Ava Free, Contributor | 

When most people hear genre, they think of “a category of artistic composition” that is “characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.”  

Often discussed by media and artists alike on whether or not its existence inhibits the creative process, the term garnered new meaning when Beyoncé won Country Album of the Year for her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter. 

During her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, Beyoncé said “I think genre is a code word to keep us in our place.” 

As a music inquirer—a self-given title based on my intrigue for sound, culture, and the overall romance of listening—I am no expert in the brass tacks of music influence, impact, and arguably out-of-control fan bases. 

However, after watching the 2025 Grammys, I had questions. 

I agree with the first definition. A more traditional approach, but I see genre as an opportunity to explore a realm, style, and character of music. It’s an identifier—a way to sort and make sense of who we are and what we like.

I think Beyoncé sees genre as a box—and I’m trying to unpack it.  

A genre Requiem

With 27 tracks and one hour and eighteen minutes of music, Beyoncé announced Cowboy Carter—her eighth studio album—in March 2024 on an Instagram post. 

“It 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. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” she writes the post. 

Nominated alongside country music stars Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, and Lainey Wilson. As well as Post Malone—who I believe would be the subject of a similar article should he have walked home with the gold gramophone. Nevertheless, Beyoncé came out on top. 

Beyoncé’s win was immediately greeted with commentary from fans and foe alike—a discourse she has been familiar with since 2016.

Some speculate the “experience” Beyoncé references in her caption as the backlash she received after performing “Daddy Lessons”—a country-ode featured on her sixth studio album Lemonade—alongside The Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Awards. At the time, fans of the genre complained that Beyoncé was not a country artist. 

In fact, more recently at the 2024 Country Music Awards Cowboy Carter wasn’t nominated in a single category. 

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé frequently pays homage to the state—one that’s known for its “legendary cowboy culture”—both culturally and lyrically through her music. Cowboy Carter, however, took those references and raised them. 

Defining country music (or trying to make sense of it)

Country music, or the industry that precedes it, wasn’t widely accepted until the 1920s and 30s.

Unlike the pop genre, one that historically adheres to 808’s, minor chords, and “a beat you can’t ignore” —country music is continuously a genre of multifaceted, dynamic artists. 

There’s bluegrass, honky-tonk, outlaw country or the more recent Bro Country era of the 2000s. 

In an article by the Earpeace blog titled “Cowboy Carter: Is Beyoncé Really Making Country Music?,” the author unpacks the historical evolution of country music. 

“The 40-60’s [was] ‘Country and Western’, followed by the 70’s and 80’s ‘Outlaw Country’ era, the ‘Golden Era’ of the 90’s and then the ‘Bro Country,’” explains the article. 

Bro Country?

When Jody Rosen coined the term in a 2013 article titled “Jody Rosen on the Rise of Bro Country,” he considered “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line.

Twelve years later, the somewhat comical term is still relevant to our current cultural perception of country music—especially if you live in Western Canada, or more specifically Alberta.   

When I think of Bro Country, I think of 10 days in the summer when Paul Brandt’s words ring true evermore and country music is “Alberta Bound.” I think of the denim-clad, white t-shirt, cowboy hat wearing, “the bigger the belt buckle the better” thinking country bros of Stampedes past. 

Bro Country is “music by and of the tatted, gym-toned, party-hearty young American white dude. It’s a movement that has been gathering steam for several years now, and we may look back on ‘Cruise’ as a turning point, the moment when the balance of power tipped from an older generation of male country stars to the bros,” writes Rosen.

I think Florida Georgia Line walked so Morgan Wallen could run—and despite my satirical commentary on Bro Country, I admit, I’m a listener. I enjoy Bro Country. Sometimes I feel like I live in bro country.

What does this mean?

Maybe genre is subjective. And, maybe Linda Martell was right when her words echoed through the first 20 seconds of “SPAGHETTI” on Cowboy Carter stating:

“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they?

Yes, they are

That Beyoncé Virgo shit

In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand

But in practice, well, some may feel confined”

The truth is, Cowboy Carter isn’t void of country nods. Citing and featuring key figures in the country music paradigm such as Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, Beyoncé draws on several influential themes of the red, white, and blue but more specifically rooted in Black American culture from the south. 

In a music review for Variety, Hank Williams says, “[Beyoncé’s] too serious to just be settling for lazy genre tourism.” 

Whiskey, liquor, red cups, dive bars, back roads, dance lines, hoedowns and spinnin’ round are all stereotypical themes found time and time again in country music roundups. All of which are featured themes throughout Cowboy Carter. 

Is that not genre tourism? Is she being satirical? Whatever her motive, it worked in her favour.  

However, I don’t think it’s fair for Beyoncé to criticize how genre tries to keep us in our place when it was effective enough in causing her to use some of the most common country music motifs.

To me, Cowboy Carter was an extreme attempt at claiming some kind of ownership and authority over what country music should look like. 

An attempt to rise above the oppression of a tyrant we call genre enforced by an academy that praised her for doing so. 

I’m excited for the Grammys next year. Maybe the program will be shorter, because if The Recording Academy truly believes Cowboy Carter deserved Best Country Album, then I think it is also true that they align with her stance on genre. 

And if they align with her stance on genre, there should only be three main categories—Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year.

Because at the end of the day, “genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they.” 

Ava Free is a Contributor for The Reflector 2024-2025.