Prime Minister Christopher Luxon weighs in on Beyonce's new album on ZB's Mike Hosking breakfast show.
Video / Newstalk ZB
Cowboy Carter was the first point of discussion on Newstalk ZB this morning - ahead of the government action plan - and the reaction might surprise you.
Released last week, Beyonce’s highly anticipated, genre-bending country album Cowboy Carter had the internet ablaze over the long weekend, as fans dissected the sprawling 27-track release (though recipients of vinyl and CD pre-orders noted that these contained fewer songs than the digital version).
It’s such a point of discussion that even New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon decided to weigh in.
Beyonce's latest album, Cowboy Carter, is already making history.
“Have you heard Beyonce’s new album?” Hosking asked Luxon straight out of the gate.
Luxon, looking surprised yet pleased, admitted he had. “I quite like it,” he said, noting Texas Hold ‘Em - which debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart - as a highlight.
Hosking then explained the reason he brought up the topic, first on his list for their interview.
“Do you think it’s a country album?” he asked the prime minister - who is a country fan - referencing an ongoing debate that’s swirling in the music industry around what classifies as country.
Oklahoma country radio station KYKC initially refused to play Texas Hold’ Em, acquiescing after listener pressure. And though much of Beyonce’s music to date has been categorised as pop and R&B, she grew up in Houston, Texas, and her mother has said that the family went to rodeos every year dressed in Western fashion.
Though Beyonce has acknowledged the genre debate, saying: “This ain’t a country album, this is a ‘Beyonce album”, Cowboy Carter is considered a reclamation of the genre, of which black musicians were fundamental.
“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,” Beyoncé has told fans. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
This history is something Luxon revealed he is versed in. “If you go to the country music hall of fame in Nashville, you understand the origins of the music, with fiddle music from Ireland, and African slave music,” he told Hosking.
Luxon also said he was a fan of Beyonce’s new album. “I think she’s done something quite provocative and quite good.”
Hosking said the song with Miley Cyrus, II Most Wanted, was his favourite, and Luxon expressed surprise at the broadcaster weighing in.
“I’m a massive country fan,” explained Hosking, name-dropping Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, who also feature on the album.
Luxon then proposed an addition to the Government’s strategy. “I should put it on the quarterly action plan, more country music,” he said in jest.
Hosking then suggested it might help guarantee at least 52 per cent of the vote, before segueing into a more serious discussion of the National government’s 36-point action plan, to be completed by the end of June, which follows the Government’s initial 100-day plan, and the imminent Budget, to be delivered on May 30.
