"16 Carriages" is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé from her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter. It serves as the album's joint lead single alongside "Texas Hold 'Em". The song was a surprise release and debuted during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.
"16 Carriages" is a country ballad about growing up and the relationship between parents and their children. Various music critics praised the song for its musical expression and Beyoncé's melodious vocals. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards it was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance. Commercially the song debuted at number nine on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Beyoncé's second top-ten entry.
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Background and release
Verizon, an American multinational telecommunications company, released a short Super Bowl teaser with American actor and comedian Tony Hale squeezing lemons, referencing Beyoncé's sixth studio album, Lemonade (2016). Another teaser commercial was released featuring Hale and the horse depicted on the cover of Beyoncé's seventh studio album, Renaissance (2022).
Throughout the Super Bowl LVIII, a minute-long commercial was released with Tony Hale challenging Beyoncé to break "Verizon's 5G internet service." During the commercial, Beyoncé attempts to break the internet by running a lemonade stand, releasing a jazz saxophone album, launching a "Barbie" doll collection, announcing her presidential campaign, and flying into space for a performance. Shortly after the commercial aired, Beyoncé posted a video teaser on Instagram with an unidentified woman starting up a car and driving afar on an empty road. The same day, the artist's official website was updated to announce her eighth studio album, Act II. The album's two lead singles, "16 Carriages" and "Texas Hold 'Em", were surprise released for digital download and streaming.
The track was written when Beyoncé was 38, likely the summer of 2020.
Composition
The song is a country ballad written in the key of C♯ major with percussion instrument and steel pulse; thematically the lyric provides reflection about "growing-up", linked to the evolving relationship between parents and their children.
The song was co-produced by Beyoncé Knowles, alongside Atia Boggs and Dave Hamelin; it was co-written by Knowles, Boggs, Hamelin, and Raphael Saadiq. Robert Randolph and Justin Schipper were credited as the players of the steel guitar. Beyoncé wore a hat designed by Gladys Tamez, named "Houston" for her digital cover art.
In an interview for Rolling Stone, Randolph explained the recording session in Los Angeles with Beyoncé, Rhiannon Giddens, Saadiq and Khirye Tyler:When we did the first session, [...] Beyoncé already had an idea of what she wanted to do. She wanted to do something with some playing, with some country fire. [...] It's great for her to go this route. In country music for a longest time, it almost seemed like it was supposed to be out of left field when a Black artist says, 'Hey, I'm going to do a country record.'
Critical reception
"16 Carriages" received widespread acclaim from music critics. Chris Willman of Variety stated that the song is lyrically associable with Beyoncé's "Daddy Lessons" song from her sixth studio album, Lemonade (2016), for its reflective "overt growing-up narrative" and for exploring "daddy issues", even if the song is "mostly just about having become a workhorse that got rode too hard before she had a chance to be a teenager". Gail Mitchell of Billboard wrote that the song is "a vulnerable yet empowering autobiographical ballad" with "melodious vocals". Talking about the title, Mitchell suggested that the number "16" could refer to the age when Beyoncé signed with Columbia as a Destiny's Child member.
In a four-out-of-five review, Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian described the song as a "'Halo'-proportioned" country song with "blues and gospel-infused", in which Beyoncé is singing about "the graft of her career since her mid-teens". The writer stressed that it could "recalls the [Black] work song" for "claiming country as part of Black musical expression". Ben Sisario of The New York Times described the song as "an epic ballad" with the guitars swelling between the "organ-loud percussion" as the artist sings about losing innocence "at a young age." Maria Sherman of The San Diego Union-Tribune described the song as "a soulful slow-burn" in which Beyoncé sings "an ode to hard work and legacy".
In a less positive review, Chris Richards of The Washington Post found that "16 Carriages" and "Texas Hold 'Em" were released as a pair "because neither could stand on its own" and had less impact than the previous lead singles "Formation" or "Break My Soul". The writer wrote that both the songs "feel dull, dry, unimaginative, unnecessary, unconfident and uncool."
Commercial performance
"16 Carriages" debuted at number nine on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Beyoncé second top-ten entry appearing simultaneously on the chart with "Texas Hold 'Em", which debuted at one.
Live performances
2024 NFL Halftime show
On December 25, 2024, Beyoncé debuted "16 Carriages" live as the opening song of her 2024 NFL Halftime Show set list.
Cowboy Carter Tour
Beyoncé included "16 Carriages" as part of the Cowboy Carter Tour, singing on a flying car across the audience every show. It was subsequently replaced with a Golden Mechanical Horse beginning with the Atlanta show after the car malfunctioned during a tour stop in Houston.
Personnel and credits
Performers
Vocals by Beyoncé
Musicians
Atia "INK" Boggs – guitars
Lemar Carter – drums
Dave Hamelin – piano, organ, synths, guitars
Robert Randolph – steel guitar
Justin Schipper – steel guitar
Ryan Svendsen – trumpet
Justus West – guitars
Gavin Williams – organ
Technical credits
Beyoncé – production, vocal production
Atia "INK" Boggs – production
Matheus Braz – engineering assistance
Dave Hamelin – production, recording engineering
Hotae Alexander Jang – recording engineering
Colin Leonard – mastering engineering
Andrea Roberts – Pro Tools engineering
Raphael Saadiq – additional production
Stuart White – additional production, Beyoncé vocal recording, mixing engineering