Beyoncé Shows Her Country Music Cards With ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and ’16 Carriages’: Song Review
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When Beyoncé released “Daddy Lessons” as a track on the “Lemonade” album in 2016, the country flavor she baked into the tune felt too right to be limited to a mere one-off.
But what were the odds she would ever return to that kind of genre influence for an entire album? Probably less than they would have been if anyone had ever tried calculating the odds of the Rolling Stones following a singular country song like “Faraway Eyes” with a whole project leaning in that direction… which, obviously, they never did.
The chances would’ve seemed infinitely dimmer in the immediate wake of a brilliant dance/club collection rooted as heavily in Black sounds and queer history as “Renaissance.” So, even if she had shown a fleeting interest in exploring a different side of her native Texas.
has any superstar ever laid down a more surprising hand than the cards Beyoncé just put on the table with “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”?
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