Did Cowboy Carter deserve Album of the Year?

When the name Beyoncé rang out on the Grammy’s stage, named as the winner of Album of the Year, the public response was outcry.  Fans of music swarmed Twitter, hastily bashing the singer for receiving the award, claiming it had been stolen from more qualified artists, like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift.  Likewise, it seems like this kind of mindset has taken root among some of the students of Bellevue High.

“I thought Billie Eilish should’ve won.  I didn’t really listen to ‘Cowboy Carter’,” said sophomore Nicole Tang. 

For those who listen to music, “Cowboy Carter” may have seemed like the inferior option.  Standing next to giant albums like Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short and Sweet”, which have surpassed 5 billion streams on Spotify, “Cowboy Carter” has 1.7 million streams, a number that seems small in comparison.

However, what many people tend to overlook about “Cowboy Carter” is the powerful musical story it tells.  It starts when Beyoncé preformed at the 2016 CMAs with the Dixie Chicks, a performance that prompted racist criticism.

Black artists have been involved in the development of country throughout its entire development, with artists like Charley Pride still reigning as the biggest influences today.  The genre itself was heavily inspired by other Black music genres like blues and jazz.  However, they’ve received little to no recognition for it.

“Cowboy Carter” itself is part of a project Beyoncé has undergone to reclaim Black-created music genres, challenging the stereotype that country is exclusively made by white artists.  In her album, Beyoncé explores what being a country artist means, through her homages to artists like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.  She also samples recordings of artists Sister Rosetta Thorpe and Linda Martell, past black female pioneers of the music industry.

Beyoncé became the fourth black women ever to win Album of the Year, and the first to take it home this century.  Whether not music is “good” is entirely subjective to opinion.  However, for those who may be hesitant to accept it, it’s also important to consider the rich history and social commentary that “Cowboy Carter” has to offer, and the messages of empowerment that it offers to young music artists, before rushing to claim the award was undeserved.