What lies behind Beyoncé’s country turn?

BEYONCÉ had shown her cards long before she released “Texas Hold ’Em”, a country-pop track, in February. In 2021 she launched a clothing collection inspired by the “overlooked history of the American black cowboy”. She sat astride a crystal horse for the album cover of “Renaissance” (2022) and wore a white, wide-brimmed hat to the Grammy awards. Her lyrics have frequently referred to her upbringing in Houston. “Earned all this money,” she sang on “Formation” in 2016, “but they never take the country out” of her.