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We’re thinking about “Cowboy Carter,” which is not a country album, but a Beyoncé album

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Touré, theGrio.com

Has the pre-release buzz around any album ever been so profoundly overshadowed by its genre? “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”, the primary singles from “Cowboy Carter”, Beyoncé signaled that her eighth solo studio album could be a country album. And the cultural world exploded in two different directions. Everyone had thoughts. Beyoncé die-hards were excited to listen to about their queen’s recent sound and the concept that Bey was reclaiming the genre from the white interlopers who took it over. Domestic loyalists were divided. Several welcomed Beyoncé, hoping she would attract recent fans. Many people were openly upset to see him move into their supposedly closed sonic community. They declared that Texas Hold ‘Em wasn’t even country, which I denied. I needed to. This idea appeared like “Barack Obama is not a citizen.”

However, “Cowboy Carter” turned out to be something way more complex than a single-genre album. Unlike “Renaissance”, which was a focused conversation about the sounds and folks of house and disco, “Cowboy Carter” is an album with a wide scope, using many country sounds and tropes, but also drawing on the sounds of pop, hip-hop and soul . As Beyoncé told us on Instagram“It’s not a country album, it’s a Beyoncé album.”

Without a doubt, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “16 Carriages,” “Jolene” and “II Most Wanted” are country songs, but “Blackbiird,” “Bodyguard,” “Spaghettii,” “Levii’s Jeans” and “Desert Eagle” definitely not. Black country legend Linda Martell says before “Ya Ya,” “This tune covers a lot of genres.”

It might be difficult to define music genres exactly, and that is exactly what this album is about. Beyoncé makes this clear when Martell says, “Genres are a funny little concept.”

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Most of the time, artists don’t think much about genre. Genre is really a way for the music industry to assist fans find other albums they could like. But what makes Beyoncé so great is that she’s post-genre within the sense that her fans don’t care what genre she works in. Whether she gives us the soul of “Lemonade”, the disco of “Renaissance”, or the country sound of “Cowboy” Carter” – we’ll go along with her wherever she goes.

The journey into the country was fraught with difficulties; for me and lots of black people living in cities, rural tropes can seem off-putting or have a foreboding feeling. In our lifetime, the country has sometimes been related to white Southerners who dislike Black people. But Beyoncé has such an impact on me and her fans that she will be able to take country sounds that will sound on someone’s album and make them sound delicious. Sometimes on “Cowboy Carter” I find myself thinking that if this song were performed by a traditional country artist, I probably would not prefer it, but Beyoncé knows methods to deliver it, so I’ll prefer it.

Perhaps more interesting than attempting to determine what genre(s) “Cowboy Carter” touches on is seeing the album’s most important themes. One concept that comes up repeatedly is Beyoncé as a caregiver. From “The Protector” to “The Bodyguard” to “The Daughter” – he consistently talks about protecting his family members. “On Daughter” warns, “I am colder than the waters of the Titanic,” to indicate how fiercely protective he might be of his family. In “Jolene”, she vows to turn out to be violent if Jolene comes any closer, so she protects her family. I’ve lost count of how over and over Bey mentions her gun on this album.

My favorite songs from “Cowboy Carter” are (in no particular order): “Texas Hold ‘Em”, “Ya Ya”, “Spaghetti”, “Blackbiird”, “Protector”, “II Most Wanted” and “Bodyguard”. I appreciate the epic scope of this album and the best way she references Chuck Berry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Son House, singing alongside Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and Tanner Adell, creating a conversation between the history of black music and today country music.

I’ll always remember how Beyoncé took it very real news from the world of country music on the CMAs and in retaliation, she spent years recording a country album to challenge and roar at your entire country establishment in her own way. Now that she’s at the highest of the country music charts, they’re eating humble pie. The genesis of this album is a historic step on Beyoncé’s part that goes beyond music and beautifully goals to show the racists who tried to reject her. This is legendary.

That said, I’m now turning away from addressing the country fans who hated and turning to other Beyoncé fans who love “Cowboy Carter.” Especially those that say “Cowboy Carter” is higher than “Renaissance.” Please just stop. “Cowboy Carter” is great, but it’s not “Renaissance.” I’m talking about the difference between a great album and a transcendent one.

“Renaissance” has a sonic coherence that makes it a splendidly unique whole, unlike “Cowboy Carter” which draws from a world of influences. This is just like the explanation why lots of us think that Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall”, which is almost entirely pure disco, is superior to “Thriller”, which combines a much wider range of sounds. The narrower focus of the sound makes it seem smarter, sharper and more powerful to me. “Renaissance” stays Beyoncé’s best album. But more importantly, Beyoncé has three albums under her belt – “Lemonade”, “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter” – which is the most effective three albums ever by any artist.



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Beyoncé leads 2025 Grammy nominations, becoming the most nominated artist in the show’s history

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NEW YORK (AP) — Welcome to Beyonce country. When it involves Grammy Award 2025 nominations, “Cowboy Carter” rules the nation. She leads the rankings with 11 nominations, bringing her profession total to 99. This makes her the most nominated artist in Grammy history.

“Cowboy Carter” is up for album and country album of the yr, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” is nominated for record, song and country song of the yr. She also received nominations in multiple genres, including pop, country, Americana and melodic rap.

This is her first time receiving nominations in the country and the Americana category.

If Beyoncé wins album of the yr, she’s going to turn out to be the first black woman in the twenty first century. Lauryn Hill last won in 1999 for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” joining Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston as the only black women to win a significant Grammy award.

Post Malone also received his first-ever nominations in the country categories this yr, releasing his debut country album “F-1 trillion”in August. The song is nominated for Best Country Album, and “I Had Some Help,” a collaboration with Morgan Wallen, is nominated for Country Song and Country Duo/Group Performance. This is Wallen’s first-ever Grammy nomination.

Malone is just behind Beyoncé with seven nominations, together with Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Charli XCX, who earned her first nominations as a solo artist.

Lamar the ubiquitous diss track released during his feud with Drake, “Not Like Us” is nominated in the categories of album and song of the yr, rap song, music video and best rap performance. In the latter category, he had two simultaneous entries, which is a primary for his profession: Future & Metro Boomin featuring Lamar. “Like That” is nominated for best rap performance and best rap song.

This is his third time receiving two simultaneous nominations for best rap song.

Taylor Swift and first-time nominee Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan each can boast six nominations.

Last yr, female artists dominated essential categories. This yr the situation continues, but the essential trend appears to be species diversity. In the album of the yr category, together with “Cowboy Carter” were latest age André 3000, alt-jazz “New Blue Sun” and “Djesse Vol.” multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier. 4.” Rising pop stars Carpenter and Roan round out the album with “Short n’ Sweet” and “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” respectively, in addition to Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and “Hit Me Hard” and Soft” by Eilish. and Charlie XCX ready for the rave “BROTHER”.

Eilish is the only artist whose first three albums have been nominated for Album of the Year.

Last yr Fast won Album of the Year for “Midnights”, breaking the record for most wins in this category (4). This yr, she becomes the first woman in history to earn seven nominations in this category.

“The breadth and diversity of genres represented in the overall field feels new and truly exciting,” says Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. a developing electoral body for his success. “We were very conscious about our membership and tried to balance it. So not just gender or people of color, different races, but also genre equality and trying to make sure all types of music from different regions and locations are represented in every way possible.”

Only recordings commercially released in the U.S. between September 16, 2023 and August 30, 2024 were eligible for nomination. The final round of Grammy voting to find out the winners will happen from December 12 to January 3.

In the best latest artist category, Carpenter and Roan will go head-to-head, alongside Benson Boone, Doechia, Khruangbin, RAYE, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims.

Beyoncé was joined in the song of the yr category by Eilish for “Birds of a Feather,” Swift and Post Malone for “Fortnight,” “Good Luck, Babe!” Roan, “Please Please Please” by Carpenter, “Not Like” by Lamar Us,” “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey.

Shaboozey she can also be a first-time nominee. His “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is the biggest song of the yr, spending more weeks at primary on the Billboard Hot 100 than some other – it is so popular that a remix of the song can also be up for a remix recording.

Additionally, Shaboozey is nominated in the Melodic Rap Performance category for his feature on Beyoncé’s “SPAGHETTIA.” The song also features Linda Martell, the country’s first black musician to realize business success and likewise earned the 83-year-old artist her first Grammy nomination.

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In the Record of the Year category, “Texas Hold ‘Em” will compete with Swift and Post Malone’s “Fortnight,” Eilish’s “Birds of a Father,” Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” and “Good Luck, Babe!” Roan, Carpenter’s “Espresso.” “, “360” by Charli XCX and the last latest Beatles song, powered by artificial intelligence “Now and Then”.

“We strive to keep up with how music creators and our community use technology. In this case, the AI ​​corrected that record and allowed him to qualify in the categories in which he qualified,” Mason Jr. explains.

So what’s missing? Like last yr, there is a big dearth of Latin music – fastest growing streaming genre in the United States – overall and without representation in major categories. There are only 4 entries in the Best Música Mexicana Album category, although it is usually one in every of them the fastest growing species.

There doesn’t appear to be any K-pop either. There aren’t any nominations for BTS members who released solo material this yr: RM’s “Right Place, Wrong Person” J-Hope’s “Hope on the Street” Vol. 1” and “Muse” by Jimin. As a boy band, BTS has received five nominations in their profession.

“I definitely see room for improvement in many genres and we continue to invite people to be a part of the academy” – Mason Jr. says. “Without proper representation, we will not get the right results. When I say “appropriate”, I mean reflective and representative of what’s going on in music today. So the work continues.”

The 2025 Grammy Awards will air on February 2 survive CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Review: Whitney Houston’s Incomparable Talent Returns on ‘The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)’ Live Album

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“Find Strength in Love” Whitney Houston she sings at the tip of her latest live album, “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban).” He spends a full minute saying those five syllables.

The song is titled “Greatest Love of All”. At the start of the last verse, Houston jumps from note to notice. At the word “strength,” her amazing alto blossoms, climbs and adds vibrato. When she gets to the word “love”, she playfully skips a few notes, leaving the last one alone, and the strength of its beauty matches the message.

Houston was a singer, as confirmed in “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)”. Unfortunately, the album also shows how the pop diva’s unrivaled talent was wasted on her died in 2012 on the age of 48.

The album might be released on Friday after a limited theatrical release a film commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of Houston’s three concert events in 1994 in South Africa – in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. They celebrated a newly united nation after apartheid and elections Nelson Mandela as president.

This album presents the primary album which took place in Durban on November 8, 1994. It can be the first-ever live concert album in Houston.

“I’ve never felt so much love,” Houston tells fans on the stadium. Ten of the 21 tracks on the digital album (there are 24 tracks in total, including the intro and three versions of the identical song, which include a live track, a previously unreleased studio recording and a remix) have titles with the word “love” or some variety, and there are huge hits throughout the set. These include “I Will Always Love You”, “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”, that are nice to take heed to in such a festive setting.

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Unfortunately, the dimensions of the event only reinforces Houston’s tendency to over-sing. Her message appears to be intended for the upper row of the stadium, which is comprehensible but tiring when listening through headphones. Maybe you needed to be there.

The theatrics of the vocals often don’t match the inferior material, and Houston twists the lyrics like he’s attempting to remove lather. This is complemented by the dated, dated arrangements of its large supporting solid, which range from lush synths to hairband guitar solos, although there are also great contributions from horns and backing vocalists.

The second half of the show is stuffed with moments of grace. Houston’s song selection is “Love Is,” a sweet ballad that also appears on the album in a previously unreleased 1990 studio recording and a remix. Houston gives a compelling reading of “The Greatest Love of All,” and the occasion is full of the energetic “Touch the World.”

The best episode comes when Houston takes the audience to a megachurch. “Jesus Loves Me” becomes a song for children of all ages since it shows an unusual soul in tradition Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ray Charles AND Aretha Franklin.

“Amazing Grace” follows, and when Houston twists the word “wretch” with brutal vulnerability, the lyrics sound as honest as anything she’s ever sung.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Beyoncé reminds fans to vote on the surprise release of her “Bodyguard” music video.

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Beyoncé is full of surprises. This morning, Queen Bey surprised fans with the release of her album music video for his single “Bodyguard”. Fulfilling Beyhive’s persistent request for visuals to accompany her last two albums, “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter,” the singer encouraged viewers to vote on Election Day.

In the video titled “Beywatch,” Beyoncé recreates some of actress Pamela Anderson’s most iconic looks while singing along to her song “Bodyguard.” As a tribute to Anderson, the star shares a political message in a scene where the word “VOTE” appears on a flag extending from a toy gun.

However, this will not be the first time Beyoncé has encouraged her fans to exercise their right to vote. Last month, the superstar, her mother Tina Knowles and Kelly Rowland attended a Harris-Walz campaign rally in Houston, Texas, where the star shared her official endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Beyoncé gained support months after she allowed Harris to use her song “Freedom” in her campaign. In July, Harris hit the 2016 track during her first official visit to her campaign headquarters. Beyoncé’s song “Freedom,” which eventually became Harris-Walz’s official campaign song, was played at rallies across the country, including at the Democratic National Convention.

Just as the star used her music to support Harris’ presidential campaign, Beyoncé encouraged voters to “sing a new song,” emphasizing that the right to vote is “one of our most valuable tools.”

“Our generations of loved ones whisper to us a prophecy, a mission, a calling and an anthem,” she added in her speech. “Our moment is now. It’s time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a song of unity. They sing a song of dignity and possibility. Are you ready to add your voice to a new American song? Because I am. So let’s do it!”

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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