Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter became the first album by a Black woman to top which Billboard chart?

Cowboy Carter became the first album by a Black woman to top Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.

Beyoncé released Cowboy Carter on March 29, 2024. The album explores country music alongside Americana, folk, blues, rock, pop, and R&B, and it includes the singles “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages.”

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and also reached number one on the Top Country Albums chart. Its country-chart achievement was historically significant because no Black woman had previously led that album ranking.

The project followed Beyoncé’s earlier genre-spanning releases Renaissance and The Lion King: The Gift. It was initially announced as Act II of a trilogy, with Renaissance identified as Act I. The chart milestone concerns an album chart, not the separate Hot Country Songs chart, which ranks individual songs.