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“This ain’t Texas,” Beyoncé declares at the beginning of “Texas Hold ‘Em,” her hoedown hit that topped both the pop and country charts last year.
But it sure did feel like it at the first of the superstar’s five “Cowboy Carter” Tour shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Thursday night.
Beyoncé may have not been able to change the weather on a rainy, unseasonably cold night, but the power of the pop goddess was on display in the sea of cowboy hats, boots and other Western wear that the Beyhive giddied on up in — even with their rain ponchos.
Surely, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs or Morgan Wallen never made it look so country so close to the big city at MetLife.
But this was a different, more diverse kind of country — the kind that Beyoncé frontiered with her groundbreaking “Cowboy Carter” LP that finally won her that Album of the Year Grammy in February. And while it may have been hard to imagine Country Bey rocking a stadium like she did on the “Renaissance” Tour in 2023 or the “Formation” Tour in 2016, she was still the Queen B.
And she immediately established that she was not going to be roped in by any genre with the “Cowboy Carter” opener “American Requiem.”
“They used to say I spoke ‘too country’/And the rejection came, said I wasn’t ‘country ’nough,’” the Houston-born diva sang with snarl in her twang.
Of course, that was a reference to Beyoncé apparently not being “welcomed” when she performed “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards. That experience inspired “Cowboy Carter,” and when she performed that country ditty from her “Lemonade” album on Thursday night, she had reclaimed country on her own terms.
And as an African-American woman taking the genre back to its black roots, she made a powerful early statement when she went from her “Cowboy Carter” cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” to “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “Freedom.”
This was Beyoncé’s America. And the flag that has been a motif throughout the “Cowboy Carter” era let you know.
The 43-year-old singer made the stadium feel like a saloon on intimate “CC” numbers such as “Alligator Tears” and “Just for Fun,” and “Flamenco” took some Destiny’s Child-esque harmonies to folky territory, complete with a flamenco dancer.
But there was also spectacle when Beyoncé rode a mechanical bull on “Tyrant” and a giant horseshoe through the air on her remake of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
And the visuals that the Beyhive has been clamoring for? Well, they were here on video screens during interludes. The New York crowd especially loved it when Beyoncé lit a cigar with the Statue of Liberty.
While the nearly three-hour show was heavy on “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé also delivered chart-topping classics such as “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)).” And she revisited other early solo hits that have been missing from her recent tour, including “Irreplaceable,” which took the crowd back with a stadium singalong, and “If I Were a Boy,” which inspired one of her best vocals of the night.
Another vocal highlight was “Daughter,” which showcased Beyoncé’s classical chops when she took on the Italian aria “Caro Mio Ben.” Her crystalline voice soared through the cold night air.
Naturally, there was also dancing in a “Renaissance” section that took it from the barnyard back to the ballroom and featured Bey’s 13-year-old daughter Blue Ivy re-creating her mom’s “Deja Vu” dance break.
But 7-year-old daughter Rumi was the star on “Protector,” taking the stage to a big applause in a white fur coat — matching the one that Beyoncé wore to keep warm in temps that were in the 40s.
She may be country, but she’s still a diva.
English (US)