Beyoncé came out on top Advertising sign charts once again. Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the biggest sales for an album so far in 2024, and at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, making Beyoncé the first black woman to debut at the summit, reports Advertising sign. This is the eighth time Beyoncé has had a solo album reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, also breaking the previous record for a female artist to do so – which was set by herself with Renaissance in August 2022.
Cowboy Carter debuted with 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 4, according to Luminate. Of that number, 232,000 units come from streaming (which Advertising sign notes was Beyoncé's biggest streaming week ever), 168,000 are traditional album sales and 7,000 are track album equivalents. They all helped Cowboy Carter put together the best-selling week for a country album since last July, when Taylor Swift Speak now peaked at 716,000 copies.
Since I'm teasing the album as Act II with a Verizon ad after Super Bowl LVIII, Beyoncé shared just two songs from Cowboy Carter: “Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages”. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Linda Martell make guest appearances on the album, while Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Tanner Adell sing on tracks. Beyoncé recently shared her full list of credits for Cowboy Carterwhich features additional collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Jon Batiste, Nile Rodgers, Raphael Saadiq, Jay-Z, The-Dream and Ryan Tedder.
Beyoncé covers The Beatles' “Blackbird” and Dolly Parton's “Jolene” on Cowboy Carter. Paul McCartney praised her cover of the 1968 ballad, saying: “I'm so happy with Beyoncé's version of my song 'Blackbird.' I think he does a wonderful version of it and reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.”
RenaissanceBeyoncé's seventh studio album, was released in July 2022. It was originally billed as Act I: Rebirth, implying that future versions would follow suit. Although the album never got a traditional music video, there was a “cliquebait” music video for “Break My Soul,” a “brand campaign anthem film” for Tiffany & Co. with “Summer Renaissance” and a concert film that played in theaters around the world. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé was the No. 1 film in the US during its debut weekend and, as of January 11, has grossed over $44.4 million worldwide.
Last year, Beyoncé broke the record for most Grammys won by an artist in the award's history after taking home four trophies that night. “Break My Soul” was nominated for record of the year, song of the year and best dance/electronic recording at the 2023 Grammy Awards, but Beyoncé won only the latter, causing some controversy. In the Cowboy Carter The track “Sweet ★ Honey ★ Buckiin,” references her storied history with the Grammy Awards, singing, “AOTY, I ain't win/I ain't stuntin' 'bout them/Take that shit on the chin.”
