Although Beyoncé’s list of collaborators on “Cowboy Carter” is long, former country turned pop superstar Taylor Swift is not on it. Despite widespread speculation, The Times confirmed on Friday that Swift had no part in either the song “Bodyguard” or on “Cowboy Carter” as a whole.

Beyoncé first announced the 27-track album in a Feb. 11 social media teaser, which was timed to a Super Bowl commercial featuring the singer.

After several failed attempts to break the Verizon network in the commercial, she concedes at the ad’s conclusion, “OK, they ready. Drop the new music.”

That night, she released her singles “ Texas Hold ‘Em” and “ 16 Carriages,” confirming that “act ii” would be country-inspired. The former song made her the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and the latter followed close behind at No. 9.

But the dual release ignited a debate among country-music connoisseurs, many of whom refused to cosign the artist’s genre pivot. Others weren’t aware she had pivoted at all. One country radio station in Oklahoma that came under fire after denying requests to play Beyoncé’s music later explained it “just didn’t know about her foray in this genre.”

Rissi Palmer, who broke a 20-year drought for a Black woman to appear on the country charts with her 2007 single “ Country Girl,” came rushing to the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer’s defense. (Dona Mason snagged a spot on the chart in 1987.)

“She’s a Houston girl. She’s just as Southern as anybody else that makes country music,” Palmer told BBC.

Beyoncé’s father Matthew Knowles, who inspired Beyoncé’s 2016 track “Daddy Lessons,” also testified to his daughter’s Southern roots, telling the BBC Asian Network that she spent many summers with her country music-loving grandparents in Alabama.

“Her grandfather — my father — loved country music, and he used to sing to her. At an early age, she heard this music,” Knowles said. “And when you’re 2, 3 years old, subconsciously music stays in your head.”

Knowles, who managed his daughter until 2011, said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if those memories had inspired her new sound.

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