Beyonce has been at the top of her game for so many years that reaching the top of the Billboard charts no longer serves as inspiration for her music-making.
Nowadays, what motivates Queen Bey extends beyond how much she can achieve as a solo artist – being that she’s accomplished everything most artists strive for.
After nine Hot 100 hits, 32 Grammys, and five platinum albums, the Houston,
Texas-bred beauty isn’t fixating on “charts and sales,” but on kicking down the door for Black women in country music.
Beyonce reinserting herself in the country scene with her album Cowby Carter following her controversial performance
at the 2016 Country Music Awards with The Chicks was the ultimate checkmate.
Cowboy Carter served as a clapback to the unwarranted backlash she received for performing her song Daddy Lessons
with the girl group at the CMAs from those trying to gatekeep country music. The album blew the hinges off the gate after it broke a major record.
With the eighth album the Sixteen Carriages songstress hit the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart, making her the first Black woman to achieve the top spot since 1964. The success of Cowboy Carter opened the door for Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Typsy), which ended up knocking Beyonce’s Texas Hold ‘Em to the number two slot on the country chart. Texas Hold ‘Em’s chart placement took a backseat to Beyonce’s appreciation for the Black women, and men, making strides in country music.
“When you are breaking down barriers, not everyone is ready and open for a shift. But when I see Shaboozey tearing the charts up and all the beautiful female country singers flying to new heights, inspiring the world, that is exactly what motivates me,” Beyonce told The Hollywood Reporter.
“There was a time in my life when charts and sales excited and motivated me. Once you have challenged yourself and poured every ounce of your life, your pain, your growth and your dreams into your art, it’s impossible to go backward,” she added.
“I’m very grateful and humbled for the extraordinary success of the new album,” she finished. The megastar noted that she was “honored” to do Cowboy Carter despite there being key figures in the music industry who were unhappy with her producing such a transformative record.
“I’m honored to introduce so many people to the roots of so many genres. I’m so thrilled that my fans trusted me. The music industry gatekeepers are not happy about the idea of bending genres, especially coming from a Black artist and definitely not a woman,” Beyonce revealed.
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Source: USA Today
