Act I was “Renaissance.” Act II is “Cowboy Carter.” What will Act III be?
After two years of fans salivating for new music, Beyoncé announced the follow-up album in the trilogy she had promised. First, the global icon teased the upcoming album in a surprise Verizon commercial that aired during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11. Shortly after the ad, she released her Instagram’s first teaser for the new project.
Before the internet could recover from this exciting news, the Queen Bee dropped two new songs from her upcoming country album. The two tracks, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” are lead singles from the upcoming album. The singles did great, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” made history as the first song by a black female artist to reach number 1 on Billboard.
On March 12, Beyoncé announced that “Act II” is officially titled “Cowboy Carter.” She also shared promotional limited-edition artwork along with the news. On Tuesday, March 19, the “Heated” singer unveiled the official album cover for the upcoming album. On the cover, she is wearing a full cowboy suit, holding an American flag, and sitting on a horse.
Fans quickly noticed she was also on a horse on the “Renaissance” cover, proving this was the second act. Since she dropped the first two country singles, people kept asking, “Why is Beyoncé dropping a full country album?”
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The “Run the World” singer shared her reasons for those wondering. According to her, she got inspired after she was treated poorly after performing with Dixie Chicks at the 2016 CMA. Therefore, as a black woman, she decided to use her platform to remind people that country music originated from black people.
“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 your outpouring of support. I hope that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant,” she wrote.
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“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born from my experience years ago where I did not feel welcomed. And it was obvious 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.”
In addition, she wrote, “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.”
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“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations put on me. Act II is a result of challenging myself and taking my time to bend and blend genres to create this body of work,” she added.
“This isn’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album. This is Act II, COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with you!” the “Diva” concluded. The “Cowboy Carter” album will be on all streaming platforms on March 29!
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