The Pop Heavyweights Taking on Country Music
Following the announcement of this year’s CMA award nominations, Beyonce has once again become a topic of controversy for the organisation. The singer has been left with zero nominations for categories such as Song of the Year or Album of the Year, despite dominating the country charts with hits from Cowboy Carter such as Texas Hold ‘Em.
This announcement opened up old wounds from the 2016 CMA Awards when Beyonce performed her song Daddy Lessons alongside the Dixie Chicks. In this performance, the singer wore a traditional country-inspired silhouette and included instruments unique to the genre such as the fiddle. Despite her commitment to the country uniform, Beyonce faced intense backlash from the CMA’s fans for ‘not being country enough’.
Although country music is growing in popularity worldwide, it is important to note that most of the influence to and from the genre is generated from the southern United States, where politics tend to lean towards American conservatism. These communities feel strongly about southern pride and country music’s place in it, which can make the fans territorial about how it is represented. This is what ultimately led to the scrutiny of the singer’s performance that night. However, there is also an undeniable element of racism and misogyny weaved into the fans’ reactions. The racism was blatant as some fans were immediately hurling racial slurs at Beyonce online. And some directly criticised both Beyonce and The Chicks for their political stances, citing their support for organisations such as Black Lives Matter. However, politics did not seem to be an issue the previous year when Justin Timberlake, another liberal pop star, took the stage alongside Chris Stapleton.
Fast forward to March 2024, Beyonce announced the upcoming release of Cowboy Carter, a full-length country album featuring established icons like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. Her announcement post recalled the CMA performance and stated, “It 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. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive. The criticisms I faced when I first entered the genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put onto me.”
As mentioned, the album has not been nominated for any awards for the upcoming CMA ceremony, despite the wild popularity amongst fans. The album debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 album chart and the Top Country chart.
Her fellow popstar Post Malone has also recently shifted his focus to the country genre. He has received a warm welcome from the country community, with an impressive four nominations from the CMA’s. His recent hit, I Had Some Help ft. Morgan Wallen has received impressive accolades such as number one on Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Hot Country Songs. This track was the source of his nominations in the following categories: Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.
His full-length album, F-1 Trillion, has also had an impressive run on the charts, where it placed at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Album chart. The album boasted features from country legends such as Hank Williams Jr., Blake Shelton, and Dolly Parton.
His acceptance from the country community is further exemplified by his headline performance at the Stagecoach Festival earlier this year. His performance was celebrated as he shared his stage with many guest performers such as Brad Paisley and Sarah Evans, further adding to his credibility with the crowd. The singer is currently performing the album on a US stadium tour.
While Beyonce and Post Malone have both had success from their recent releases, there are stark differences between the two projects and their place in the country world.
For example, F-1 Trillion follows a similar structure to the country music that dominates the radio today. The songs of the album are right in line with common themes of break-ups, drinking after a long day at work, and protecting family. Pitchfork’s review of the album said, “The superstar’s shift to fun, low-stakes pop-country feels so right, you wonder why it took so long.” While Malone’s album did not necessarily push any limits pre-determined by the genre, its success is undeniable. The approachability of the music, as well as the joy the album campaign has sparked from the singer, makes F-1 Trillion fun to listen to.
On the other hand, Cowboy Carter takes a more ambitious approach to the genre. Beyonce herself said, “This ain’t a country album. This is a Beyonce album”. While Cowboy Carter is semantically categorised as a country album, the notion of it being a Beyonce album hints that there are elements of the music that are true to her stylistically. When you listen to the album, she is also playing off of many of the same themes that Malone utilised in his work. What separates Cowboy Carter, is that it is a concept album that blends a variety of music styles to make one cohesive project. She is not shy about this, and in fact serves it to us on a platter. Her track, The Linda Martell Show, serves as an interlude for YA YA, stating, “This particular tune stretches across a range of genres, and that’s what makes it a unique listening experience.”
Another point of comparison between F-1 Trillion and Cowboy Carter is the individuals featured in the songs. Both have an impressive guest performer list with a mix of stars both old and new. There is even some overlap between the two with Dolly Parton. Not to mention, Post Malone and Beyonce themselves share a duet on Cowboy Carter, Levii’s Jeans.
But it is hard to ignore that Malone’s biggest song on the album is shared with Morgan Wallen. Wallen has previously caught fire for using racial slurs, which were caught on video and shared via TMZ. This led him to be dropped from his label and temporarily banned from certain radio stations. While country fans have criticised Beyonce for supporting BLM, they have forgiven Wallen for using the n-word and have rallied for his forgiveness. In the years following the controversy, Wallen has recovered well with two chart-topping hits and numerous other accolades.
One of Beyonce’s contributors, Shaboozey, is a Nigerian-American artist who has also found success in country music in his own right. Shaboozey also got his start in a different genre and has forged his own formidable path on the country scene. His hit song, A Bar Song (Tipsy), has spent 10 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. He is the first black male to reach the top of both the Hot 100 and Hot Country. The singer has also been nominated for New Artist of the Year by the CMA.
The CMA award show will broadcast on November 20th, where we will be able to further measure the success of artists like Post Malone and Shaboozey. In the meantime, the Grammy nominee list is set to be posted on November 8th, where Beyonce’s album could be considered for awards outside of the specific country establishment.
As the genre continues to evolve, more and more artists will likely follow in Post Malone and Beyonce’s footsteps by expanding into country music. We have already seen this with Lana Del Rey’s recent release of Tough ft. Quavo. The innovation of these artists has led to some questioning of what makes a genre a genre, and we are likely to see these arbitrary lines continue to blur in the years to come.
