Beyoncé releases powerful rendition of Dolly Parton's 'Jolene'
American pop sensation Beyoncé released her powerful version of the country classic, 'Jolene', following the release of her brand-new album, 'Cowboy Carter'.
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This past long weekend's celebrations were met with the release of Beyoncé’s brand-new album, 'Cowboy Carter'.
The album quickly took over the internet, reaching number one on Spotify and Apple Music.
It also became the biggest debut of the year, hitting 76.1-million streams on its first day on Spotify globally.
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Seven of the songs also entered the top 10 on US Spotify just a day after the album's release, making Beyoncé the most streamed artist on 29 and 30 March.
One song, however, created the biggest stir online.
Beyoncé's powerful rendition of the country classic, 'Jolene', became one of the songs with the highest number of streams on the album.
Watch here:
The 'Break My Soul' singer's rendition of Jolene takes a slightly more aggressive and funny approach to the classic.
Instead of pleading for Jolene to stay away from her man, Beyoncé’s rendition instead warns the redhead to stay away from her husband.
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"You don't want this smoke, so shoot your shot with someone else," she sings before reminding Jolene that she's "still a banjee country b*tch from Louisiana".
Beyonce's 'Cowboy Carter' is a full-throated ode to her southern roots, a rollicking revue of an album that also deals a vital history lesson on the black lineage of country music.
The 27-track record is the second act of her 'Renaissance' trilogy, a sonically diverse jamboree flavoured with strings and pedal steel guitar.
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'Cowboy Carter' features genre elders in the form of a broadcast from a fictional radio station -- a hint at well-documented struggles women and people of colour still face getting airtime on country radio -- whose hosts included Willie Nelson, country pioneer Linda Martell and the legend herself, Dolly Parton.
A Texan raised by a mother from Louisiana and a father from Alabama, Beyoncé tackled the perceived "controversy" over her full country turn on the track, 'Ameriican Requiem'.
"They used to say I spoke, 'Too country' / Then the rejection came, said I wasn't, 'Country enough' / Said I wouldn't saddle up, but if that ain't country, tell me, what is?" Beyonce sings on the track, whose musical allusions include Buffalo Springfield's classic, 'For What It's Worth'.
"Tread my bare feet on solid ground for years / They don't, don't know how hard I had to fight for this."
And with technical mastery, she delivers a blend of styles, including various country subsets, as well as rap, dance, soul, funk, rock, and gospel.
It's a full-colour display of just how rich music can grow outside dusty strictures of genre.
"Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they?" says an intro to 'Spaghetti'.
"In theory, they have a simple definition that's easy to understand -- but in practice, well, some may feel confined."
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