Cowboy Carter: Beyoncé's latest rodeo might just be her greatest yet

This year’s 67th Grammy awards were a spectacle to behold. The selection committee was under fire and responded by making a concerted effort to champion the underdog, while simultaneously celebrating the dearth of younger artists emerging on the scene in a landscape also littered with industry stalwarts.

It is evident the selection committee seemed to course correct after years of having a blind spot in areas that upset several top tier musicians and their supporters. Even The Weeknd ended his 4 year boycott of the event.

Perhaps the most striking example of their return to form however, was their treatment of Beyoncé, whose presence at this years Grammys was truly historic. In a year where she was nominated for a staggering 11 awards, she walked away with the two most significant prizes imaginable: her first ever win for Album of the Year as well as for Best Country Album, making her the first woman of African-American descent to win in the Country Music category since the Pointer Sisters in 1975.

Beyoncé's "II Most Wanted" with Miley Cyrus also earned her a trophy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, taking her record of total Grammys won to 35.

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Beyoncé - Making Grammy history

Beyoncé’s relationship with the highly distinguished awards ceremony dates back 25 years to her first nomination as a member of Destiny’s Child. Her first solo nomination came in 2004 where she cleaned house on the heels of releasing her universally acclaimed debut, 2003’s Dangerously In Love.

In the time since she has been nominated for a truly era-defining 99 golden gramophones, highlighting her otherworldly talent as a singer and performer as well as a healthy respect for her dedication to her craft.

Despite the wealth of nominations and exceedingly positive responses to her work, Album of the Year is perhaps the most significant and only way the music icon has been snubbed in her entire career. This has, over the years, made the award Bey’s white whale.

Yoncé was nominated for the award four times, and each time she fell short of winning. Keeping her past Grammy successes in mind, the lack of recognition in such a critical category seems almost inexplicable.

The fifth time appears to be the charm for Knowles as this year she finally won; the pop diva took home the prize for Cowboy Carter, an album steeped in cultural significance. A reimagined account of American roots country, through the lens of Black innovation and contributions.

That being said, her inability to take home the hardware for best album was still confounding. Somehow, it also managed to paint the industry juggernaut as somewhat of an underdog on the show’s largest stage.

When considering the sheer scope of her musical efforts this points to a wholly systemic issue with the Grammy’s, pointing a finger directly at their lack of appreciation for Black performers, most notably Black Women.

These conversations have been at the forefront of the discourse about the awards ceremony as of late, with artists even going so far as to boycott the event. Others have used their platform at the Grammys to plea for change.

One thing is certain, Beyoncé’s prior losses have not only been deeply personal, but also symptomatic of the issues that plague the event and country as a whole.

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Cowboy Carter

On the heels of releasing Renaissance, an album informed by the Queer Black dance music movement through the course of modern times, Queen B prepared for a follow-up record as the masses eagerly awaited which direction she would go.

Then, shortly after the release of historically chart-topping ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ came the announcement that she was going ‘country’ and would be titling her 8th studio album Cowboy Carter.

The sheer scale of this undertaking was daunting, and amounted to a 27 track journey framed through her unique interpretation of the genre and those it inspired along the way.

What made it most significant is that it was rooted in her point of view; the perspective of a proud Black woman in America existing in a genre predominantly gate kept by Whites. A genre where Black artists and collaborators have been historically sidelined or relegated to the margins despite their ties to the music’s roots.

That being said, she also made it clear that her work would not be defined by one genre alone, stating,

“This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”

It resulted in another staggering piece of art from Bey that included appearances from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, collaborations with Post Malone and Miley Cyrus, and even her own delicate interpretation of the Beatles’ “Blackbird”.

Cowboy Carter announced itself as the perfect blend of nostalgia and modern sonic sensibilities, within the framework of a genre that is so deeply rooted in American culture that it was able to break through barriers of race and gender.

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Cowboy Carter hits the stage

Following an unforgettable night at the Grammys with her family in tow, Beyoncé shifted her focus. Shortly after the awards, she announced her return to the stage for the Cowboy Carter Tour set to have its run from April through July of this year. Produced and directed for the stage by the inimitable Parkwood Entertainment, her tour will include,

“four-night runs at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium along with two-night stints in Chicago, Paris, Houston, Washington, and Atlanta” according to the tour's spokespeople.

Overall, the 22-date tour will begin in the US, then venture internationally to London and Paris. She’ll return to her hometown of Houston Texas then, in late May, before the Cowboy Carter tour wraps up sometime in mid-July in Atlanta.

It is truly an inspiration to witness one of the most impressive creative minds of all time at work. It’s more impressive to have seen her continually reinvent herself over the span of her now 25 year career and never miss a single beat along the way. All while navigating life as a fiercely protective mother and supporting wife.

If the Grammys taught us anything its this: undervalue Beyoncé at your own peril, but she’ll remain unaffected either way. Because now she’s transcended her artistry and music to become something unprecedented: a singular force of nature, that doesn’t ultimately have the time for your opinions.