Beyonce has sent flowers to black female country artists to show her appreciation for what they have achieved in the genre.
The move follows the release of Beyonce’s latest album, country-inspired offering Act II: Cowboy Carter.
The Crazy In Love singer praised Mickey Guyton, the first black woman solo artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the country genre, and thanked her for “opening doors for me”.
In an Instagram post, Guyton shared a photo of a card that Beyonce had sent her, alongside some white flowers.
It said: “Mickey, Thank you for opening doors for me, queen. Keep shining. Love and respect, Beyonce.”
In the post the Black Like Me singer wrote: “With opportunity comes possibility. The possibilities are endless with you @beyonce.
“God gave me an assignment and I followed. May the doors continue to stay wide open.”
Beyonce also sent flowers to American singer and reality star K Michelle, who is getting ready to release her first country album.
The singer shared a photo of the card Beyonce had sent, and said she was “in tears”.
The card read: “K. – You’re killing it! I love what you’ve been doing and I know it’s not easy to enter a new space.
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“Sending you positivity and respect. I hope to meet you one day. Love, Beyonce.”
K Michelle wrote on her social media pages: “Beyonceeeeeeeeeeeee! WOW! This is soooo nice.
“One of the nicest things EVER, I’m in tears. Thank you for giving me my flowers, they are so beautiful.
“I’m so nervous about FINALLY getting to put out my first country album, and this just fueled the fire.
“I’m so motivated. Congratulations on another ICONIC ALBUM AND ERA.
“Look forward to seeing you soon. Do your thing Cowboy Carter @beyonce YOU ROCK. So much love and support 4u.”
Ten days before her album dropped, Beyonce said in an Instagram post that the record was borne from an experience where she “did not feel welcome”, which inspired her to do a deep dive into the history of country music.
The 32-time Grammy award winner also said she was “honoured” to become the first black woman to top Billboard’s country chart, with Texas Hold ‘Em, but hopes that an artist’s race – in relation to music genres – will one day become “irrelevant”.
Beyonce’s eighth studio album features duets with Miley Cyrus and Post Malone and covers of Dolly Parton’s Jolene and The Beatles classic, Blackbird.
Following its release on Friday, the singer was praised by critics for her adaptability in straddling the country-pop genre with BBC News music correspondent Mark Savage describing the album as an “immaculate country-pop record that proves her adaptability and mastery, regardless of genre”.
