Okay, let's talk about Post Malone and Beyoncé and a tale of two artists trying to break into the country genre. With Post Malone dropping his collab with Morgan Wallen and announcing his first country album, let's take a look at how Post Malone succeeded where Beyoncé failed.
Let's set aside the topic of race and gender. I'm not saying those don't play a factor in the equation. I'm not naive to believe that there are not sexists and racists across the country. However, to reduce any complaints about Beyoncé's foray into country music as just more hate is silencing the nuance of a complex situation. From a listening perspective, Beyoncé has been very successful with over 1 billion listening streams on Spotify for Cowboy Carter.
However, a common criticism is that Beyoncé isn't country music. You don't really get that same criticism with Post-Malone. Just take a look at the reactions to his latest collab. One wrote, "Absolutely the best song of the year. Trigger warning: Post Malone is much more country than Beyoncé." Another wrote, "Post Malone really hid this song from Beyonce and it's better than anything on her album I know she sitting there thinking about this stunt." Yet another wrote, "I hate that Morgan Wallen and Post Malone's song is so good."
Post Malone Put In The Work
I think that has a lot to do with how Post Malone approached the genre. Beyoncé wanted country music to embrace her. Meanwhile, Post Malone embraced country music. Whereas Beyoncé immediately announced an album in the genre, Post Malone has been laying the infrastructure for his country debut.
For one, he sang about Dwight Yoakam all the way back on his debut album. Within the past year, he's formed collaborations with both Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, two of the modern faces of the genre. He also covered favorites like Garth Brooks and Toby Keith on social media. Post Malone even hitched a ride on Beyoncé's own album for a song.
Fast forward to now, and the singer went to Stagecoach singing alongside Brad Paisley. Turn after turn, the musician has embraced country music's stars and conventions like Stagecoach. Not to discredit Beyoncé and her own work. Her album is a love letter to country music and its Black roots. It's clear that the artist put a lot of stock into the research of her album. She also got help from legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but she didn't give them the opportunity to singe alongside her. Beyoncé became intent on shaping country music in her image that she didn't respect what was already there before she arrived.
