beyoncé has revealed her upcoming country album Cowboy Carter was inspired by an experience where she “did not feel welcomed”.
The singer’s announcement has fans convinced the five years in the making of the album was created following criticism over her 2016 CMA performance with The Chicks,
The Texas Hold ‘Em singer on Tuesday unveiled a new image for Cowboy Carterwhich she has dubbed as the ‘act ii’ album to her hit 2022 record Renaissancewriting in the caption that her latest project “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.”
Watch the video above.
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“But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” Beyoncé continued, without providing specifics about the experience to which she was referring.
In addition to the two singles off of Cowboy Carter she released last month during the Super Bowl – 16 carriages and Texas Hold ‘Em – the Houston native has previously infused country sounds into her other work, including her 2016 track Daddy Lessons,
Beyoncé performed that song with The Chicks at the Country Music Awards that year, and later received racist backlash.
Prior to the CMAs, both Beyoncé, who paid homage to the Black Panther Party in the 2013 Super Bowl, and The Chicks, who made controversial comments about President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, had been at the center of political controversies. .
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When it was announced the artists would be taking the stage together, country conservatives launched a social media boycott under the hashtag #BoycottCMAs.
Afterwards, the performance was deleted from the CMA social media and website following outcry and racist backlash from conservative country fans.
“They treated us very weird backstage,” Natalie Maines of The Chicks told The New York Times in 2016, adding that the disrespect towards Beyoncé “was disgusting”.
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“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” the Grammy-winner wrote in her post on Tuesday.
“act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
Many fans were quick to connect the dots that Beyoncé appeared to be referencing the criticism from the CMAs as an inspiration for her highly anticipated venture into country.
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“The Dixie chicks spoke about performing with Beyonce and seeing how she experienced so much racism during and after the show. I believe Cowboy Carter was born from this moment,” one person said.
Marking the 10-day countdown to the release of Cowboy CarterBeyoncé also teased a few surprise collaborations on the album that she has in store, writing that she “collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect.”
“This ain’t a Country album,” she wrote at the end of her post. “This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!”
Cowboy Carter will be released on March 29.
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