‘Cowboy Carter’: Beyoncé’s album track list and featured collaborations: Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and more

For the first time since the record’s release early this year, Beyoncé is today poised to offer a live performance of songs from her album Cowboy Carter, in a much-anticipated Christmas Day show that is to air on Netflix.

The 32-time Grammy winner, who has already performed twice at the Super Bowl, is due to take to the stage at halftime of the Week 17 NFL clash between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium.

A Cowboy Carter show - with cameos

While exact details of Beyoncé’s set list have not been disclosed, it has been revealed that she is to perform songs from Cowboy Carter, her eighth studio album, which broke records when it came out in March. A country music-inspired disc which, according to the singer, was “over five years in the making”, Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 albums chart - and, in a first for a Black female artist, went straight to the summit of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. The record also became, at the time, the year’s most-streamed album in a single day on Spotify.

Cowboy Carter includes cameos by several major artists - and in a press release this month, Netflix announced that Beyoncé’s Christmas Day show is expected to feature some of the musicians who joined the singer on the album.

Who features on Cowboy Carter?

An 80-minute album with no fewer than 27 tracks, Cowboy Carter includes collaborations with country legends. Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton both contribute; indeed, Beyoncé also covers Parton’s 1973 hit “Jolene”.

The trailblazing country singer Linda Martell, seemingly a major inspiration for the album, also features. Described by Rolling Stone as “country’s lost pioneer”, Martell was the first Black female solo artist to appear on the Grand Ole Opry country-music show; however, the now-83-year-old’s career in the genre “was plagued by racism and ended almost as quickly as it began”, Rolling Stone’s David Browne writes.

Cowboy Carter follows country backlash

Beyoncé explained in a social-media post in March that Cowboy Carter is motivated by the rejection she herself has encountered at the hands of the country music community when venturing into the genre.

“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,” the 43-year-old, who is best known as an R&B and pop performer, said. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”

Beyoncé‘s comments appear to make reference to her 2016 appearance at the Country Music Association Awards, where she sang alongside the 10-time CMA-winning band the Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks).

Country fans widely criticised her performance, with social-media users describing it as “so not country” and branding her incursion into the genre as “a step too far”. Reacting to the backlash aimed at ‘Queen Bey’, the journalist Alex Abad-Santos said: “Some of their sentiment was due to Beyoncé’s liberal-leaning politics, some of it was rooted in her perceived lack of country cred, and some of it was downright racist.”

Miley Cyrus, Post Malone...

Cowboy Carter’s star-studded list of collaborations also includes appearances by pop icon Miley Cyrus, rapper Post Malone and singer Shaboozey, who have all incorporated country influences into their music.

Cowboy Carter: full track list

1. “American Requiem”

2. “Blackbiird” (Lennon-McCartney cover; featuring Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy)

3. “16 Carriages”

4. “Protector” (featuring Rumi Carter)

5. “My Rose”

6. “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson” (featuring Willie Nelson)

7. “Texas Hold ‘Em”

8. “Bodyguard”

9. “Dolly P” (featuring Dolly Parton)

10. “Jolene” (Dolly Parton cover)

11. “Daughter”

12. “Spaghettii” (featuring Linda Martell and Shaboozey)

13. “Alliigator Tears”

14. “Smoke Hour II” (featuring Willie Nelson)

15. “Just for Fun” (featuring Willie Jones)

16. “II Most Wanted” (featuring Miley Cyrus)

17. “Levii’s Jeans” (featuring Post Malone)

18. “Flamenco”

19. “The Linda Martell Show” (featuring Linda Martell)

20. “Ya Ya”

21. “Oh Louisiana” (Chuck Berry cover)

22. “Desert Eagle”

23. “Riiverdance”

24. “II Hands II Heaven”

25. “Tyrant”

26. “Sweet Honey Buckiin’” (featuring Shaboozey)

27. “Amen”

The album‘s lead singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”, came out in February, followed by the release of “II Most Wanted” in April.

Beyonce’s halftime Christmas Day show: what time, how to watch?

Beyoncé is to perform after the first two quarters of the Ravens vs Texans game, which is to kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT. You’ll be able to watch Netflix, on CBS in Baltimore and Houston, and on NFL+ on mobile devices.

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