The GRAMMY winner's recent Instagram post has sparked speculation that her appearance at the CMA Awards inspired 'Cowboy Carter.'
Beyoncé shared some insight into the inspiration behind Cowboy Carter, her follow-up to the GRAMMY-winning album Renaissance, and it's created speculation that the singer's 2016 appearance at the CMA Awards motivated the forthcoming Act II album.
On Tuesday, the 42-year-old GRAMMY winner shared a lengthy post to her Instagram page to mark the 10 days left before the highly anticipated album's release. She expressed her gratitude to her fans for their support of her recently dropped singles, "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."
"I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you," she wrote. "My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant."
Last month, Billboard announced that the Renaissance singer became the first Black female artist to top the Hot Country Songs chart with her single, "Texas Hold 'Em," The singer's other new offering, "16 Carriages," also cracked the Top 10 at No. 9.
The No. 1 also gave Beyoncé her seventh unique top spot on one of Billboard's multimetric song charts as a solo artist: the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Hot Gospel Songs, Hot Latin Songs, Hot R&B Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Only Justin Bieber has more, at eight.
Beyoncé went on to explain the idea behind Cowboy Carter was born after an unnamed incident "years ago."
"This album has been over five years in the making. 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 recalled. "But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history."
She continued, "The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work."
Although the mother of three doesn't detail the incident she wrote of, fans are openly speculating that Beyoncé is referring to her performance of "Daddy Lessons" at the Country Music Awards alongside the Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) in 2016. Back then, she faced criticism from the country community, including artists who dismissed her as a pop artist.
Similarly to then, the Houston-born musician has received pushback for tapping into her country roots because she's traditionally viewed as an R&B/Pop artist.
Teasing the upcoming release, Beyoncé wrote that she has a few surprises in store for the album, including several collaborations with "some brilliant artists who I deeply respect."
"I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound," she wrote. "I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE...I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop."
In conclusion, Beyoncé declared that Cowboy Carter isn't a country album, as many have referred to it. "This is a 'Beyoncé' album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y'all!"
While Beyoncé's Renaissance album served as a tribute to house and disco music, it's clear that Cowboy Carter -- the second part of a planned trilogy of albums that started with 2022's Renaissance -- will offer a tip of the Stetson to country music.
The surprise single drops are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Cowboy Carter's potential surprises.
Dolly Parton previously shared that a cover of her iconic 1973 single, "Jolene," could appear on the upcoming album. In a recent interview with Knox News, Parton, 78, explained that Beyoncé previously recorded a cover that Parton said is "probably gonna be on her country album, which I'm very excited about that."
"I love her!" the country music icon added of Beyoncé. "She's a beautiful girl and a great singer. We've kind of sent messages back and forth through the years. And she and her mother were like fans, and I was always touched that they were fans, and I always thought she was great."
After previously offering her congratulations and well wishes to Beyoncé when the latter made history with her recent single, Parton reiterated her praise while speaking with Knox News. "A lot of people don't realize Beyoncé is a country girl. She's from Texas," Parton said. "I think we belong wherever we can do good, and her song is number one across every chart in the whole world, I think. So, I mean, who can argue with that?"
Read Beyoncé's Instagram post in its entirety below.
Fans can dive into the full experience of Act II: Cowboy Carter when it drops on March 29.
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