Give it up for Queen Bey!
It is truly inspiring that Beyoncé has made history by becoming the first black woman to score a number-one country album with her new album ‘Cowboy Carter’ on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. The news broke on April 7, marking her eighth album to top the Billboard 200 charts. ‘Cowboy Carter’ sold 407,000 units, making it the biggest week of 2024 and the largest since Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ sold 1.653 million units on the November 11, 2023 list back in October.
Billboard 200: #1(new) @Beyonce, COWBOY CARTER 407,000 [300.41 million on-demand streams | 168,000 pure sales] .
— chart data (@chartdata) April 7, 2024
All of @Beyonce's career #1 albums on the Billboard 200:
#1 Dangerously In Love
#1 B'Day
#1 I Am… Sasha Fierce
#1 4
#1 BEYONCÉ
#1 Lemonade
#1 RENAISSANCE
#1 COWBOY CARTER
#1 Survivor
#1 #1's pic.twitter.com/D2K8CPI4M4— chart data (@chartdata) April 7, 2024
Beyoncé’s country reinvention has been praised by many fans who have been impressed with her heartfelt, expansive take on country music. Michelle Obama praised ‘Cowboy Carter’ and declared that Beyoncé had “changed the game once again”. She added that the music icon had “unlocked yet another infinity stone with her country’s reinvention that strikes gold.”. The album has been similarly praised by the star’s music peers, including a glowing statement of support from Paul McCartney after Beyoncé covered ‘Blackbird’.
Beyoncé Achieves Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 With ‘Cowboy Carter’ https://t.co/TZq4WNBAMG
— billboard (@billboard) April 7, 2024
after feeling unwelcome at the CMAs years ago, today Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter” becomes the first album by a black woman to debut at number one on Billboard’s Top Country Albums 🤭 pic.twitter.com/r2OwTdjd7v
— Bradley 🦋 (@bradleyberdecia) April 7, 2024
In February, Beyoncé made a similar achievement by becoming the first black woman to reach Number One on the US country chart with her new single ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’. She also became the second solo female act to debut at Number One, with no accompanying featured artists, after Swift achieved this in 2021 with her re-recorded versions of ‘Love Story’ and ‘All Too Well’. Moreover, Beyoncé was announced as the first woman to top both the Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts since these run-downs began in 1958. The only other artists to have led both charts are Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ray Charles and Morgan Wallen. Beyoncé’s meteoric rise to success is a testament to her talent, perseverance, and dedication. Her music has touched countless lives and continues to inspire many people worldwide. Congratulations, Beyoncé!
COWBOY CARTER is the #1 album on the Billboard 200! Congratulations, @Beyonce! pic.twitter.com/dBFdJJxOKs
— Columbia Records (@ColumbiaRecords) April 7, 2024