“It’s a lot of talkin’ goin’ on, while I sing my song,” Beyoncé sings on “American Requiem,” the first song off her country-inspired album “Cowboy Carter.”
Later on Track 12, Black country icon Linda Martell touches on the concept of genres.
“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes, they are,” Martell said. “In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined.”
The album, which was released in April of 2024, was met with vitriol from some country artists who claim she didn’t belong in the genre. That chatter continued when she took home the Grammy for Best Country Album earlier this year.
Recently, country singer Gavin Adcock voiced his opinion about the “Crazy In Love” singer.
During a recent performance, he explained that Beyoncé’s music was performing better than his on the Apple Music charts. He claimed her album wasn’t country and that his fans could tell her they were coming for her.
“You can tell her we’re coming for her f—ing a–,” he is heard saying. “That s–t ain’t country music, and it ain’t ever been country music, and it ain’t gonna be country music.”
He later doubled down on that in a post on Instagram, where in the caption he wrote, “It just ain’t country.”
“When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car,” he explained. “I’ve heard a ton of Beyoncé songs, and I actually remember her Super Bowl halftime show being pretty kick a– back in the day. But I really don’t believe that her album should be labeled as country music.”
“It doesn’t sound country. It doesn’t feel country. And I just don’t think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just to stay at the top just because she’s Beyoncé,” he continued.
Queen Bey has received praise from those in the country music community, and legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson are featured on her album.
Singers Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris have all voiced their support for the 35-time Grammy winner, with Wilson saying was excited that the former Destiny’s Child star was dabbling in the genre.
“I love it,” Wilson told People magazine. “The more the merrier. I’m like, again, it’s about that storytelling. It’s just about making people feel at home… and everybody wants to feel at home.”
“You don’t have to be a country artist to make a country record,” Ballerini explained. “Those don’t have to exist in the same plane.”
Beyoncé’s last two albums, “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter” are blatant displays of her extending her artistry to other types of music.
She’s currently on her Cowboy Carter Tour, which has become the highest-grossing female country tour of all time, as it has earned $230 million from 19 sold-out shows so far. The tour has eight shows left this month.
As she famously says in her 2016 song “Formation,” “always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.”
