Doesn’t sound like there’s much love lost between Beyoncé and the CMA Awards.
Today, she revealed the album cover for her forthcoming project COWBOY CARTER, and shared a lengthy caption explaining the purpose of, and inspiration for, the album, which includes already released (and hit) songs in “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.”
And while she interestingly noted that, at the end of the day, this “ain’t a Country album, this is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she also explained that the journey to creating the, at the very least, country-inspired project has been “five years in the making.”
This lead fans to quickly recall her 2016 CMA Awards performance, when as part of her Lemonade album promotion, she performed a song called “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks). They remixed it some for the show, though it did already have a little bit of country flair, though it was ultimately rejected by the Recording Academy for consideration in the country music category.
It stirred up a bit more controversy when Alan Jackson got up and walked out during the performance (allegedly), which occurred on the night the show was celebrating 50 years of the Country Music Awards. Who really knows (he’s never publicly addressed it), but more than that, many country fans were upset because they didn’t feel Bey had a right to perform at the show on such a special anniversary, and the public backlash from fans was quite loud.
And it was apparently heard and felt by Beyoncé herself, because she says this album has been over “five years in the making,” and was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed.” If we’re doing the math, the CMA performance would’ve been eight years ago, but that’s definitely been the only big country show she’s been on since.
Bey noted that she decided to do a deep dive into the history of country music following that experience (or whatever it is she’s referring to here), and inspired her to seriously consider implementing country into this project:
“This album has been over five years in the making. 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. 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.
The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
Sounds like the Texas native has something to prove and say…
You can read the whole caption in the post below:
And here’s some of the fan reaction, and many in the Bey hive are convinced all of this is a direct result of what happened on that fateful CMA Awards night. I can’t lie, if that’s how it all started, I kind love it… how outlaw is that?
Check these out and see what you think for yourself:
You can watch her on the CMA Awards in 2016 with The Dixie Chicks here:
“Texas Hold ‘Em”
“16 Carriages”
