Beyoncé
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Beyoncé is making sure her fellow Black female artists in the country space are getting their flowers too.
Amid the release of her highly-anticipated country album Cowboy Carter on Friday, the Grammy-winning singer sent flowers and cards with sweet messages to K. Michelle and Mickey Guyton to show her appreciation for what they have already done in the genre.
“Thank you for opening doors for me, queen. Keep shining. Love and respect, Beyoncé,” she wrote to Guyton, along with a stunning bouquet of white flowers.
In her card to K. Michelle, the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer said, “You’re killing it! I love what you’ve been doing and I know it’s not easy to enter a new space. Sending you positivity and respect. I hope to meet you one day. Love, Beyoncé.”
Guyton became the first Black female solo artist to be nominated for a Grammy in a country category for her single “Black Like Me” in 2021. She has also used her voice and lyrics to address racial issues, and that continued on her debut album, Remember Her Name.
K. Michelle, who now performs under her country alter ego, Puddin, made the transition from R&B to country in recent years, releasing her debut solo country single “Tennessee” last year.
Both singers have previously been open about the challenges they faced when entering into the country genre as Black female artists. And it’s a similar sentiment that Beyoncé expressed earlier in March when she shared what led to the creation of Cowboy Carter.
The “16 Carriages” artist previously wrote on social media that her latest album spawned from her not feeling “welcomed” in the country space when she initially tried to enter the genre.
“It was very clear that I wasn’t,” Beyoncé said. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
She continued in her post at the time, “This genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. Act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
Cowboy Carter, which features a 27-song tracklist, also includes a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” But the song is particularly significant to Beyoncé as she collaborated with a quartet of rising Black country artists on the track, including Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy.
