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'Cowboy Carter': Country crossover artists laud second act of Beyoncé's album trilogy

Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Entertainment News

Beyoncé has been crowned rodeo queen.

The Houston-born superstar on Friday released her eighth studio album, “Cowboy Carter,” the second act in an album trilogy conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown. The first act, 2022’s “Renaissance,” explored the forgotten Black and queer roots of house music but was not supposed to precede her genre-busting foray into country music.

Originally, the 42-year-old singer intended to release “Cowboy Carter” before “Renaissance.” But she switched the order because “there was too much heaviness in the world,” she said in a press release. “We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance.”

With the arrival of “Cowboy Carter,” billed as a “multi-genre nod to Americana country culture,” came a chorus of praise from traditional country and country crossover artists — including several featured on the album.

Miley Cyrus, who served as a collaborator on the guitar ballad “II Most Wanted,” expressed her admiration for the 32-time Grammy winner in an Instagram post Friday.

“I’ve loved Beyoncé since long before I had the opportunity to meet & work with her,” Cyrus wrote. “My admiration runs so much deeper now that I’ve created along side of her. Thank you Beyoncé. You’re everything & more.”

 

Cyrus’ Tennessee roots are most apparent in her covers of iconic country songs — including her take on her godmother Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene,” which Parton told Big Issue in 2020 had been recorded more than 400 times worldwide.

Beyoncé added one more to the mix Friday with her rendition on “Cowboy Carter,” which swaps Parton’s original lyrics pleading with Jolene for more pointed bars cautioning her: “I’m warning you, don’t come for my man,” Bey sings.

Parton, who is also featured on the album in an audio clip titled “Dolly P,” shared her reaction to the cover Friday in an Instagram post. (She hinted at Beyoncé’s potential cover in February.)

“Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it!” she wrote, signing off as “Dolly P.”

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