Beyoncé, one of the world’s most well-known pop singers, released her first country album, “Cowboy Carter,” on March 29, 2024. The album consists of 27 song tracks and features special appearances from some of country music’s biggest artists, including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. According to Beyoncé, she released the album because she didn’t believe that anyone was expecting her to produce a country album.

After its release, her first single off the album, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” hit No.1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. This proved to be Beyoncé’s first chart-topper in both countries since 2003. This song also snatched No.1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, making her the first black woman to top the country music charts. Although the song received instant success, it was at the center of a controversy when a country music radio station in Oklahoma refused to play it. This led several Beyoncé fans to accuse the radio station of racism. However, after receiving dozens of complaints, they listened to the song and decided to play it.

As of April 2024, “Cowboy Carter” has about 128,000 sales in the US and 136 million streams. Furthermore, she sold 62,000 vinyl records, making it the most vinyl records sold for an album in 2024. (This record was recently broken by Taylor Swift’s album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”) However, she still has some music listeners, especially those in the country music scene, wondering if “Cowboy Carter” can truly be called country music. Despite the skepticism, the album continues to garner critical and commercial success as people all around the world continue to stream, buy, and love “Cowboy Carter.”