Miley Cyrus and Post Malone are among some of the famous faces to feature on Beyoncé’s new album, according to new reports.
‘Cowboy Carter’ is set to be released on Friday (March 29), and will mark the pop icon’s eighth studio album. It is also the second instalment of a believed trilogy project that began with 2022’s ‘Renaissance’.
There has been hype around the album for months now, and yesterday (March 27) the singer shared the full tracklist with fans. Currently released singles include ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and ‘16 Carriages’, as well as ‘Jolene’, which Dolly Parton had previously confirmed Beyoncé had recorded a cover of.
Now, according to some fans, Beyoncé is about to announce several famous faces that have joined forces with her for the long-awaited country album – including rap sensation Post Malone and pop icon Miley Cyrus.
The rumours first got momentum online after a Beyoncé fan page shared a tweet on X, claiming that an anonymous insider revealed that ‘Cowboy Carter’ would star guest appearances from country veterans Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, as well as Willie Jones, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Shaboozey and Tanner Adele.
From there, Pop Crave also took to social media earlier this morning (March 28), claiming that Miley Cyrus will be starring on a track called ‘II Most Wanted’, while Post Malone will be collaborating with Bey on a song titled ‘Levii’s Jeans’.
More fuel was added to the fire about the latter, after he liked the tracklist post that Beyoncé shared on Instagram. If the collaboration turns out to be true, it’ll mean that Post Malone has bagged guest features on two of the most-hyped albums in 2024 – also starring on Taylor Swift’s upcoming ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.
While none of the collaborations have been officially confirmed at time of writing, they do follow on from speculation that Dolly Parton will be starring on the album, after she shared praise for Beyoncé in light of the ‘Jolene’ cover.
“I think she’s recorded ‘Jolene’ and I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about that,” Parton said earlier this month. “I love her! She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.”
In addition to being the first Black woman to top the Country charts with ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, Beyoncé has also become the first woman to top both the Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hip Songs charts since these run-downs began in 1958. The only other artists to have led both charts are Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ray Charles and Morgan Wallen.
The singer also addressed some of the backlash she has received for foraying into the country music sphere. Writing on Instagram, she said: “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Among the critics of Beyoncé’s new direction is Azealia Banks, who has described her new music as “white woman cosplay”, and said she is “setting herself up to be ridiculed”.
The album is available for pre-save/pre-order here. Limited edition coloured vinyl pressings in red, white, blue and black are available as well as two limited-edition CDs with alternative cover photos featuring half of her face on display.
