If there were any doubts that Beyoncé is serious about going country, the cover art for her upcoming album “Cowboy Carter” should dispel them.
Side-saddle on a white stallion, American flag in hand, decked out in patriotic Evel Knievel finery: She’s a genuine sweetheart of the rodeo.
It may be cool to be country these days — Post Malone is another artist crossing over — but Texas-born Beyonce has it in her DNA.
If you’ve heard her fantastic “Texas Hold ‘Em” — which recently made Bey the first black woman ever to reach the top of Billboard’s Country chart — you know this.
On every level, this is a victory for American society. For anyone who had been concerned about the nastiness festering through music as part of the culture war, this is a breath of fresh air.
Predictably, the activist media have spazzed, desperate to portray Beyoncé as a helpless victim, bullied by — by who, exactly?
The Washington Post thinks that Beyoncé has unmasked country music’s bias problem. If only those Beltway Bezos buffoons would direct that weird energy towards confronting their own problematic bias.
The Guardian deceptively implied that Beyoncé is in fact “clapping back at country.” But doesn’t the success of “Texas Hold ‘Em” disprove this notion? Why can’t she clap with?
Aren’t these the least fun people God ever made? Can’t they just enjoy a good tune?
America needs a steroidal boost at the moment, and who better to pump up this nation than Queen B?
In the caption for her Instagram post, Beyoncé noted: “My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
Amen, sister. Most Americans will have a similar response.
And for those who don’t, they might learn something from Bey’s response to the inevitable pushback by cultural gatekeepers.
“This album has been over five years in the making,” she writes. “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.”
Sure, country fans didn’t welcome the R&B star with open arms. But note that Beyoncé doesn’t make it about race. She doesn’t call for more “diversity” in country.
She simply delivers music that’s too good to ignore. Country fans aren’t known for taking their cues from progressive elites.
So here’s hoping Beyoncé can turn more and more people into country fans. We could all stand to leave our grievances at the door and have a little fun. It’s the American way.
To quote “Texas Hold ‘Em”: “Don’t be a b***h, come take it to the floor now.”