When Beyonce was announced as the winner of Album of the Year Sunday night at the Grammys, the world went wild. Not because fans haven’t seen her win before but because there is so much more involved here than what first hits the eye.
When Beyonce came out with Cowboy Carter, the music industry wondered what she was doing. The Country music community thought she had lost her mind. What could she possibly know about Country?
The rest of the music industry was just as bewildered because of her main associations with Hip-Hop and Pop with a strong background in R&B. The question wasn’t whether or not she could, but why she would. Going in that direction just seemed out of nowhere.
But the real issue here is what direction is that? What is Country music anymore? Country artists have been consistently pushing the line for years and turning it into something else. A century ago, when it was considered “Hillbilly Music,” you could count on a guitar, a fiddle, and some drums being there. The songs were about simple things like breaking up and a death in the family.
Somewhere along the line, Country singers just didn’t seem happy doing what they were doing. They didn’t like playing in front of a bail of hay for a crowd of fifty who loved line dancing to every tune. They wanted a life more like the Rockstars who set hotel rooms on fire and threw chairs out of windows. They even changed the way they dressed from those shiny satin shirts with stringy thrills to tee shirts with holes like they were downplaying who they were.
But the music changed the most. Sometimes, you can still hear some twang in a song that’s trying to bring it back or at least reminisce about the old days. But more and more, Country stepped into Pop and Rock like it had any business being there. If you want to be a Rockstar, go be one. If you want to be a Country star, leave it the way it is.
So, why get mad at Beyonce? She took one look at Country and said, “I can do that.” She wasn’t about to step into Bluegrass or Honky Tonk. But from what she’s heard Country singers doing today, “That’s Country? Let’s do an album.”
“Ya Ya” has Tina Turner written all over it. It starts with the shoutout to the band and the backup. Then, it goes right into telling the story of hard times in the good ol’ U.S. of A. You can’t get more Tina Turner than that.
“Daughter” takes a completely different creative turn. It’s an opera song with a Spaghetti Western-style guitar. It’s the story of revenge with multiple layers and when Beyonce gets to the “Caro Mio Ben” part, she nails it.
“II Most Wanted” is a song that just feels so good to hear. With Miley Cyrus singing along, it’s as if they’ve been friends for years. The harmony certainly makes it seem that way and if only everyone could have a friendship like the one in the song.
Cowboy Carter was snubbed by the CMAs. While Post Malone waltzed right into his Country music debut, Beyonce was never really welcomed. Fans don’t consider her a Country singer and the industry isn’t fond of her either because she didn’t “pay her dues.” That means that she really hasn’t committed herself to the Country scene, which has a long-standing tradition of making new artists bow down and pay homage to the greats.
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Beyonce doesn’t have to do any of that. She’s an established artist already and can do pretty much anything she wants to do in that cute little studio of hers where she cranks out nothing but hits. That point was made on Sunday night when she went up against Andre 3000, Jacob Collier, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift. But for Best Country Album, she went up against Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, and Lainey Wilson.
See how Post Malone was up for it too? That’s what I mean. He just waltzed right into the Country music scene while they expected Beyonce to go the hard way.
But Sunday night was the kicker when she took home both Grammys. That’s right! She won Album of the Year and Best Country Album, beating all that talent. Then to top it off, she took home the trophy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus. I can just hear Nashville today, whispering under their breath and loudly shaking their heads, “What right does the Grammys have awarding her any Country award when we’ve already made it perfectly clear how we feel about her?”
Maybe Country should just stay put if it doesn’t like what’s going on! If you didn’t move the mark so much, you wouldn’t have just anyone wandering in and making a Country album.
So, it’s true. Cowboy Carter would not have been considered a Country album in the 40s or even the 70s. But these days, Country singers are having a hard enough time finding the Country line themselves.