by Lily Allen‘ latest assessment Beyoncé The album was not well received by the Texas Hold ‘Em singer’s fans.
During the latest episode of Miss Me?, the BBC podcast she presents with her friend Miquita OliverLily shared her verdict on Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s eighth album, which was released last week.
“It is very strange that [she covered] the most successful songs in that genre,” referring to the fact that Bey put her own spin on it Dolly PartonJolene’s latest release.
Then Miquita added: “I feel like Beyoncé could have done a little more with it, or maybe he chose something less baity to cover.”
“I think it’s an interesting thing when you’re, like, trying to tackle a new genre, and you just pick the biggest song in that genre to cover,” agreed Lily.
“I mean, you do you, Beyoncé, and she’s literally doing – or is she doing Dolly?”
Lily then said that she felt the musical transition from Bey to her Cowboy Carter era was “pretty calculated” and “thoughtful”.
Fans have been sharing their own take on Lily and Miquita’s comments, with many saying Dolly herself has been wanting Beyoncé to cover Jolene for years.
Others have also pointed out that Lily has dabbled in country music in the past, on the single It’s Not Me It’s You Not Fair and her upcoming fifth album, which she is currently working on in Nashville.
lily allen is a british woman who thinks she has more authority on the country music genre than beyonce … a texan ??? you can’t make this stuff up mannn 😂
— kami 🧸 (@jkskami) April 5, 2024
Dolly recommended it and that’s all we care about!
— God (Sam) is a woman (@godisyung) April 5, 2024
The funniest part about this is that Dolly is on record saying how much she wants Beyoncé to cover it. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t even happen if it wasn’t for dolly to say it in public so many times. https://t.co/94VVCcui2k
— Raymond (@raymondmiguel_) April 5, 2024
#CowboyCarter he is thoughtful & unprecedented
Beyoncé worked 5 years on this album, collaborated with & received praise from many music legends, recorded 100 songs & selected 27 for release… of course it’s “calculated” 💁🏻♀️
Strange to ask Lily Allen’s opinion on American country music https://t.co/KgpSnBwGAO— 𝔪 (@Mad_Houri) April 5, 2024
I love lily allen but Jolene Beyoncé is cool and modern. I don’t see a problem
— Ordinary (@ordinarydream11) April 5, 2024
I urge these celebrities to do a cursory amount of research before speaking. Dolly has said in interviews that she wanted Beyoncé to cover the song. Dolly is still credited as the sole writer of the song, something Elvis refused to do when he tried to cover I Will Always Love You. https://t.co/dH9OnkvFt5
— Please Rita Book (@PleaseRitaBook) April 5, 2024
rihanna can cover tame impala, whitney can cover dolly, adele can cover bob dylan, john mayer can cover beyonce, lily allen cover herself kaiser chiefs and keane but beyonce is not allowed to do anything to cover? 😐 be fr
— 𝙄𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚𝙚 April 5, 2024
It’s so funny when these people speak for Dolly Parton, when the woman herself called Beyoncé to do it and was credited as the sole writer of the new version. https://t.co/2JKnri6NTc
— leeYAncé (@workby9offpast5) April 4, 2024
When Miquita revealed that Lily was currently working on a folk song of her own, the Smile singer insisted: “But I’m not like, trying to conquer the country market. I’m here because I loved country music and I’ve always loved country music – not to say Beyoncé hasn’t – but I tell stories in my songs and a lot of country music does the same thing.
“I think it’s a good fit for what I do.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Lily Allen’s representatives for comment.
Dolly has already earned praise for her cover of Beyoncé’s reimagined Jolene, while Paul McCartney has similarly praised his reimagined version of The Beatles’ Blackbird, which appears early on the album.
Beyoncé previously wrote on Instagram of Cowboy Carter: “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience I had years ago when I didn’t feel welcome… and it was very clear that I wasn’t.
“But, because of that experience, I took a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich music archives. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, and at the same time lift up the voices of some of the people who have spent so much of their lives educating about our history music.”
She said: “This is not a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is COWBOY CARTER in action, and I’m proud to share it with you all!”
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