Donald Trump and other Republicans may fear Taylor Swift actively campaigning for Joe Biden’s reelection this year, but top Democrats are shoring up their Beyoncé base today.
The release of Queen Bey’s Cowboy Carter Friday saw probable 2028 contenders Vice President Kamala Harris and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitner take to social media to praise the artist and her eighth solo album.
“You have redefined a genre and reclaimed country music’s Black roots,” the Veep said, adding that Beyoncé’s “music continues to inspire us all.”
Referencing the fictional KNTRY radio station that appears on Cowboy Carter, Whitner let her boots do the talkin’ on Instagram as she propped up a pair of classics on her desk.
First announced during this year’s Super Bowl, the Houston-born Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has said the album was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed …and it was very clear that I wasn’t.” While the 32 times Grammy winner never overtly spoke about the negative reaction by many in country music to her appearance at the 2016 CMA Awards with the band once known as the Dixie Chicks, it is pretty obvious that incident played at least a small part in the germination of Cowboy Carter.
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” Beyoncé added on her March 19 IG post. “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
In point of fact, the 27-track Cowboy Carter blends a plethora of musical genres and features appearances by icons Dolly Parton (who’s classic “Jolene’” is covered on the album), Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder and Niles Rodgers, plus Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Rhiannon Giddens, and Jon Batiste. If the success of the album’s singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” are any indication, Cowboy Carter looks likely to go to Number #1 with a bullet around the world.
Coming off a $26 million fundraiser with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton last night in NYC, Joe Biden has yet to weigh in on Cowboy Carter. Top Biden surrogate and frequently mentioned future White House candidate California Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t said anything about Beyoncé’s new album yet either.
However, fellow Democrat Gov. Tony Evans of Wisconsin did chime in Friday, with a rather larger hat to make his point.
From Beyoncé’s home state, the man hoping to unseat Texas’ junior Senator Ted Cruz also throw his hat into the Cowboy Carter ring. Six points behind the polarizing Cruz, Congressman Colin Allred Congressman from the Lone Star state’s 32nd district heading towards their November showdown, the Dallas-born and based ex-NFL player hitched his wagon to his fellow Texan’s star:
Don’t mess with Texas, or at least its native daughter.