 2017); Little Big Town’s “Better Man” (Taylor Swift; March 4, 2017); and Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind” (Lori McKenna; June 25, 2016). Of the 327 leaders in that span, only six – or 2% – have been solo-written.
Meanwhile, prior to “23,” the last Country Airplay No. 1 solely written by the soloist who also recorded it? Swift’s “Ours,” on the chart dated March 31, 2012.
‘Solo’ Hit
Scotty McCreery, meanwhile, posts his ninth Country Airplay top 10 as “Cab in a Solo” pushes 11-10 (19.1 million, up 5%). The song, which he co-penned, follows “It Matters to Her,” which hit No. 3 last June and “Damn Strait,” which became his fifth leader in July 2022.
McCreery’s latest single introduces his LP Rise & Fall, due May 10.