It’s painful to even type their names in the same sentence, but “Rich Men North of Richmond” singer Oliver Anthony has some thoughts on the landmark Beyoncé album, COWBOY CARTER. Those thoughts are uninspired, baseless, and boring, but we’re going to share them nonetheless.
In a lengthy video titled “What I’ve Learned from the Music Industry So Far…,” the singer shared his perspective on systems in Nashville, concert ticket prices, and Beyoncé’s 2024 country LP. “It represents how degenerative our society has become that a song like a Beyoncé version of ‘Jolene’ can come out and anybody actually listen to it and think it’s not just complete trash,” he said, choosing to ignore the fact that Dolly Parton herself more than gave her blessing for COWBOY CARTER. Notably, Parton herself appeared on track 23, “TYRANT.”
Even so, Anthony — who recently said that he was stepping away from the music industry to focus on ministry work — has deemed his critical expertise stronger than that of someone who collaborated with the likes of Parton, Linda Martell, or Willie Nelson on their country album. “One of the guys I worked with, he wanted me to make some stupid fucking post about Beyoncé’s country album, about how it was good, even though it was complete trash,” he says in the video. “It makes me just want to throw up… it’s just total cringe.” Unlike his song, “Cowboys and Sunsets,” which could obviously never be deemed cringe?
Anthony offered a halfhearted explanation for the perspective, revealing that this came about when one of the music industry folks in his camp was brainstorming “how to make him cool.” The suggestion was to post about COWBOY CARTER, which he swiftly rejected.
But hey, everyone knows the best way to be deemed cool is to instead get on the internet to disparage the most-awarded person in Grammys history, who has also spent the most weeks at No. 1 this decade, and is supported by one of the most active fanbases on the planet.
Anyways, pick up COWBOY CARTER on vinyl here and see where it landed on our Best Albums of 2024 list. Oliver Anthony, meanwhile, was not included in this year’s ranking.