Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter"

About

Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" or “Act II: Cowboy Carter, is the eighth studio album from singer-songwriter Beyoncé, which was released on March 29th, 2024. Cowboy Carter is the second act of a trilogy followed by 2022's Renaissance. The album was unveiled in February 2024 after Beyoncé's Verizon Super Bowl Commercial in which she tries to "break the internet." Internet discussions following the album's release focused on Beyoncé's cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" song, sparking memes and jokes comparing the difference in tones from each version of the song. The album received largely positive reviews, with some claiming to be the most acclaimed album of 2024.

Background

After the release of Beyoncé's seventh studio album Renaissance in July 2022, the singer uploaded a message to her website describing the new set as a “three-act project.”^[1] The Act II: Cowboy Carter album was first announced during the Super Bowl LVIII broadcast, in which she announced the release date for March 29th, 2024, alongside the surprise release of two new songs: “Texas Hold ’Em”^[2] and “16 Carriages.”^[3] (shown below)

Beyoncé then revealed via Instagram^[4] the album's cover on March 19th, 2024, while also explaining why she decided to venture in the country music segment, saying "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." The post amassed over 3.3 million likes in a week.

Reception

The album received widespread acclaim upon release, gathering an aggregate score of 90 from five critic reviews according to Metacritic^[5] as of March 29th, 2024.

Online Presence

Online, fans eagerly awaited the album's release on March 29th, 2024, sharing reactions images and videos of their enthusiasm. For example, on March 27th, 2024, X^[6] user @beyswede posted a Stan Twitter video of Margot Robbie reviewing a movie on Letterboxd paired with the caption "me 0.001 seconds into Cowboy Carter." The post (shown below) received over 13,000 likes and 2,300 retweets in two days.

Dolly Parton's "Jolene" Cover

Beyoncé's cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" was one of the tracks in the Cowboy Carter album that got most talked about on the internet. Beyoncé gives her take on the verses about Jolene, warning off her adversary with freestyle energy. The music^[7] (shown below) amassed over 900,000 views and 51,000 likes in less than a day

The remake of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" became a viral topic on X, sparking memes and jokes about Beyoncé's more imposing tone in the lyrics. For example, on March 29th, 2024, X^[8] user @heyjaeee posted an image of the "She ain't no diva" viral TikTok video paired with the caption "Jolene ain't no diva," which garnered roughly 44,000 likes and 6,300 retweets in less than a day. (shown below, left)

On the same day, X^[9] user @cirino_art posted a drawing of Beyoncé and Dolly Parton talking to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6 main character "Jolene." The post (shown below, right) amassed more than 12,000 likes and 2,600 retweets in less than a day.

Various Example

Search Interest

External References