The Sunday Mail
BEYONCÉ has become the first black artiste ever to hit number one with a country album in the United Kingdom, topping the chart with her eighth record, “Cowboy Carter”.
Not only that, but the star has done the double — with the album’s lead single, “Texas Hold ‘Em”, returning to the top spot in the singles chart for a fifth non-consecutive week.
Beyoncé follows in the footsteps of Shania Twain, who was the first female country artiste to score a UK number one album when “Come On Over” topped the Official Albums Chart in September 1999.
Incredibly, Queen of Country Dolly Parton, with a career spanning nearly 50 years and hits that include “Jolene”, “I Will Always Love You” and “9 To 5”, has never achieved a number one single or album in the UK.
This is Queen Bey’s second UK charts double, mirroring her instant success as a solo artiste when she topped the album and singles charts simultaneously with her smash hit “Crazy In Love”, featuring Jay-Z, and debut album “Dangerously In Love”, in 2003.
Plus, she has two other tracks from “Cowboy Carter” in the singles top 10 — her cover of Parton’s “Jolene” at number eight and “II Most Wanted”, a duet with Miley Cyrus, at number nine.
Previously, she has achieved two top 10 entries on two separate occasions — in 2008 with “If I Were A Boy” and “Listen”, and again in 2009 with “If I Were A Boy” and “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” — according to the Official Chart
Congratulating the star, Official Charts chief executive officer Martin Talbot said Parton should “step aside (for now)” as “Bey is the *current* Queen of Country”.
In a statement, he said: “In a career of huge achievements, congratulations to Beyoncé on securing a slew of UK chart records with her country single and album this week, underlining her position as one of the world’s most ground-breaking musical artistes.”
As well as her cover of “Jolene”, Beyoncé also covers “Blackbird”, the civil rights-inspired song by The Beatles, on “Cowboy Carter”.
Sir Paul McCartney has praised the star for her “magnificent” version, saying it “reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place”.
Writing on Instagram, he said they had spoken on FaceTime about her recording the song.
“When I saw the footage on television in the early 60s of the black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can’t believe that still in these days, there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now,” Sir Paul said.
“Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud.”
Parton has also praised the star, saying: “I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album.” — Wires
Still fit, feeling great: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan has reassured fans after concerns were raised about his appearance in photographs published earlier this year.
The actor and stuntman, known for films that include “Police Story”, “Rush Hour” and “Who Am I?”, was pictured with greying hair, prompting fans to speculate about his health.
Chan has now addressed the concerns on social media, sharing a series of photos reflecting his career in celebration of his 70th birthday earlier this week.
He said his elderly appearance earlier this year was in fact part of his look for a film role.
“Not so long ago, a lot of friends saw some recent photos of me on the internet, and they were all concerned about my health,” the star told his 6,2 million followers on Instagram.
“I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know, don’t worry! It’s just a character appearance for my latest movie. The character requires me to have white hair, white beard and look old.
“Over the years, I’ve always been willing to try new things for a movie, no matter if it’s a challenging stunt or a breakthrough appearance for a character.”
Chan starred in more than 30 martial arts films in his native Hong Kong before achieving worldwide fame in “Rumble In The Bronx” in 1995.
He went on to star in Hollywood hits such as the “Rush Hour” trilogy; “Shanghai Noon”; and its sequel “Shanghai Knights”, starring Owen Wilson; “Around The World In 80 Days”; and the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise, alongside Jack Black.
The star, who is an honorary Oscar winner, did not give details of which film the ageing appearance was for.
He currently has several films in production, including reprising his role as Mr Han in the next “Karate Kid” instalment, alongside Ralph Macchio, star of the 1984 original. — Wires
