Beyoncé: Star ‘can open floodgates for UK country music’

Millions of people tuned in to the Super Bowl to see the Kansas City Chiefs win, Usher on skates, and the latest chapter in the love story between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

But possibly the highlight for many was a Beyoncé ad.

“Okay, you’re ready. Drop the new music,” he says, announcing the second part of his Renaissance project.

Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages were released immediately after: two country songs that are part of the album due out next month.

“Having big artists like Beyoncé bring country music to the fore will open the floodgates for us,” British country artist Kezia Gill tells BBC Newsbeat.

Kezia, from Derby, believes Beyoncé’s presence can make the genre “accessible to everyone.”

“I think what’s really funny is that so many people are going to listen and think that Beyoncé just made this whole thing up.

“But if that can appeal to a whole generation, then it will be amazing.”

Beyoncé’s announcement comes shortly after Lana Del Rey confirmed that her first country album, Lasso, was in the works in early February.

Fellow UK-based artist Jess Thristan believes that prominent female artists releasing country music are key to growing the genre, especially for women hoping to break through.

Taylor Swift’s 2008 country pop album Fearless has been accredited with making the genre more identifiable to younger people.

Her re-recorded version, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), is currently at number one on the UK Official Country Artist Albums Chart, but overall Jess feels that the genre is “very stereotypically male-dominated”.

“In the UK, we have an incredible list of (upcoming) female country artists.

“I think we’re trying to break that stereotype and the mold of traditional male country artists and show everyone what women are doing.

“If there’s anyone out there who’s listening to Beyoncé and Lana’s new songs and thinking ‘this has unlocked something in me,’ then go to a country show in the UK,” says Jess, from Halifax.

Roisin O’Connor, music editor at The Independent, believes Beyoncé’s new music could be “a turning point” for country music.

“Given Beyoncé’s status as one of the biggest artists on the planet, this could fully involve the UK in the country,” he says.

“I guess you could say it’s a final frontier. It’s probably the only genre the UK hasn’t fully grasped yet.

“There are a lot of country music fans in the UK, but I think in terms of radio play, it’s not something you hear that often.”

Roisin feels that country music has struggled for being “pretty insular.”

Since the release of Beyoncé’s new songs, an Oklahoma radio station initially refused to play the songs, a decision that has since been reversed.

“The industry has had historical problems with not welcoming or recognizing Black artists,” Roisin says.

“There’s also been a bit of a problem with women and stereotypes of what a country artist should be.

“To me, this is Beyoncé rejecting her claim. She grew up in one of the heartlands of country music (Houston, Texas), so she has as much right as anyone to make a country album.”

Kezia believes that “the ultimate dream is the acceptance of this genre” in the United Kingdom.

“Because there’s this horrible habit of people saying ‘country and country of the United Kingdom’,” he says.

“It’s not UK country. There’s no UK pop or jazz. It’s just jazz and pop, and it’s just country.

“Maybe there’s a little bit of a stereotype that it’s all line dancing and cowboys. It’s not at all, it’s storytelling.

“I think the acceptance allows us to play (festivals) and not be on a country stage…just be on the main stages,” he says.