New details about Beyoncé’s incoming “Cowboy Carter,” out tonight (March 29), have emerged following yesterday’s tracklist reveal.
The follow-up to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” features Post Malone on the song “Levii’s Jeans,” while Miley Cyrus lends her vocals for “II Most Wanted.” In addition, Dolly Parton appears in an interlude, as does Willie Nelson and Linda Martell, the first black female solo artist to play the Grand Ole Opry.
The initial tracklist reveal, paired with an earlier comment from Parton teasing her participation in the album, confirmed that “Cowboy Carter” also featured a cover of Parton’s “Jolene.” Beyoncé’s rendition of the 1973 classic plays shortly after Parton’s interlude and is just one of the many homages on the record. “Cowboy Carter” also touts a cover of the Beatles’ “White Album” hit “Blackbird,” which Paul McCartney wrote to address the racial strife in the American South in the 1960s.
As for other guests, hip-hop and Americana singer Shaboozey is on the track “Spaghettii,” while country singer-songwriters Tanner Adell and Willie Jones also appear on the album. These confirmations debunk the long list of rumored guests for “Cowboy Carter” that ranged from Taylor Swift to Travis Scott.
Beyoncé kicked up her new era in February when she surprise-dropped a pair of singles—“Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”—during the Super Bowl. “Cowboy Carter” is the long-awaited “Act II” of 2022’s “Renaissance,” which the singer initially revealed would be a three-part project. The album’s first two singles comprised collaborations with Raphael Saadiq, Robert Randolph and Rhiannon Giddens.
In a post shared to Beyoncè’s social media last week, the singer said her journey to “Cowboy Carter” started five years ago, when she was inspired to dig into the genre after an incident where she did not feel “welcomed.”
She was likely referring to her 2016 performance at the Country Music Association Awards, where she duetted with the Dixie Chicks (as they were known at the time). The appearance caused controversy in the country community, particularly on social media, and some expressed displeasure at the fact that she was given such a prominent spot at the show.
In a long note posted on Instagram, Beyoncé explained that this incident inspired her to study the origins of country music. “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,” she said. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
