Before Kelly Clarkson became famous for singing every hit song better than the original, Beyoncé was the queen of covers.
Throughout her illustrious career, Bey has been fearless in making some of the most famous songs in music history her own, including classics by Prince, Tina Turner and Barbra Streisand. Although her catalog of hits continues to grow, she doesn't shy away from performing at least one cover song on tour to pay tribute to the musicians who paved the way for her career.
On "Cowboy Carter," Bey takes her covers to new heights with her own takes on three classic songs: Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Chuck Berry's "Oh Louisiana" and The Beatles' "Blackbird ” (stylized as “Blackbiird”).
Read on to revisit 10 of Beyoncé's best cover songs, from "Jolene" to another Parton classic she's performed multiple times.
"Jolene"
In "Cowboy Carter ," Bay reimagined Parton's 1973 classic "Jolene," turning it from a wistful plea for the auburn-haired woman to a full-blown warning not to take her man away. Needless to say, Parton is happy that Jolene is finally getting her due. "Beyoncé gave that girl some trouble and she deserved it!" she wrote on Instagram.
"I will Always Love You"
Before starring in "Jolene," Beyoncé had covered another of Parton's classic songs. During the Mrs. Carter Show world tour, Bay frequently introduced her hit song "Halo" with "I Will Always Love You" as a tribute to Whitney Houston, whose iconic cover became her One of the iconic songs.
"Blackbird"
Paul McCartney wrote The Beatles' 1968 ballad as an encouraging message to black women, inspired by the civil rights movement and the Little Rock Nine. That background made "Blackbird" a touching choice for "Cowboy Carter ," which pitted Bey against black actors like Tanner Adell, Britney Spencer, Teela Kennedy and Rayna Roberts. Female country artists come together to bring this message to everyone.
"You should know"
During the 2010 Grammy Awards and prior to some performances on her I Am... tour, Beyoncé incorporated Alanis Morissette's breakout hit "You Oughta Know" into her own song "If I Were A Boy,” which brought an extra layer of anxiety and edge to her performance. If this is any indication of what "Third Act" (rumored to be rock-inspired) might sound like, then Bay needs to release this album ASAP.
"Beautiful people"
Beyoncé has covered the song from Prince's Purple Rain album multiple times, most notably during her historic headline performance at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival. After Prince's death in 2016, Bey added a cover of her song to the setlist for the Formation world tour, before his rendition of "Purple Rain" played from the speakers and the screen turned purple in his honor.
"Hail Maria"
The Italian opera "The Daughter" can be staged only after "Ave Maria" is performed. When Beyoncé rewrote Franz Schubert's work in English on her 2008 album I Am... Sasha Fierce , she didn't actually sing in Italian, but the way she performed the lyrics proved that, She already had the ability to sing opera before "Cowboy Carter."
"finally"
Bey's long pantheon of covers arguably began with her performance of "At Last." She has performed many Etta James classics. That led her to play the icon herself in the 2008 film Cadillac Records , which James approved of, and to perform a cover at Barack Obama's inaugural ball in 2009, which James didn't approve of.
"Before I let you go"
For the release of her Homecoming live album and her 2018 Coachella documentary, Beyoncé decided to record a cover of Maze's "Before I Let Go" as a bonus track, making it even more soulful and funky. In fact, the song was so fun that she decided to include it on her Renaissance World Tour setlist.
"Proud Mary"
Beyoncé made it clear how much the late Tina Turner inspired her, especially when she sang Turner's version of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary." Her covers are almost as touching, energetic and powerful as the Queen of Rock and Roll herself, something Turner realized when she performed the 1971 hit with Bey at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
"Our way"
Three years after paying tribute to Tina Turner at the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors, Beyoncé paid tribute to Barbra Streisand again with a cover of her 1973 Oscar-winning song "The Way We Were》. The cover is limited by the singer's standards, but her vocals are as crisp and gorgeous as ever, proving that Beyoncé could easily dominate Broadway if she wanted to.
