As Beyoncé delivered her eighth solo album late Thursday, fans set social media ablaze, reacting to and sharing theories about the release’s 27 tracks. Among the “Cowboy Carter” fan claims that went viral on Friday was speculation that fellow superstar Swift lent her vocals to the album, specifically on the eighth track, “Bodyguard.”
Early Friday morning, an audio clip of someone singing backup on the Beyoncé song made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter), sending fans searching for confirmation. “Is it realllll????,” one X user replied to the snippet.
“That ahhhhhh part does sound like her lowkey ugh,” another user observed Friday.
Some fans of the “Anti-Hero” singer were incredulous, but a screenshot allegedly from the lyric website Genius further fueled the frenzy. “TAYLOR SWIFT IS CREDITED AS BACKING VOCALS ON BEYONCE’S SONG BODY GUARD,” X user @allswifted captioned a photo of the screenshot.
According to the screenshot, Genius had given Swift credit for background vocals. A community note was later added to the @allswifted tweet, clarifying that the “general public” can contribute to “Genius” information. As of Friday afternoon, Swift’s name was no longer on the Genius page.
Amid the speculation, The Times confirmed on Friday that Swift had no part in either the song “Bodyguard” or on “Cowboy Carter” as a whole.
The album may not include a Swift feature, but “Cowboy Carter” boasts collaborations with other major music stars including Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Post Malone and Miley Cyrus. Weeks before releasing the album, Beyoncé teased on Instagram that she worked “with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect,” but didn’t list any names at the time.
“I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound,” she added.
Despite confirmation that Swift had no part in “Cowboy Carter,” some fans are holding out hope that the divas will work together soon.
“ALL IS NOT LOST,” one fan tweeted Friday. “I’m manifesting a bodyguard remix with taylor swift.”
“Beyoncé please we need bodyguard (remix) ft. Taylor Swift now now,” wrote a second.
For some listeners, “Cowboy Carter” doesn’t have to be the only avenue for a Tayoncé collaboration. “What if beyoncé does background vocals on the tortured poets department,” wrote a fan, referencing Swift’s new album due in April.
Beyoncé released “Cowboy Carter” two years after inviting her fans to her glitzy disco “Renaissance” era. While the 27-track album features some of country music’s most notable names, the 32-time Grammy winner declared, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”