"16 Carriages" is a countryballad 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.
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).[1] Another teaser commercial was released featuring Hale and the horse depicted on the cover of Beyoncé's seventh studio album Renaissance (2022).[2]
Throughout the Super Bowl LVIII, a minute-long commercial was released with Tony Hale challenging Beyoncé to break "Verizon's 5G internet service."[3] During the commercial, Beyoncé attempts to break the internet by running a lemonade stand, releasing a jazz saxophone album, launching a "Barbey" doll collection, announcing her presidential campaign, and flying into space for a performance.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6][7]
The track was written when Beyoncé was 38,[8] likely the summer of 2020.[9][10]
Composition
The song is a countryballad written in the key of C♯ major [11][12] with percussion instrument and steel pulse; thematically the lyric provides reflection about "growing-up", linked to the evolving relationship between parents and their children.[13][14]
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.[15][16]Robert Randolph and Justin Schipper were credited as the players of the steel guitar.[17][18] Beyoncé wore a hat designed by Gladys Tamez, named "Houston" for her digital cover art.[19]
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.'
— Robert Randolph, in an interview with Rolling Stone about "16 Carriages" composition.[20]
Critical reception
"16 Carriages" received widespread acclaim from music critics.[a] 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".[13] 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.[11]
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".[25]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."[14] 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".[26]
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."[27]
"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.[30]
