"Jay-Z got connections with everyone" — Internet reacts to People Magazine crowning Beyonce's Cowboy Carter the best album of 2024

Netizens have reacted to People Magazine crowning Beyonce's Cowboy Carter as the best album of 2024. Released on March 29, 2024, it is Queen Bey's eighth studio album and was dropped via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.

Planned as the second installment of a trilogy of albums, Cowboy Carter follows Renaissance (2022). The album focuses on the overlooked contributions of black American artists in the musical and cultural history of the country. It also features upcoming country artists of color like Willie Jones, Tiera Kennedy, Brittney Spencer, Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, and Reyna Roberts.

In the article featuring the top 10 albums of 2024, Jeff Nelson, the Senior Music Editor of People Magazine, described Queen Bey's album as "an ambitious, genre-defying opus."

Netizens were quick to react to Cowboy Carter being declared the best album of the year. Many alleged that Queen Bey was crowned because of her husband Jay-Z's far-reaching connections in the music industry. Some popular reactions are as follows:

"Jay-Z got connections with everyone," a fan wrote on X.

"Another thing that Beyonce and her husband are paying for. Congrats," another opined.

"Lol Jay-Z working overtime," quipped a user on X.

Many fans, meanwhile, lavished praise on Beyonce for her chart-topping 2024 release.

"All these magazines further prove that the impact of Beyonce goes beyond streaming numbers," a fan wrote on X.

"Beyonce music is excellent and they will just. Have. To. Accept. It." One user opined.

"'COWBOY CARTER' by Beyonce is definitely one of the best albums of 2024." Declared another netizen on X.

One fan alleged that magazines were shunning Taylor Swift's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department.

"Notice how not a single magazine is crowning TTPD," a user wrote.

"In 2023, Swift became the first musician to become a billionaire based on the value of her songs and performances. She surpassed Rihanna, who was previously the richest female musician with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. Forbes estimates that Swift's music catalog is worth $600 million, and her tours and royalties have earned her another $600 million. Plus she is a humanitarian. She has a loving and caring fan base. She's top of Spotify streams. Her fans created an app for voters info. Etc and etc. The solid choice," announced another.

"Literally nobody listens to Beyonce or her cringey little attempt at jumping on the country bandwagon 6 months after it left the station," wrote a user on X.

Here is the full list of the top 10 best albums of 2024 by People Magazine:

1. Beyonce, Cowboy Carter
2. Charli XCX, Brat
3. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n' Sweet
4. Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department
5. Kacey Musgraves, Deeper Well
6. Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft
7. Tinashe, Quantum Baby
8. Ariana Grande, Eternal Sunshine
9. Kelsea Ballerini, Patterns
10. Anitta, Funk Generation

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Beyonce's Cowboy Carter is the third-most nominated album in Grammy history

65th GRAMMY Awards - Show (Image via Getty/Kevin Winter)

Beyonce's Cowboy Carter created huge waves at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. The album earned eleven nominations, making it the third-most nominated album at the Grammys after Michael Jackson's Thriller (13) and Quincy Jones' The Dude (12). It also became the most-nominated album by a female artist.

Cowboy Carter was also shortlisted for multiple genres, including pop, Americana, country, and melodic rap. It received nominations in coveted awards like Album of the Year and Best Country Album. With the eleven nominations, Queen Bey moved past her husband Jay-Z to become the most-nominated artist of all time, with 99 career nominations to date.

However, Cowboy Carter didn't get shortlisted for any award at the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards - a move widely criticized by the musical fraternity and fans. Cowboy Carter collaborator Shaboozey received his first CMA nomination this year. After getting shortlisted, he expressed his gratitude to Queen Bey on his Instagram Story, writing:

"That goes without saying. Thank you @Beyonce for opening a door for us, starting a conversation, and giving us one of the most innovative country albums of all time!"

In terms of streaming numbers, Cowboy Carter broke an assortment of records. With over 76 million global streams on Spotify on the first day, the album became one of the most-streamed albums in a single day in 2024. It also became the country album by a female artist with the most streams in the history of Amazon Music.

In the United States, it became Queen Bey's eighth consecutive album atop the Billboard 200. She also became the first black woman to have her album top the Top Country Albums chart.