Beyoncé‘s pivot to country — starting with the Billboard Hot 100-topping “Texas Hold ‘Em” and fellow lead single “16 Carriages” followed by the announcement of her latest album Cowboy Carter — shocked many listeners. But the the surprises didn’t stop there.
After the record dropped at midnight Friday (March 29), marking the beginning of the second act to Bey’s 2022 album Renaissance, fans were elated to see that the tracklist was packed with featured artists. The guest roster features legendary country pioneers — including a Dolly Parton-introduced new spin on Parton’s classic “Jolene” — as well as a handful of modern stars holding down the genre in 2024, plus a couple fellow pop titans who’ve also dabbled in the world of cowboy boots and fiddles. (Spoiler alert: That description includes, but isn’t limited to, a certain “Hoedown Throwdown” singer.)
The level of involvement each collaborator has on Cowboy Carter ranges from clever voice notes modeled after on-air disc-jockey transitions — in service of Bey’s KNTRY Radio concept — to full-on duets. It’s probably best to get one thing out of the way now, though: Neither Lady Gaga nor Taylor Swift are official contributors to the LP, though both of them were highly rumored to be. Sorry, “‘Telephone’ Pt. 2” truthers, as well as fans who loved seeing Beyoncé and Taylor show up to each other’s concert film premieres last year. Maybe next time.
From Dolly P to Miley C, keep reading to see a breakdown of all the artists Honey B included on her staggering new body of work, listed in alphabetical order below.
