Country artists cover Beyoncé’s greatest hits for Apple Music

A selection of country artists including Brittney Spencer, BRELAND, Joy Oladokun have covered Beyoncé’s classics for Apple Music.

It appears as though the Houston singer’s country reign isn’t quite over just yet – following the release of ‘Cowboy Carter‘, a number of country musicians have teamed up to reinvent some of Beyoncé’s older classics.

In a series of covers for Apple Music Nashville Sessions, six Black country artists have taken on Beyoncé songs and made them their own. Tiera Kennedy, who appeared on ‘Cowboy Carter’s ‘BLACKBIIRD’ and has covered ‘1+1’ for Apple Music, said of the covers: “Beyonce has opened a door that’s going to be really hard to close.”

Meanwhile, Brittney Spencer and Tanner Adell (who also appeared with Kennedy on ‘BLACKBIIRD’ will also score covers of their own, with the two singing ‘Irreplaceable’ and ‘Drunk In Love’ respectively. New Jersey’s BRELAND will take on ‘Sandcastles’, Texas-raised Madeline Edwards will sing ‘Halo’, and Joy Oladokun will put her own spin on ‘II MOST WANTED’.

Take a listen to the compilation below:

Beyoncé released ‘Cowboy Carter’ in March, where NME prasied the record in a five-star review: “In the age of stan culture, sceptics will argue that objective criticism of Beyoncé can feel hard to come by. Those who don’t already love country may find some of ‘Cowboy Carter’s balladeering sections to be a little long, or query whether an artist of Beyoncé’s stature is invoking certain ironies when she rallies her audience to “stand for something”, given her own relative quiet on recent political affairs.

“But even if interpreted only on the grounds of artistic spectacle, it’s an undeniable thrill to see her swing so big on a project that dares her to be so intimate and vocal-focused, while making way for country’s up-and-comers too.”

The record features covers of Dolly Parton‘s ‘Jolene’, who expressed surprise at Beyoncé’s lyric change, along with the aforemention ‘Blackbird’ cover from The Beatles, whose original backing track Beyoncé used with Paul McCartney’s blessing. 

Upon the release of ‘Cowboy Carter’, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to land a US Number One country album.

In other news, Tina Knowles has shared how Beyoncé dealt with childhood bullies.