The genre of country music is gaining new fans thanks to Beyoncé's country songs, increasing streams for Black artists.

• Beyoncé is commencing her country music journey with a new album titled "Cowboy Carter."
• So far, her two singles have been successful and have helped increase streams for other Black female country artists.
• Beyoncé is breaking the country genre mold while attracting a younger audience.
• Country artists like Maren Morris, Luke Combs, and Kacey Musgraves have modernized the genre by moving away from traditional themes of beer, pickup trucks, and rural living.

Country music, meet Cowboy Carter.

Beyoncé Knowles, a renowned singer-songwriter, is venturing into country music, challenging the genre's longstanding exclusion of women of color and demonstrating that its audience is receptive to Black female artists. Her country music journey, which began with a Super Bowl ad in February and includes an upcoming album, is expanding the industry's audience and boosting streaming numbers for songs by other Black female country artists.

Tanner Adell, a Black country star, experienced a 305% increase in streams of her track "Buckle Bunny" during the first week of March, according to data from the music streaming company. Additionally, "Trailer Park Barbie" saw a 130% jump in streams, the company stated.

Like Mickey Guyton and Reyna Roberts, other Black female country artists experienced growth, and Beyoncé's country-inspired song "Daddy Lessons" from her sixth studio pop album "Lemonade" saw a 540% increase in streams the day after her two country singles were released last month, according to Spotify.

According to Billboard's Hot Country chart, "Texas Hold 'Em" made her the first Black woman to reach the No. 1 spot.

16 Carriages" and that other song will be included in "Act II: Cowboy Carter," which Knowles announced on her website on Tuesday. This album is the second part of a three-part project and comes after "Act I: Renaissance.

The New York Times bestselling author, country songwriter, and lecturer Alice Randall, who was the first Black woman to write a No.1 song for an artist on the Hot Country chart in 1994, described Knowles' album announcement as a "pinnacle moment in time."

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Breaking into country

Despite being a pop and R&B artist, Knowles still faces challenges in gaining acceptance in country music.

Some music critics praised Knowles' country tracks, while other fans of the genre did not give them a warm welcome.

According to U.S. Radio Updater, two days after the release of "Texas Hold 'Em," a pop-country track featuring folk musician Rhiannon Giddens on the banjo, pop radio stations played the track 49 times. However, country stations only played it twice.

The "BeyHive," a group of Beyoncé fans, protested an Oklahoma country station's rejection of a request to play "Texas Hold 'Em." Additionally, a fan reported hearing a radio host say that while the song is country and the instruments are country, "something else about it makes me think it's not country."

A report from SongData reveals that only about 1.5% of the more than 2,100 artists played on country radio stations from 2002 to 2020 were Black, compared with about 98% who were white. Other artists of color, including those who identified as Hispanic, Indigenous, biracial or Filipino, made up about 1% of artists played.

According to SongData, less than 4% of country songs played on the radio, airplay, charting songs, artists signed to major labels, and award nominations featured Black artists and artists of color.

SongData found that male artists of color overwhelmingly benefited from the advances made by artists of color in gaining 3.2 percentage points in the share of songs played over the past two decades. However, less than 3% of the songs played by artists of color were by women.

Some have claimed that the opposition to Knowles' latest music is due to racial prejudice and political bias.

Jocelyn Neal, professor and department chair of music at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, stated that artists of color are producing excellent music that initiates meaningful discussions but has not altered the inherent constraints and discriminatory structure of mainstream country radio.

Artists such as Maren Morris, Luke Combs, and Kacey Musgraves have taken a more progressive approach to country music, while Lil Nas X dabbled in the genre with a "country-influenced" track, "Old Town Road." The song was removed from the Billboard Hot Country chart in 2019 after being claimed to lack country elements compared to other songs on the chart, sparking a racial debate.

For decades, political tensions have been high in the country music industry as more liberal artists attempt to move away from the genre's traditional conservative values, according to Neal. The fan base of country music has traditionally been more conservative, she added.

In 2023, Knowles and Taylor Swift received the highest percentage of negative ratings from registered Republicans among all demographics, including political affiliation, race, and age, according to an NBC News poll. Of voters polled, 34% had a negative stance on Knowles, while 16% had a positive view. More than 40% of Republicans were neutral. Among registered Democrats who were polled, just 5% had a negative stance on Knowles, and more than half had a positive view.

The Chicks, known for their political activism in the early 2000s, joined Beyoncé during her 2016 live performance of "Daddy Lessons" at the CMA Awards, which drew criticism from country fans.

Younger listeners feeling the western vibe

Tenley Patterson, 26, was not a fan of country music until she heard Beyoncé's releases and was impressed with the country tracks.

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Despite the fact that the typical country music listener is a baby boomer, there has been a recent surge in interest among younger generations, including Generation Z and millennials, who are known for their diversity.

The Nashville team at Spotify, responsible for monitoring the music streaming platform's country genre, reported an increase in Gen Z and millennial listeners following Knowles' entry. Rachel Whitney, head of editorial for the Nashville team, stated that playlists outside of the country genre are featuring Knowles' country tracks, expanding its audience.

The Beyoncé draw is also increasing visibility for other artists, such as Lainey Wilson and Cody Johnson, who have more traditional country songs, according to Whitney.

"Whitney remarked, "It's incredible to observe how country music is resonating with younger audiences." We can contribute to this trend by diversifying our playlists and avoiding narrowing down the country genre's sound."

According to Billboard, Lana Del Rey, Post Malone, and Ed Sheeran are among the pop stars reportedly preparing to release country albums.

Neal, a Beyoncé fan herself, described the star's career as trailblazing, but emphasized that promoting diversity in country music requires more than just one superstar.

According to historical evidence, it takes more than one successful artist to move the needle on what is actually 100 years of genre formation, as Neal stated.