Okay, so it's not exactly a Charley Pride record. But no one really expected Beyonce Knowles to make a traditional country album, did they? 

What Cowboy Carter does is make a point. It puts the lie to the notion that country music is exclusively the province of white musicians, paying homage to Black pioneers of the genre while also roping lots of contemporary African-American performers -- Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer, Willie Jones and Tiera Kennedy among them -- who are doing country quite well, thank you very much, into the mix. And if the album's mix of rootsy Americana, zydeco, R&B, hip-hop folk, rock and pop doesn't necessarily sound like country country, well, does country country sound like country anymore? A lot of high-tech modern "bro" country is, as Steve Earle once put it to the Toronto Star, essentially "hip-hop for white people who are terrified of black people." 

Whatever the thesis statement behind it, anyway, Cowboy Carter -- part of a proposed trilogy that began with 2022's thoroughly dance-y Renaissance -- is another ace pop album from an ace 21st-century pop star who can do whatever the hell she wants these days. It also made Beyonce the first Black woman ever to win Country Album of the Year (not to mention Album of the Year) at the 2025 Grammy Awards so, frankly ... point made. Guests also include Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus. 

TRACKLISTING:

1. AMERICAN REQUIEM
2. BLACKBIRD
3. 16 CARRAGES
4. PROTECTOR
5. MY ROSE
6. SMOKE HOUR ★ WILLIE NELSON
7. TEXAS HOLD ‘EM
8. BODYGUARD
9. DOLLY P
10. JOLENE
11. DAUGHTER
12. ALLIIGATOR TEARS
13. SMOKE HOUR II
14. JUST FOR FUN
15. MOST WANTED
16. LEVI'S JEANS
17. DESERT EAGLE
18. RIVERDANCE
19. II HANDS II HEAVEN
20. TYRANT
21. SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN'
22. AMEN