Is Beyoncé finally ready to take her country-inspired album on the road?
There was a ton of buzz when the pop superstar released her album Cowboy Carter back in March. Featuring collaborations with country legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, the album debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, and Beyoncé also became the first black woman to top the country albums chart.
Her first single from the album, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” became Beyoncé’s first song to top the country charts, and also became the first single by a black woman to top the Hot Country Songs chart.
Speaking on Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé said it was inspired by an experience where she didn’t feel welcome in country music, largely assumed to be the 2016 CMA Awards when she performed with the Dixie Chicks.
Beyoncé, though, said that Cowboy Carter wasn’t a country album:
“It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive…
This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
Since the album’s release though, we haven’t really heard much from Beyoncé. She didn’t appear at any of the country music awards, and there was plenty of controversy when she was shut out of the nominations at the 2024 CMA Awards. (There was also plenty of conversation around Beyoncé beating artists like Lainey Wilson and Megan Moroney for Top Female Country Artist at the Billboard Music Awards).
But tonight, the pop star headlined the halftime show of the Christmas Day game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans on Netflix, taking the field to perform several of the songs from Cowboy Carter, including duets with guest stars Post Malone, Shaboozey and more.
Beyoncé full halftime show (feat shaboozey and post Malone) pic.twitter.com/JRJW1w8FBS
— bfromthesea 🔜dreamcon 25’ (@theseapriv) December 25, 2024
And after the performance, Beyoncé had another surprise for fans when she teased an announcement coming on January 14, 2025:
Look at that horse. pic.twitter.com/2AtteP5lZk
— BEYONCÉ (@Beyonce) December 25, 2024
So what could it mean? Some fans think it may be a teaser for Act III, the third part of her series that started with Renaissance and continued with Cowboy Carter.
But many others are hoping that Beyoncé is finally going to take her country-inspired album on tour. And folks noticed that Live Nation also shared the teaser, adding further fuel to the fire that a tour is in the works:
LIVE NATION POSTED IT IT’S LITERALLY A TOUR OMFG😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/fOT5KIUaX6 pic.twitter.com/wABBA6WwVT
— 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆🫧💚 (@beyoncegarden) December 25, 2024
how are y’all so stupid thinking this is a new album? she’s NOT going to release a new album in less than a year (just because y’all didn’t like COWBOY CARTER as much as RENAISSANCE).
this is clearly STILL country-related.
it’s on a Tuesday.
it’s obviously a tour announcement. https://t.co/taomb1lTky— leeyoncé (@workby9offpast5) December 25, 2024
.@LiveNation reposted Beyoncé teaser !
It’s definitely a tour omfg !! pic.twitter.com/2qFXrvtY9o
— Yoncé 𐚁⭐️ (@beycowcarter) December 25, 2024
If this is a tour announcement I’ll sell my house https://t.co/zsbIuI8TuE
— Danielle Wilson (@alphabetgirll) December 26, 2024
COWBOY CARTER TOUR?? https://t.co/r04KqMDE1L pic.twitter.com/Tg1dqTRzGI
— amaya. (@amayaaalx) December 25, 2024
If it is indeed a tour, it will be interested to see which artists Beyoncé chooses to take on the road with her. I feel like Shaboozey is probably a safe bet, considering he was featured on the song “Sweet Honey Buckin’” from Cowboy Carter and also appeared with her tonight during the halftime show.
Will she bring any other up and coming country artists with her? The album also featured names like Brittney Spencer, Willie Jones and Tanner Adell, among others, so I guess we’ll have to wait until next month to find out who she’ll be bringing on the road with her – if it’s even a tour at all.