We’re staying up tonight, right? I mean I am, at least until 1:18am ET because Beyoncé’s act ii, COWBOY CARTER, is one hour and 18 minutes. So if you’re down for just one listen, that’s how long it’ll take for your first pass on the album. 

 

And I guess this is where I should say – SPOILER ALERT, I’m about to share all the information that’s now coming out as COWBOY CARTER has now been released in Australia and New Zealand. If you don’t want to know, then, now’s your chance to bounce… 

Bounce….

Bounce….

OK ready? 

So from what I can piece together, because I’m trying to not listen to the music, just reading about how the album flows, is that COWBOY CARTER is set up like a radio show called KNTRY RADIO TEXAS. And the DJs are… Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The features include Shaboozey, Miley Cyrus (on “II MOST WANTED”) and Post Malone (on "LEVII’s JEANS"). Beyoncé covers, on her own, Dolly’s iconic “Jolene” and The Beatles’ “Blackbird”. One of the songs Beyoncé appears to be hyping is “Spaghetti”: 

 

And she’s aware of all the memes that people have been sharing about all the cowboy hats she’s been wearing: 

You know what I love about these two posts, the spaghetti and the hat GIF? It’s the tone of it, and how the tone is different from RENAISSANCE, naturally. Because RENAISSANCE matched the spirit of ballroom, the club, the vamping, the posing, and the chrome cool. COWBOY CARTER is not that vibe – she’s a lot more loose, she’s having fun, she’s all up in her yeehaw groove …but still serving looks, of course. 

 

To go back to how the album is presented, in the form of radio play, this is what she was alluding to in the teaser that dropped during the Super Bowl: 

 

Again and again and again, Beyoncé’s intentions show up in every single detail. Just like yesterday’s poster drop: 

Like her previous masterpieces, Beyoncé’s albums are a complete experience: we are entertained by the music, we move to the music as it moves through our bodies, and the music expands our minds – because we are learning as she, through the music, is sharing with us what she’s learning about her own country roots, in the hopes that we might learn in turn. And learning is an ongoing process, it’s not done with one album and 27 tracks – COWBOY CARTER, of course, is an encouragement to the listener to discover more, back to the foundation from which she sprung, and forward to the other Black artists who are creating music in this space. 

 

But we don’t have all the answers, at least not yet. There’s something coming at 2pm ET today. 

The horse, the crown, the bee, the cowboy hat… and Uber was one of the sponsors of the RENAISSANCE World Tour so… 

So….?! 

Another tour?

Tour or residency? 

Remember, before the Super Bowl there were all kinds of rumours flying around about whether or not Beyoncé would be announcing a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. So is she taking her rodeo on the road or will she be inviting us to her rodeo in Vegas? Half the Hive right now is all like, MOTHER, we have no more money!

Saddle up, buckle up, whatever the western expression is, today is going to be a day!

And another quick reminder – as Sarah mentioned in today’s site open, we are live chatting Beyoncé and Cowboy Carter tomorrow, Friday 29 March, at 1pm ET at The Squawk for paid members! Join us! 

We're Squawking about Beyoncé today, too, obviously. (app link here)