Topline
Beyoncé’s highly anticipated new album, “Cowboy Carter,” is set to drop Friday and hours before its release more information about the star’s first album since 2022 has trickled out including that it may feature some collaborations with big names in music.
The album features 27 titles and some highly-anticipated artists.
Key Facts
The album lists 27 titles—though it’s not clear if they are all tracks—at least one of which is reportedly a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
The album, which is also being referred to as “Act II,” is the second installation of her three-part project that began with the 2022 album “Renaissance.”
Miley Cyrus is reportedly featured on the track “II MOST WANTED,” Post Malone is appears on the track “LEVII’s JEANS” and Shaboozey is on the track “SPAGHETII,” according to the music outlet Consequence Sound, which attributed the information to the album already being released in other international markets.
Some tracks also appear to nod to the album’s country tones, including the song “The Linda Martell Show,” an apparent reference to the first Black women in country music to be commercially successful and “SPAGHETII,” which could be a reference to Spaghetti Westerns—a style of film popularized in the 1960s.
What We Don’t Know
Two of the songs on the album mention two of country music’s biggest stars, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but it’s unclear if the tracks, “Dolly P” and “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson” are nods to singers or feature the singers. Some fans have also theorized that Lady Gaga could be featured on the album, given that the pair previously collaborated on the song “Telephone.” The “Telephone” music video ends with “To Be Continued,” which some fans have now taken as foreshadowing for a feature collaboration.
Key Background
Beyoncé has been slowly teasing out information about her new album since her February Super Bowl commercial. At that time, she dropped two of the album’s songs—"Texas Hold 'Em" and “16 Carriages.” The two songs soared to the top of the charts and she became the first Black woman with a number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. In a lengthy Instagram post weeks later, Beyoncé said she hoped “the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant” in the future. In that post, Beyoncé said her new album was “born out of” an experience years ago where she felt unwelcome, potentially referring to her time performing at the 2016 Country Music Awards.
Crucial Quote
“This album has been over five years in the making,” Beyoncé said earlier this month on Instagram. “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.”
What To Watch For
“Cowboy Carter” will be released March 29.
Further Reading
