Newsweek International

Country Has Won Our Achy Breaky Hearts

COUNTRY MUSIC IS ENJOYING A HUGE RESUR-gence—and showing signs that it is becoming more inclusive.

With both Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey having announced that they’re releasing country albums this year, and country songs regularly going viral on TikTok, the genre is more popular than ever.

Last month, Beyoncé revealed she would be dropping her album on March 29. A teaser clip was uploaded to her Instagram account before she released songs “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.”

The Grammy winner went on to become the first Black female artist to achieve a number-one country song when “Texas Hold ‘Em” debuted in the top spot.

Earlier, Del Rey had revealed that she too would be releasing a country LP, titled Lasso, in September. At a pre-Grammys event in January, she declared: “If you can’t already tell by our award winners and our performers, the music business is going country. We’re going country. It’s happening.”

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek International

Newsweek International1 min readPolitical Ideologies
Polls Panic
A soldier guards electoral kits on April 10 ahead of Ecuador’s referendum. Voters go to the polls on April 21 in a bid to reform the constitution and tackle security issues as the country struggles to control organized crime. Mexico has called for Ec
Newsweek International3 min read
Newsweek International
GLOBAL EDITOR IN CHIEF _ Nancy Cooper EXECUTIVE EDITOR _ Jennifer H. Cunningham VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL _ Laura Davis DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS _ Melissa Jewsbury OPINION EDITOR _ Batya Ungar-Sargon GLOBAL PUBLISHING EDITOR _ Chris Roberts SENIOR EDITOR
Newsweek International7 min read
Divine Intervention
BISHOP JOSEPH STRICKLAND DID not always have a difficult relationship with Pope Francis. When Francis became the head of the Catholic Church, Strickland recalls admiring how welcoming the pope was. But as the pontiff began taking increasingly liberal

Related Books & Audiobooks