NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Fans and critics alike are lavishing praise on
Cowboy Carter, Beyonce’s rhinestone-studded, history-rich honky tonk of an album that’s rising in the charts after Friday’s hotly anticipated release.

A rowdy, wide-ranging homage to her southern heritage, the 27-track second act to her Renaissance trilogy is a genre-bending triumph that vaunts black country culture.

“No one will mistake this sprawling set for ever following a straight path, or having a remotely dull moment,” wrote the critic at entertainment trade publication Variety.

“It’s almost as if Beyonce was watching some of the evolutionary leaps and hiccups country has been experiencing as it redefines its boundaries — as the music always has — and said, ‘Hold my Armand de Brignac. I’ve got this.’ “

“But it’s not just a matter of what Beyonce can do for country music; it’s what her concept of country can do for her, in expanding her musical empire and even her already well-honed sense of self. It’s a lot.”

It’s too early to say where Cowboy Carter and its voluminous track list will land on the charts, but it’s certain the album has enormous commercial potential.

The Houston-born, 42-year-old pioneered and mastered the surprise online album drop, but for the first two Renaissance acts, she turned to a more traditional marketing strategy, with calculated promos and deluxe physical editions for purchase.

Her ode to dance Renaissance soared to Billboard’s number one spot when it was released in 2022, and Cowboy Carter appears primed for a repeat.

Add in another blockbuster tour like she did for Act I — the Beyonce bump literally was blamed for raising Sweden’s inflation rate, and bolstered local economies wherever it rolled into town — and Queen Bey will do-si-do straight to the bank.

Cowboy Carter is a full-colour display of just how rich music can grow outside dusty strictures of genre.

Beyonce deftly skewers the critics — Nashville’s country music gatekeepers have long tried to promote a rigid view of the genre that’s overwhelmingly white and male — both lyrically and sonically.

She ushers listeners through country’s evolution from African American spirituals and fiddle tunes to its pioneering women, like collaborator Linda Martell, and a vision of its future.

But while it delivers a history lesson, Cowboy Carter is at its core a party, leaning hard into the freedom to let loose.

Amid the hoopla, Beyonce offers touching portraits of motherhood, celebrations of sex and love, and even a murder revenge fantasy.

She also drafted a mix of youthful stars — Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Tanner Adell included — and old guard icons for her revue, including none other than Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.

The elders appear on the album in the form of radio hosts of a fictional broadcast, with Nelson telling listeners: “Now for this next tune, I want y’all to sit back, inhale and go to the good place your mind likes to wander off to.

“And if you don’t wanna go, go find yourself a jukebox.”

In a nutshell, the album is epic, fresh and, potentially, door-opening.

“With this endlessly entertaining project, she gets to be a warrior of female and black pride and a sweetheart of the radio,” wrote Variety.

“Because being Beyonce means never having to pretend to be just one thing.”