There’s a lot of talkin’ goin’ on about “Cowboy Carter,” including news that Beyoncé’s twangy release broke multiple streaming records just days after its release.
The 32-time Grammy winner’s “Cowboy Carter” dropped late Thursday evening, but has already set numerous milestones for both Spotify and Amazon Music, the platforms shared over the weekend. Spotify announced in a Saturday Instagram post that “‘Cowboy Carter’ became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 so far.”
The platform added that “Cowboy Carter” became the first country album to hold the title in 2024. “Cowboy Carter” may spotlight Beyoncé’s years-long relationship to country music, but “this ain’t a Country album,” she declared before its release.
“This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she wrote in an Instagram missive last month. Still, “Cowboy Carter” is prominently featured on Spotify’s Country page: She covers the genre’s “Hot Country” playlist and her album is first in the “New Releases in Country” lineup.
Amazon Music also announced on Saturday that “Cowboy Carter” made for Beyoncé’s “biggest album debut” on the platform. The album earned Beyoncé the “most first-day global streams” of any of her albums. It also made for the “most first-day streams for a country album by a female artist.” Neither Spotify nor Amazon Music’s posts provided an exact number for the record-breaking streams.
“Wouldn’t expect anything less from the Queen 🐝 *tips cowboy hat* #COWBOYCARTER,” Amazon Music captioned its post.
As of Monday morning, “Cowboy Carter” also brought Beyoncé to the top of Apple Music’s top songs and albums charts. Five songs from the 27-track album dominate the first five “Top Songs” spots, while the album sits at No. 1 on “Top Albums.”
Since its release, “Cowboy Carter” received praise from social media fans and the singer’s music industry peers and collaborators, including Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus. For Times critic Mikael Wood, the second chapter of Beyoncé’ promised “Renaissance” trilogy, touted the singer’s imagination and ingenuity.
“It’s gratifying to hear her lean not just into country music’s history but into its wit and style and pageantry,” he writes, citing songs “Levii’s Jeans” and “Riiverdance.”
Wood also notes that the singer’s multiple album of the year snubs at the Grammy Awards was motivation “to deliver the fascinating ‘Cowboy Carter.’”
“But no gatekeeper can take credit for her vision,” he said.
