Beyoncé’s chart-topping album, “Cowboy Carter,” continues to make history as she recently debuted at No.1 on the U.K. charts.
With her latest feat, the Grammy-award winning artist is now the first Black artist to take the top spot in the U.K. with a country album.
Beyoncé is also now the first artist to appear at the first position of both the main albums and songs charts with country music. The latest achievement comes after “Texas Hold ‘Em” returned to No. 1 on the songs tally.
“Cowboy Carter” has received critical acclaim since its release with four other songs entering the top 10, and music critics such as Pitchfork rating it with an 8.4.
Per Spotify, Beyoncé’s music received a 395% increase in streaming with the album earning the title of the most-streamed album in the course of a day in 2024.
The album’s impact has extended to the other Black artists that are trailblazing country and are featured on the album. According to Spotify, Linda Martell’s music and Brittney Spencer’s music saw a 127,430% and 37, 220% increase in streaming respectively.
Tanner Adell, Shaboozey and Tiera Kennedy also had a 3,200%, 1,350% and 40,000% respective increase in music streaming.
In an Instagram post released earlier this month, Beyoncé revealed that the album has been in the making for the last five years.
“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,” said the artist. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
“Cowboy Carter’s” release has highlighted the roots of country, emphasizing the impact of Black artists, such as Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Otis Williams and Charley Pride, on the genre.
Throughout the years, the genre has been criticized for the lack of representation as it has become increasingly in need of a systemic change. Per the “Redlining in Country Music” report, amongst three major Nashville labels, approximately 411 artists have been signed from the span of 2000 to 2020.
Out of these 411 artists, only 1% were Black country musicians; overall, only 3.2% of the artists were BIPOC.
“For over 100 years, this country and industry have excluded and marginalized Black people’s contributions to this genre,” said Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder of BMAC, in a statement following the release of their own report. “We can not heal from the past without exposing the root, the pain or the actual truth.”
