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After days of hypothesis and on-line sleuthing by followers — simply one other week, in different phrases — Beyoncé used her look in a Super Bowl industrial on Sunday to announce that she would quickly be releasing new music.
In a Verizon advert that ran shortly after halftime, Beyoncé joked with the comic Tony Hale about doing one thing that will “break the web” (i.e. Verizon’s 5G community). She ran by a couple of riffs, like “Beyonc-A.I.,” a Barbie-like “Bar-bey” and a presidential “BOTUS.”
Then she stated, “Drop the brand new music,” earlier than the industrial ended. Soon after, Beyoncé’s web site up to date with the announcement {that a} new album, recognized as “Act II,” could be launched on March 29.
It gave the impression to be the second a part of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album mission, and maybe one with a country-rock theme, given the sound and look of two new songs, “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” that rapidly appeared on-line.
“Texas Hold ’Em” begins with rapid-plucked banjo — performed by the performer and songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, identified for her explorations into American historical past — and guitar, earlier than transferring right into a stomping beat, with Beyoncé rhyming “Texas” and “Lexus” and singing strains like, “It’s an actual stay boogie and an actual stay hoedown.” On “16 Carriages,” an epic ballad, the guitars swell with organ-loud percussion as Beyoncé sings about trying again at a life after shedding innocence “at an early age.”
Both songs have contributions from the producer Raphael Saadiq, whose many collaborators have included Beyoncé’s sister Solange, and who additionally labored on the primary “Renaissance” album.
The visuals for each tracks image Beyoncé in cowboy hats — a function of final 12 months’s Renaissance World Tour and Beyoncé’s continued fashion signature, as seen final week on the Grammy Awards.
As with the primary “Renaissance,” the brand new album announcement represents a type of shift in communication for Beyoncé. She launched her 2013 album, “Beyoncé,” with no warning — immediately grabbing international consideration and setting off a music trade craze for shock “drops.” Its follow-up, “Lemonade,” in 2016, was teased by a Super Bowl look however nonetheless made an instantaneous splash. In the “Renaissance” period, Beyoncé’s revelations have been extra like typical commercials.
When Beyoncé unveiled “Renaissance” in July 2022, she posted a press release on Instagram that defined it was merely half one in all a “three act mission” that she recorded in the course of the pandemic. She referred to that album as “Act I,” and described it as “a spot to dream and to seek out escape throughout a scary time for the world.” That album, with a Nineties retro dance theme, went to No. 1 and was the centerpiece of her tour final 12 months, which bought $580 million in tickets, in line with the commerce publication Pollstar — second solely to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Beyoncé dabbled in nation music on “Daddy Lessons” on her 2016 album “Lemonade,” and a remix featured the Chicks. She teamed with the Nashville group for a efficiency on the Country Music Association Awards that November, which obtained a combined reception from nation followers on-line however was vigorously defended by the singer’s loyal followers.
