Take the Poll- What do you think of Beyonce’s New Country song?
For a genre of music that has rarely gone mainstream, country is now coming to dominate the industry.
Loading ...Beyoncé dropped two new songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” and announced a country album scheduled for release on March 29. Members of the Beyhive weren’t surprised: She’s been hinting at it for years, wore a giant cowboy hat to the Grammys, and is from Houston.
Still, her announcement has sparked a new conversation around who gets to make country music. The country song on her album Lemonade, “Daddy Lessons,” was deemed ineligible for country music categories at the 2017 Grammys by the Recording Academy’s country music committee, and her performance of the song at the Country Music Association Awards with the Chicks got criticism from some country fans. But as country gains mainstream popularity, many see potential for a new era as the genre grows.
What changed? Country music is good music. But possibly the change is thanks to…Morgan Wallen.
Country music streaming grew 24% YoY through Q3 2023. Wallen was responsible for almost a third of the growth, according to entertainment data company Luminate.
Last June, No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart were country songs: “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen and the “Fast Car” cover by Luke Combs.
Big picture: Gen Z and millennials are also driving the surge in country. In 2023, 36% of streams of Spotify’s Top 50 songs were country songs, compared to 2% in 2016.—CC
*Story & Stats from The Morning Brew – morningbrew.com
