Cowboy Carter is an incredible Beyoncé album. It's nothing short of a masterpiece and my personal favourite album by her. 
 

There was so much love for the album initially (when it was getting top reviews from critics and breaking chart records). Now all of a sudden, it's the quality of the album or it's too long? The album is top tier. 
 

The problem is Beyoncé is too elusive and the general public don't hear enough about her. The reason for the initial success of a Beyoncé album is the fact she is making headlines for releasing a "new album", coupled with social media buzz of its singles etc. She is trending more or whatever. Once the hype goes down, the people are diverted back to what's popular, Kim K's new dog, hot new male pop singers lovely new song, bla bla bla. 
 

Look at Ariana, always in the news, MET gala, announcing 6 singles will be released from her new album… The buzz is there. Beyonce is far too elusive with her music, it's always a surprise and hardly ever a conventional rollout. 
 

Us as die hard Beyoncé fans are also human, and some navigate towards other popular or underground artist we have started to stan during the absence of new music from our ultimate fave. 
 

She basically just needs to get off her arse!

Sorry for the triple post

8 minutes ago, Beyoncei said:

The problem is Beyoncé is too elusive

dd; it's so funny you should say this because on my way home from work earlier I randomly thought that Beyoncé is more of an Elusive Chanteuse than Mariah

 

38 minutes ago, Pepo said:

I can survive the no visuals thing, but choosing not to perform her music is where I draw the line...

As someone who gravitated to Bey **because** of her performance abilities as far back as DC, it is definitely hard processing that she essentially doesn't perform outside of touring nowadays. 

 

At the same time, in knowing that Bey can't cheat time nor Mother Nature (in that her most agile performing days *may* be behind her), I'm actually more surprised that she's not using this stage of her career to ramp up her edited/curated output.

 

A music video and pre-recorded content will always grant her the ability to put her very best foot forward and can benefit from all the cuts, edits, and takes needed to ensure she shows up as "Beyonce" to the masses. Something not available with truly live performances. 

 

One thing I always keep front and center is that the likes of Netflix and YouTube (dwindling consumption and all) are way more mass-watched than any "live performance" ever will be. So, I'd love to see Bey harness that as she strives to uphold the image of performance perfection she has built around herself. 

Edited May 7, 20242 yr by Cbreezy

i've been gone from this base because I wasn't ready for any lashings but now that its been over a month, I really did not like cowboy carter and am a little shocked at how little I cared for it for a Beyonce album wtf

 

Riverdance is that song tho

 

 

 

The fact that Tina has done more promo than Bey might as well call it Cowboy Celestine

it's starting 

 

4 minutes ago, Slamless said:

i've been gone from this base because I wasn't ready for any lashings but now that its been over a month, I really did not like cowboy carter and am a little shocked at how little I cared for it for a Beyonce album wtf

 

Riverdance is that song tho

 

 

 

Girl now you know that's not true. You just need Bodyguard to become the summer hit of 2024, like it deserves and you'll fall in love again. X

3 minutes ago, FLAallday said:

The fact that Tina has done more promo than Bey might as well call it Cowboy Celestine

the way the first half had me thinking Turner for some reason

might as well be since the era is about as alive as she is

 

21 minutes ago, BnPac said:

I do agree on Lemonade but why do you think so for CC? Strictly academically speaking, CC has songs like 2MW, Just for fun (which are lower than any lows on Ren) and is bloated by some of those interludes and short songs. Not to mention the transitions on some songs needed better work, she is still belting in Ya Ya when Oh Louisiana starts. It has very brilliant moments : American Requiem is a slap, Daughter, the run from 2H2H to Sweet but as a cohesive product, it falls short to Ren and imo it's not just because Ren is fun music.

 

Renaissance to me is crisp, is neat, flawless from beginning to end and the transitions between the songs are seamless. CC is a great album but strictly academically speaking, I feel like it does not compare to the musical rigorousness and tightness that is Renaissance. The latter is also way more experimental, songs like Alien Superstar, Cozy, Pure/Honey and American Has A Problem among others put her musical genius in full display. 

the same arguments you made for RENAISSANCE apply to Self-Titled, as well.

 

what I mean by "academically" is the context with which you engage with the album, the references, the history of it all. while RENAISSANCE does have some of that, it's hidden in the samples and songwriting credits for the most part. with Lemonade and Cowboy Carter, you're getting it spoon-fed to you. and Cowboy Carter of course has the "reclaiming country" angle, which is a much more popular genre than house music.

 

and, let me make it clear, ANYTHING Bey puts out is "academically" way, way ahead of anyone else in pop music. she is a true student of music and historian. so RENAISSANCE and Self-Titled are, too. but Lemonade and Cowboy Carter have more to dissect, marginally.

to me ya ya feels like what live beyoncé feels like. like it's a beyoncé performance in song form. the same can be said about daughter's operatic moment, it's as if she took a coachella i care moment and put it in an album (yeah she featured operatic vocals before but they've always been reduced to backing vocals, never been at the forefront of an album track)

that's why i love both immensely 

7 minutes ago, Weld_E said:

Can someone explain the history/lore behind the twins that perform with Bey? How did they come to be and why did she decide to have them in all her tours since?

she took them under her wing during 4 and kept them ever since

 

nowadays she keeps them around bc they're are basically jobless without her and she has a charitable heart (except for us )

Spoiler

I think some of you do not pay enough attention to what other fans say or do not read it. Which is OK but there is also no reason to rewrite history. 

Everyone finding the album too long now did when it was released. As a matter of fact, that was my first post in the album's thread, I also said I found the interludes cumbersome but maybe it was my listening on YTB. True Spotify made it better but still the sentiment remains. 

@AxelFox didn't fully like the album and has been pretty vocal about it. 

@Mitsouko tried very hard to like it and found some songs to vibe to, I even checked up on him to see if there was some songs about it that he managed to like.

@Machete straight up hated it but that's not surprising. 

 

Just like pretending those of us who liked the album only did it because it was new, pretending all the fanbase was on board because of critics and charts is stupid since the most fights breaking in the critics' thread and the album's thread were about people not liking it being praised or liked more than Renaissance precisely because they felt it lacking in some aspect. And those fans not being too vocal out of respect for people enjoying first week do not make them fake. 

 

4 minutes ago, Weld_E said:

Can someone explain the history/lore behind the twins that perform with Bey? How did they come to be and why did she decide to have them in all her tours since?

They were a somewhat popular dancing duo in France on the underground scene so I guess she saw one of their videos and decided to hire them. She seems however considerably close to them, they have the utmost respect for her and I remember one saying she helped with their expenses or administrative issues (I don't remember which), I think they naturally formed a bond and that's why she has them on all her tours. 

Not quite at the doom and gloom stage that some of y'all are at, simply because I like to be experience-led.

 

We all basically experienced this very stage in the window between the Rennie album release and the RWT announcement. The hot-takes were equally bad if not worse. From "she's lazy" to "she's retired" to "it's all over". 

 

So, IMO, it's kinda futile doing the same with CC when we know there's almost certainly a "something" coming. 

 

The main issue, for me, is the not knowing and of course this gap of nothingness. 

 

With summer rapidly approaching, it's becoming clear that a stadium tour this year is next to impossible on her usual stomping ground (US, Europe). Making a late 2024 start in Oceana, Asia, LATAM most plausible. Or some kind of US residency most feasible. 

 

The visuals still not dropping also is annoying given that it's the one promotional pillar that could tide us over ahead of whatever her live plans are.

With this being act ii you know she's gonna have them front and center glitching out to random songs like American Requieum 

3 minutes ago, ScorpiosGroove said:

she took them under her wing during 4 and kept them ever since

 

nowadays she keeps them around bc they're are basically jobless without her and she has a charitable heart (except for us )

I feel like she brought them back for the Renaissance tour because she was having male dancers and they were the perfect liaison between her and the new guys. The Twins were the dance captains for the boys. However they brought a lot to the show so im happy she did.

And i see them teach classes, that's all they can do. Half of the Renaissance dancers are currently doing the same 

1 hour ago, Burn said:

I'd rather have another #1 single than visuals

 

 

just something about seeing Bey on top is so pleasing to me

Well neither are happening anytime soon so….. 

Just now, Weld_E said:

I've been obsessed with this performance for days now:

 

Does anyone know where I could find a studio version (if it exists)?

 

No studio version, just the live audio ripped from the footage. 
 

Ugh she looked stunning that night, 5 outfit changes, full hair and make up too. 
 

Now we get 5 outings a year at most. 

Oh and what people don't know is she stepped up at the last minute for that, she wasn't supposed to sing that song. I don't remember what happened to the person who was supposed to sing it. She learned the words and everything in a short period of time and slayed. It was a talk here in France for a bit. 

The album/tour every other year looks like that's the one prediction we're getting right so far.

 

She's more than likely doing just that.

 

The most frustrating thing is her new "I'm not doing anything for free" attitude. But that's why I don't care if her albums/songs stay in the top 10 of any chart and honestly why I don't care about her winning certain awards that her, jay z and Parkwood have made abundantly clear that they want. If you're done playing the game, fine, but the industry isn't just gonna bend to your new rules. Be so ******* fr.

 

The music and talent is still 10/10 and that's why I'm still here. Dassit.

Edited May 7, 20242 yr by king_queen

44 minutes ago, Cbreezy said:

From "she's lazy" to "she's retired" to "it's all over". 

that's how you know it's a beyoncé era 

16 minutes ago, king_queen said:

The album/tour every other year looks like that's the one prediction we're getting right so far.

 

She's more than likely doing just that.

 

The most frustrating thing is her new "I'm not doing anything for free" attitude. But that's why I don't care if her albums/songs stay in the top 10 of any chart and honestly why I don't care about her winning certain awards that her, jay z and Parkwood have made abundantly clear that they want. If you're done playing the game, fine, but the industry isn't just gonna bend to your new rules. Be so ******* fr.

 

The music and talent is still 10/10 and that's why I'm still here. Dassit.

Very fair take. 

 

I find myself torn between the factually "unfair" angle of her constantly being passed over for certain accolades (e.g. at the Grammys, which pretends to be a meritocracy while showcasing very racially problematic behavior) and your very justified articulation of how she doesn't play the game and thus doesn't win what she could and should.

 

She's been in the game long enough to know that music is but a fraction of the music industry and she knows way more than we ever could about what's needed to make these award wins happen. At the same time, when they keep making her "most nominated" and even "most awarded" only to keep snubbing her for the major honor/s, it's easy to see the frustration. 

 

It's all rather sticky because I'd bet that a big part of why she doesn't "campaign" her albums in the traditional sense anymore is the pivot she's taken over the last decade or so of being this renegade, artsy, socially reflective and almost political artist.

 

In slight fairness to her, the optics of her "campaigning" a Lemonade (with its political, racial lean), Rennie (with its LGBTQ lean), or even CC (with its genre shift that she's angling to position as authentic rather than dress up) wouldn't be...good. 

 

Still, that doesn't inform whether or not she performs, drops visuals, or finds savvy ways of "campaigning" on her own terms. So there's a definite truth IMO of her shooting herself in her own foot.

Edited May 7, 20242 yr by Cbreezy

I understand it's disappointing that we've barely seen her this era but...I wasn't expecting anything more ? This is just how she rolls now. It's frustrating as all hell but seething about it isn't gonna change anything  We felt more fed during Renaissance Era because of the tour. I feel there will be another tour after ACT 3 and then she will release her multiverse film or whatever she has planned...

 

My one gripe however is how they couldn't even get Bey & Miley for one actual photo together to promote II Most Wanted  That visualiser is a damn mess and looks like it was made by someone in school lmao 

Edited May 7, 20242 yr by BeyBronts

oh wow this one sound legit as ****