HELLO, HI, BEYONCÉ JUST USHERED IN A NEW ERA AND RELEASED NEW MUSIC—aka, news that definitely deserves all-caps.
Bey initially dropped the news during the 2024 Super Bowl with a teaser of a Verizon commercial—which she ended by saying, “Okay, they ready. Drop the new music”—and then on Instagram with a country–coded teaser.
And after THAT, she went ahead and introduced her new sound with "16 Carriages" and "Texas Hold 'Em," which she teased in her Instagram announcement. Fans speculated that some kinda announcement was in the works due to ~hints~ from Bey's Verizon Super Bowl ad (Including Reneigh, the disco horse from the Renaissance album cover, a lemonade stand, and the "My House" of it all).
Meanwhile, the pop culture icon appeared to tease a country era at the Grammys, where she wore a giant cowboy hat:
And this ^ should’ve been the biggest clue of them all. Without further ~ado~, let's get into all the deets surrounding Bey's Act II.
What is the concept of Cowboy Carter?
Beyoncé’s Act II, Cowboy Carter, is a country album (!!!) that dropped on Friday, March 29, which she initially announced in her Super Bowl Instagram teaser. On March 19, Bey dropped the official album cover, which is stylized similarly to Act I: Renaissance.
She also penned a lengthy Instagram caption, calling out a degrading experience that inspired her to make the pivot to country music five years ago (!!!). Fans speculated that the experience might have ties to her 2016 CMAs performance of "Daddy Lessons" with The Chicks. Read her full caption below:
Today marks the 10-day countdown until the release of act ii. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the supporters of TEXAS HOLD ‘EM and 16 CARRIAGES. 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. 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.
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 welcomed…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. 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.
On top of ^ that, Bey revealed that there's also a limited-edition vinyl cover:
Per a press release from Parkwood Entertainment, the project was more than five years in the making (!!!) and pulled inspiration from Western films:
Each song is its own version of a reimagined Western film. She took inspiration from films like “Five Fingers For Marseilles,” “Urban Cowboy,” “The Hateful Eight, “Space Cowboys,” “The Harder They Fall” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” often having the films playing on a screen during the recording process. Some aspects of the percussion were inspired by the ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ soundtrack, where it was more Bluegrass. This body of work undulates from singing cowboy and Blaxploitation to Spaghetti westerns and fantasy with Beyoncé weaving between personal experiences, honoring Black history, to exaggerated character building. The limited-edition vinyl depicts a microphone in the shape of a gun ala Thelma and Louise running from the law, but the gun is invisible, hyper exaggerated reality.
The character, Cowboy Carter was birth from these experiences and inspired by the original Black cowboys of the American West. The word cowboy itself was used in a derogatory way to describe the former slaves as “boys,” who were the most skilled and had the hardest jobs of handling horses and cattle, alike. In destroying the negative connotation, what remains is the strength and resiliency of these men who were the true definition of Western fortitude.
"It’s been really great to have the time and the grace to be able to take my time with it. I was initially going to put Cowboy Carter out first, but with the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God’s timing," Beyoncé shared in the press release.
She continued, "I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects, but it’s the best music I’ve ever made."
Who is featured in Act II?
Fabulous Q! The BeyHive had major theories that Beyoncé would reunite with Lady Gaga for a continuation of their 2010 single, "Telephone," but it turned out to be a rumor (womp).
HowEVER, Bey released the album's tracklist via Instagram on March 27, and dear reader, she's teaming up with some of the biggest icons in country music including: Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Linda Martell, the first Black woman in country music to perform at the legendary Grand Ole Opry.
According to Consequence of Sound, Cowboy Carter is a concept album that plays out in the style of a country radio program—KNTRY Radio Texas. The country music icons reportedly take turns as DJs via interludes.
On March 28, the album had already been released in Australia and New Zealand, which means some surprises were revealed early. The surprises in question? Collabs with none other than Miley Cyrus and Post Malone!
I could not be more obsessed with this ~energy~, especially because this was one of the last times Miley and Bey linked up on stage (ahem, in 2008, to be exact):
Beyoncé tapped a ton of legendary musicians to play a part in Cowboy Carter, including Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Jon Batiste, Rhiannon Giddens, Nile Rodgers, Robert Randolph, Gary Clark, Jr., Willie Jones, Brittney Spencer, Shaboozey, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, The-Dream, Pharrell, NO I.D., Raphael Saadiq, Ryan Tedder, Ryan Beatty, Swizz Beatz, Khirye Tyler, Derek Dixie, Ink, Nova Wav, Mamii, Cam, Tyler Johnson, Dave Hamelin, and Jay-Z.
Is Bey touring the album?
Bey surprise dropped "Texas Hold 'Em (Pony Up Remix)" and also unveiled a mysterious new website beencountry.com. There's speculation that this could be a landing page for tour news so stay tuned—and in the meantime, enjoy the "Pony Up Remix!"
Where to stream Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter
Cowboy Carter is available on most music streaming platforms, but per Beyoncé's website, it's definitely ready for listening on Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music.
