Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter albums made waves for their sounds, not their visuals — and fans still have some thoughts about it.
The Grammy winner, 43, however, said that her decision not to release music videos for her latest two records was intentional and hinted that visuals aren’t coming in the future.
“I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice,” she shared in her GQ cover story published on Tuesday, September 10. “The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own.”
She added: “Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music. The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual.”
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Despite the lack of music videos, Beyoncé noted that fans “all got the visual” on her record-breaking Renaissance World Tour last year and in its December 2023 concert film. (Beyoncé became the most decorated artist in Grammy history with her four Renaissance wins at the 2023 Grammy Awards.)
Beyoncé continued to cement herself in music history with Cowboy Carter, which was released in March. She became the first Black woman to have a No. 1 country song with the album’s first single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” as well as the first Black woman to reach the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Despite Cowboy Carter’s critical and commercial success, the album was recently snubbed from the 2024 CMA Awards nominations list. Morgan Wallen, meanwhile, topped the nominations list with a total of seven, including Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year.
The lack of recognition prompted strong reactions from the Beyhive. “Beyonce should host a live show on all platforms at the exact same time as the CMAs,” one fan wrote via X on Monday, September 9. “Or release the videos for the album the minute the CMAs begin.” Another user added: “Beyoncé didn’t receive a single nomination at the Country Music Awards (CMAs). It has started.”
Ahead of Cowboy Carter’s release, Beyoncé revealed that the album was inspired by “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t.” Though she didn’t specify what the experience was, it was speculated she was referring to her performance with the Chicks at the 2016 CMAs, which sparked negative reactions online and in the show’s audience.
“An audience member in front of me proceeds to say, ‘Get that Black bitch off the stage right now,” attendee Tanner Davenport claimed in CNN’s Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance documentary earlier this year. “I remember instantly kind of being taken back to reality in that moment. To realize that there’s, like, a threat of Black people being in this genre for some reason.”
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Several celebs proceeded to gush about their love for Cowboy Carter, including Dolly Parton, who gave her stamp of approval on Beyoncé’s cover of her iconic track “Jolene.”
“I think it was very bold of her,” she told E! News in May. “When they said she was gonna do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t. But I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.”
Parton, 78, stated that she was “very proud” of the album, noting that Beyoncé “did a great job in country music and I thought it was great.”
