Rumi Carter is currently the youngest female artist to have ever been included on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The 6-year-old’s voice can be heard on the song “Protector” from her mother Beyoncé’s recently dropped Cowboy Carter album.
According to Billboard, the hit song debuted at No. 42 on on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot 100. After introducing her country album with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” it became the first song by a Black female artist to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country chart. The album has over 407,000 equivalent album units gained when it debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Top Country Albums, and Americana/Folk Albums lists, making it the largest week of 2024.
Bey now ranks fourth after Taylor Swift (13), Barbra Streisand (11), and Madonna (nine).
In 2019, Rumi’s older sister, Blue Ivy Carter, was the youngest female to chart on the Hot 100 Chart. Blue was recognized for her appearance on Beyoncé, SAINt JHN, and Wizkid’s “Brown Skin Girl” from The Lion King-inspired album The Lion King: The Gift. Blue was 7 years old at the time of recording.
In preparation for the anticipated album release, Queen Bey penned a lengthy Instagram caption.
“I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you,” she wrote. “My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
Additionally, she thanked her fanbase for supporting her despite others wanting to place her in a box.
“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcome. and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” she continued. “It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
