"First time anyone's listening to it" — Netizens react to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter seeing 795% increase in streams on Spotify after Grammy win

Spotify saw a massive uptick in Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter streams following her Grammy Award win on February 2, when her album took home Album of the Year and Best Country Album awards. According to Variety, the album saw a 795% surge in streams on the streaming platform compared to the day before the Grammys.

Cowboy Carter became Beyoncé's first album to win Album of the Year at the Grammys. Her 2022 album, Renaissance, lost to Harry Style during the 2023 music awards ceremony. According to a report by Variety, the songs Oh Louisiana and My Rose saw a 175% spike. Meanwhile, American Requiem encountered a 170% increase compared to the average.

The news of Cowboy Carter's increased Spotify streams was met with mixed reviews. Non-Beyoncé fans bashed the singer, claiming this was the first time people were listening to the LP.

"First time anyone's listening to it."

Several people echoed this sentiment, adding that a 795% increase in streams meant nothing without context.

"The album was tanking. A 795% increase means nothing without context. it was streamed 7 times more, but with less than 500K daily streams, that’s around 3 million, still less than Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) by #Rihanna on hiatus," one person tweeted.

"Dropping 800% tomorrow," another person added.

"That show how bad she was tanking," someone else commented.

"And it'll decrease by 795% in one week when everyone forgets about the grammys," another user wrote.

However, others praised the album, calling it a masterpiece. Here are some of their reactions:

"As it should! People are finally tuning in and realizing that the album is actually a masterpiece and the hate is so forced!" one person exclaimed.

"Massive as expected," another person added.

"Winning looks good on her," someone else commented.

"IMPACT is the word that sums up BEYONCÉ," another person added.

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"I just feel very full and very honored" — Beyoncé during her acceptance speech for Cowboy Carter

Beyoncé's Album of the Year win for Cowboy Carter made history after the singer became the fourth Black woman to win in the category, following Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston, and Lauryn Hill. The singer received the award along with her daughter, Blue Ivy, saying in her acceptance speech:

“I just feel very full and very honored. It’s been many, many years. I just want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, for all of the hard work,” she said in accepting. “I want to dedicate this to Miss (Linda) Martell, and I’ll just hopefully keep pushing forward, opening doors.”

The singer also made history as the first Black artist to win Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter. Her third win of the night came in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category for the song II Most Wanted featuring Miley Cyrus.

Cowboy Carter marked Beyoncé's fifth AOTY nomination. Her previous albums to be nominated in the category include I Am... Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, Lemonade, and Renaissance.

Cowboy Carter was announced as Act II in the singer's ongoing trilogy series, serving as the sequel to Renaissance, which was Act I. The album, released in March 2024, reportedly took five years in the making.

Beyoncé revealed that Cowboy Carter was born out of her experience of feeling unwelcomed in a certain space in an Instagram post following the album's release. Many fans speculated this referred to the backlash she faced after her 2016 Country Music Awards performance. Furthermore, Beyoncé was recently snubbed at the 2024 Country Music Awards after her latest album received zero nominations.

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In other news, Beyoncé announced her Cowboy Carter tour following her Grammy win. The highly-anticipated tour will reportedly kick off at LA's So-Fi Stadium on April 22. The singer will perform in East Rutherford, Paris, London, Houston, and Washington, D.C., with the last show in Atlanta on July 11. The general tickets will go on sale on February 14.