At last year’s Grammy Awards, Beyoncé crossed a major milestone in her career when she won Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter. Although the album landed No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and the US Top Country Album charts, the singer wasn’t necessarily welcomed with open arms by all country music fans. Even country singer Gavin Adcock called Cowboy Carter anything but country music. But when discussing the difference between Beyoncé and Post Malone, Breland explained why the genre embraced one and not the other.
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The last couple of years brought a great deal of change to country music. Not only did Beyoncé release her debut country album, but Post Malone shared his love for the genre with F-1 Trillion. Since then, singers like BigXthaPlug decided to dabble in country music. His album, I Hope You’re Happy, hit shelves back in August.
With country music welcoming stars to explore its rich history, what exactly happened with Beyoncé? Speaking with Rolling Stone on the Nashville Now podcast, Breland admitted, “She chose to put a bunch of artists on there that people weren’t as familiar with. And didn’t come to town and play the game the same way that everyone else would.”
[RELATED: 3 Country Stars Who’ve Embraced Beyoncé’s Entrance to the Genre]
The Difference Between Beyoncé And BigXthaPlug
Recalling how BigXthaPlug collaborated with stars like Ella Langley, Darius Rucker, Luke Combs, Shaboozey, Jelly Roll, and several others, Breland added, “BigXthaPlug started doing some of these collabs with much success and then decided, ‘Hey, I’m going to lean all the way in and do a whole collab album with all of these pop and country artists and it’s gonna work.’”
Although only offering his opinion on how country music reacted to Cowboy Carter, Breland insisted, “I promise you that if Beyoncé had made her album in town and had written with more writers and producers who were here in town and popped out somewhere on Broadway and did CMA Fest, and debuted at the Grand Ole Opry, people’s reception to her in town would have been a little different.”
No matter the criticism and backlash she received, Beyoncé left her mark on the genre with “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” While Breland understood how to approach country music, he respected Beyoncé. “Part of her album was her saying, ‘I’m not going to do this the way the establishment wants me to.’ I think that’s honorable.”
(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
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