Beyoncé shook the country genre to its core with her eighth studio album, COWBOY CARTER. Having set records on both Spotify and Amazon Music, it debuted at No. 1 in 17 countries and amassed over 1.5 billion streams.

However, despite making history, the pop icon revealed there’s something more important to her than doing the most numbers. “There was a time in my life when charts and sales excited and motivated me. Once you have challenged yourself and poured every ounce of your life, your pain, your growth, and your dreams into your art, it’s impossible to go backward,” Beyoncé told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday (June 20).

“I’m very grateful and humbled for the extraordinary success of the new album,” she added. For her interview with the publication, the musician was joined by several other acts featured on COWBOY CARTER, including Tanner Adell, Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Willie Jones, and Tiera Kennedy.

“When you are breaking down barriers, not everyone is ready and open for a shift. But when I see Shaboozey tearing the charts up and all the beautiful female country singers flying to new heights, inspiring the world, that is exactly what motivates me,” Beyoncé said while referencing the Virginia native’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”

In February, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to lead Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” marking her 13th overall Hot 100 No. 1. The record, which served as one of two pre-release singles for COWBOY CARTER, also got an exciting remix two months later. The LP itself contained a total of 27 songs. Aside from the aforementioned names, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Linda Martell, Miley Cyrus, and Post Malone were among the guest appearances.

COWBOY CARTER arrived as a follow-up to 2022’s RENAISSANCE, which, of course, led to Beyoncé’s multimillion-dollar global trek and box office-topping film.