- Written by Noor Nanji
- culture reporter
image source, Getty Images
Beyoncé's long-awaited new album released
Critics and fans praised Beyoncé's new country-inspired album, “Cowboy Carter,” released Friday.
The American pop star's eighth studio album was given four stars out of five by Guardian critic Alexis Petridis, who said it showed her “amazing ability to do whatever she wants”. .
Page Six critic Nicholas Houtman called it “the rebirth that country music desperately needed.”
“She did not disappoint,” raved one fan of X (formerly Twitter).
Another social media user said he thought Beyoncé's voice was “the best of her career.”
The album includes duets with Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, as well as covers of Dolly Parton's Jolene and the Beatles song “Blackbird.”
Country singers Willie Nelson and Linda Martel are also featured.
Many critics welcomed Beyoncé's ability to straddle the country-pop genre. Petridis said the album demonstrated her singer's “ability to bend musical styles to her will.”
However, he said that the 27-song project “might have worked better split into two separate albums.”
Will Hodgkinson of The Times also gave Cowboy Carter a four-star review, calling it a “sophisticated starry-eyed Western” with a sense of “fun and adventure.”
However, he agreed that it was too long and added, “It would have been better to have left the remaining seven songs on a separate album.”
Orman praised the new album as “instantly timeless” and a “soulful celebration of Southern values and the genre's African American roots.”
Many of the critics also took up Beyoncé's own warning: “This is not a country album, this is a Beyoncé album.”
The new album was preceded by two hit singles, “Texas Hold'em” and “16 Carriages,” which marked the beginning of the Texas-born singer's foray into country music.
Both singles became instant streaming hits, and Beyoncé became the first black woman to top Billboard's country music chart last month with “Texas Hold'em.” She also topped the UK Singles Chart for the first time in almost 14 years.
Beyoncé said the album was born out of an experience of “not feeling welcome,” which motivated her to delve deeper into the history of country music.
Ahead of its release, she also thanked her fans “from the bottom of my heart” for supporting the album.
