Beyoncé's eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, is taking the world by storm with its top-notch songwriting and production, as well as incredible commercial success. The critically acclaimed record is expected to land at No. 1 on several countries for the tracking week, particularly in major markets worldwide.

The album arrives following the successful release of two lead singles, "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."

Cowboy Carter is a cornucopia of sounds that Beyoncé loves and grew up listening to, between visits and eventually performances at the Houston Rodeo — Country, original Rhythm & Blues, Blues, Zydeco and Black Folk.

While Renaissance was a stated rebirth after the pandemic, Cowboy Carter is a declarative frequency and academic shift, as the world prepares to shift again, that redefines and rebuilds what is Country and Americana, and who gets to be included.

Beyoncé ensconced herself with a stellar group of collaborators, including The-Dream, Pharrell, NO I.D., Raphael Saadiq, Ryan Tedder, Ryan Beatty, Swizz Beatz, Khirye Tyler, Derek Dixie, Ink, Nova Wav, Mamii, Cam, Tyler Johnson, Dave Hamelin and Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter to find the secret gems in each song. The process, sometimes years in the making, often meant combining pieces of different recordings, changing the instrumentation here, adding a snare there, to land at the perfect spot in the right time.