Beyonce goes country completely uncynically

[sevendaughters]

The world's second biggest pop star goes country. If you believe it's because traditionally black popular musics (edit, thanks FM) are flailing domestically while country and Latin music are on the rise, then you're plainly a racist.

This is roots music.

[Famous Mortimer]

Surely she's more a pop star than a hip-hop one?

[bgmnts]

Unless you're Marty Robbins, gtfo.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

It's shite but everyone will say it isn't because it's beyonce, who must never be criticised

[Kankurette]

Mumsnet never got the memo, they hate her on there.

Didn't Gladys Knight do some country stuff? There used to be quite a bit of crossover between black soul artists and white country artist back in the '60s/'70s.

[Goldentony]

the pre-defensiveness when discussing stuff like this is always really funny, who are you frightened of? kids?

[The Culture Bunker]

Ray Charles did some country albums that were very successful, but I suspect you can go back to the blues singers to find the connection goes back a long way. Sure I read of some hip-hop chap did a country song recently that wasn't counted on the relevant Billboard chart.

[Memorex MP3]

The issue with Beyonce has been the same for years. She'll bring in amazing people to work with and they'll do amazing work, she'll give it her all at the same time and the two things will just totally overwhelm each other into being a really exhausting listen.

My best guess is that her actual strengths lean heavily towards the kind of diva stuff that Renaissance was aiming for but her actual tastes lean much more towards boring ballady bollocks. Something about her lyrics on a pure sonic level tends to wreck songs too, just packing in way too many words into every line.

On first listen 16 Candles is "country" but the structure of it almost feels more like a mellow late 00s Dirty Projectors track to me, which is bizarre.



Is it worth having a thread on the current country boom?

[idunnosomename]

Misread this as every country and thought she was doing a Joss Stone

[Oosp]

Is it worth having a thread on the current country boom?

Hell yes it is

[kalowski]

[Stoneage Dinosaurs]

Beyoncé Knowles
Take me home
To the place
I belong

EDIT: sorry that's shit

[Video Game Fan 2000]

the pre-defensiveness when discussing stuff like this is always really funny, who are you frightened of? kids?

billionaires

[Goldentony]

everyone drink a shot

[Video Game Fan 2000]

cant afford it can i just pretend

[madhair60]

i can almost see her nipples but not quite!! where's my frickin wallet?!

[Goldentony]

hope this is an in for Beyonce to go 'BIG COUNTRY' down the line

[David Pielingtonburygrot]

The issue with Beyonce has been the same for years. She'll bring in amazing people to work with and they'll do amazing work, she'll give it her all at the same time and the two things will just totally overwhelm each other into being a really exhausting listen.

My best guess is that her actual strengths lean heavily towards the kind of diva stuff that Renaissance was aiming for but her actual tastes lean much more towards boring ballady bollocks. Something about her lyrics on a pure sonic level tends to wreck songs too, just packing in way too many words into every line.

Virgo's Groove is pretty great, though, surely we can all agree on that? Surely...?

[Video Game Fan 2000]

as the audience for pop grows older, it increasingly resembles collector plate adverts at the back of a tv guide

this beautifully crafted ensemble of bodies and spaces can be yours for as little as £14.99 a month on our exclusive finance plan

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Great video. Must have cost millions.

[Kankurette]

billionaires

And billionaire kids.

[Proactive]

Virgo's Groove is pretty great, though, surely we can all agree on that? Surely...?

Yeah that's pretty fucking good to be fair.

[sevendaughters]

someone online described her cover of Jolene as being like something Peggy Hill would do and I can't hear anything else.

Album is exactly as I expected.

[Maureen Brontë]

Love Stevie Wonder doing a pastiche accent on this one.

[iamcoop]

Renaissance is fucking brilliant but I'm afraid this one is absolute dogshit.

[JesusAndYourBush]

Blackbird is kindof nice, and she uses the original Macca backing track too.
Jolene made me cringe.  Firstly the music is just a looped sample, and I don't know if it's looped badly but it was really noticeable that it was looped and I couldn't un-notice it. And she changed all the lyrics and the're really clunky.

[Ruben Remus]

The Jolene cover is very annoying to me. The original song is so strongly characterised by the sense of humility and self-doubt and quiet desperation contained in Parton's lyrics and vocals,  but that's not compatible with the modern pop idiom of relentless narcissistic self-affirmation so now we get an updated version where the message is just "I'm fucking great and the fear of losing my partner doesn't even apply to me, actually." I'm sure pitchfork have written a thousand words about how this is all very subversive and liberating but it just reads as so oblivious and point-missing to me.

[Ruben Remus]

someone online described her cover of Jolene as being like something Peggy Hill would do and I can't hear anything else.

Yeah, this.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

This is as much a defining moment in musical history as when Dylan went electric, or Miley Cyrus went rock.

[holyzombiejesus]

Yasmin Williams - a brilliant musician - was posting about this on twitter and she's now done a lengthy comment piece for the Guardian.

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/02/beyonce-version-of-country-cowboy-carter-yasmin-williams