Cowboy Carter Album Review
- Therina Brutus
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
The 67th GRAMMYs was a night that will go down in history for the renowned awards ceremony. For only the ninth time in Grammy history, Black artists took home two of the most-watched awards: Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter had earned her first Album of the Year award. Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” had won in all five categories he was nominated for, including Record of the Year. Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal won an award for Best Rap Album as only the third woman to do so.
Beyoncé onstage Sunday night at the 67th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter winning Album of the Year created history, as she had become the first Black woman to win the GRAMMY award for Best Country Album, as well as the fourth Black woman to win the coveted award as a lead artist. Yet, the award marked a particularly monumental milestone for Beyoncé, considering her long history with it. Despite holding the record for most GRAMMYs awards and nominations–35 and 99 respectively–she never won the Album of the Year before.
Beyoncé had received five Album of the Year nominations for the following albums: I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, Lemonade and Renaissance. To create an Album of the Year, it must have conceptual strength, push the boundaries of genre, high production, and artistic expression according to an artist forum, SoundOn. These albums possess these qualities in different ways, many of them making music history.
Her first Album of the Year nomination, I Am…Sasha Fierce displayed Beyoncé’s confident alter-ego Sasha Fierce. Through blending elements of Pop, Jazz, Folk, and Alternative Rock, she created an interesting narrative of this persona.
Beyoncé’s Beyoncé released as a surprise and a visual album. Further, she is credited with the definition of a visual album and provoked a change in the day of the week to release music–from Tuesday to Friday. With this album, she allowed for complete and authentic artistic expression, discussing taboo subjects as it was to her. Through experimental beats that combined genres, she continued to push the boundaries of music.
Lemonade was a concept album that details her emotional reaction to infidelity in her relationship with her husband Jay-Z in broader political, racial, and generational contexts. It encompasses a multitude of genres, from Reggae to Country and from Hip Hip to Rock. With a broad yet personal discussion of her life, it gained 11 nominations, despite losing the Album of the Year once more.
Her fifth nomination in the category, Renaissance, pays tribute to Black and queer trailblazers in the house music and disco genres. It examines the experience of marginalized people in seeking an escape from the pressures of reality. With its cohesion and exploration of genre, it made a good candidate for Album of the Year. Yet, the award remained ever-elusive despite her efforts.
Beyoncé's conflicted history with the category came to an end with Cowboy Carter, as she had explored themes of race and color lines in the music industry through her experimentation with the country genre. The album restored the presence of Black artists in a genre with mostly white artists. In fact, more people began listening to the genre with her album.
Upon her acceptance of the Album of the Year award, she decided to dedicate the win to Linda Martell, the first Black woman to play at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. With this dedication, she both recognizes the origins of country music, the shift to white artists’ domination in the genre, and rebels against that division. “SPAGHETII” directly addresses this, taking apart the notion of a genre and the way that it limits the growth of artists.
Beyoncé’s investigation of genre and existence outside of its boxes has always interested me. Her entirely authentic artistic expression captivates the listener, demanding for her to be seen. Though I have not been an avid fan of Beyoncé, I recognize her consistent hard work and priority of expression and the creation of art. I don’t typically listen to country music but was surprised by how much I loved her album.
If you are to listen to any songs on her album, I would recommend the following four: “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” “BLACKBIIRD,” “16 CARRIAGES,” “PROTECTOR.”
The opening track on her album, “AMERIICAN REQUIEM” immediately demands the attention of the listener. The song questions the nature of performative activism and “wokeness,” asking one to consider if they believe their own statements, if they really are their own. Her commentary on this deeply resonated with me.
"COWBOY CARTER" album cover, Beyoncé.
“BLACKBIIRD” takes a spin on the classic song by Paul McCartney. The song takes on a different meaning within the concept of the album. It works to uplift Black artists facing the pressures of racism within their field, just as she did when she first started out as an artist.
“16 CARRIAGES” is one of the more popular songs on the album. She explores the impact of beginning her music career at a young age, as well as how it changed who she is as a person. She lost her innocence early on, knowing directly many of her parents' struggles. She notes her consistent path toward success, giving everything up to achieve all that she wanted for herself.
Another song on the album, “PROTECTOR” discusses her embrace of being a mother to her children, supporting them in every endeavour. She uses powerful imagery throughout the song. Some of my favorite lines are “Tangled up in marigold / listening to the reverend children singing” and “August light becomes a golden evening.” Through the careful use of color and the gentle narrative of motherhood, the listener has insight into that experience.
Overall, the album is full of many amazing songs with more depth than that I discussed here. It is absolutely true that Beyoncé has put in the effort to win Album of the Year, among the other Black artists who had huge accomplishments at the GRAMMYs this year. If you have the time, listening to the works of any of the previously mentioned Black artists will only pave the way for more Black success in the future.
Works Cited:
“2025 GRAMMYs: Beyoncé Wins First Album Of The Year Award For 'COWBOY CARTER',” GRAMMY AWARDS, https://www.grammy.com/news/beyonce-cowboy-carter-wins-album-of-the-year-2025-grammys
“At 2025 Grammys, Black Artists Won Both Album & Record of the Year: Here Are All the Times This Has Happened (Full List),” billboard, https://www.billboard.com/lists/grammys-black-artists-won-album-record-of-the-year-same-year-full-list/1974-stevie-wonder-roberta-flack/
“Black artists took center stage at Grammys,” The Bay State Banner, https://baystatebanner.com/2025/02/06/black-artists-took-center-stage-at-grammys/
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