Beyonce announces new country album 'Act II' after Super Bowl ad

After days of online speculation and stalking by fans — just another week, in other words — Beyoncé used her appearance in a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday to announce that she will be releasing new music soon.

In a Verizon ad that ran shortly after halftime, Beyoncé joked with comedian Tony Hale about doing something that would “break the internet” (i.e. Verizon's 5G network). I ran through some songs, like “Beyonc-AI,” the Barbie-like “Bar-bey,” and the presidential “BOTUS.”

She then said, “Drop new music” before the commercial ended. almost, Beyoncé website It has been updated with the announcement that the new album, designated as “Act II”, will be released on March 29.

It appears to be the second part of Beyoncé's “Renaissance” album project, and perhaps a bit of a country rocker, given the sound and look of two new songs, “Texas Hold'em” And “16 wagons” Which quickly appeared on the Internet.

“Texas Hold 'Em” begins with a fast banjo — played by artist and songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, known for her explorations of American history — and guitar, before moving into a stomping beat, with Beyoncé rhyming for “Texas” and “Lexus.” And lyric lines like “It's a real live dance and a real live match.” On “16 Carriages,” an epic ballad, the guitars pulse with soaring beats as Beyoncé sings about looking at life after losing innocence “at a young age.”

Both songs have contributions from producer Raphael Saadiq, whose many collaborators include Beyoncé's sister Solange, and who also worked on the first “Renaissance” album.

The visuals for both tracks depict Beyoncé wearing cowboy hats – a feature of last year's Renaissance World Tour and a signature of Beyoncé's ongoing style, as He was seen last week at the Grammy Awards.

As with her first Renaissance album, the announcement of the new album represents a shift in communication for Beyoncé. She released her album “Beyoncé” in 2013 without warning, immediately attracting global attention and setting off a music industry frenzy of surprising “failures.” Its follow-up, 2016's “Lemonade,” generated excitement with a Super Bowl appearance, but still generated instant buzz. In the Renaissance era, Beyoncé's ads were more like traditional ads.

When Beyoncé revealed her new album “Renaissance” in July 2022, she said: He posted a statement on Instagram This, she explains, was just one part of a “three-act project” she recorded during the pandemic. She referred to this album as “Chapter One”, describing it as “a place to dream and escape during a scary time for the world.” The album, which takes on the theme of '90s retro dancing, went to No. 1 and was the centerpiece of her sold-out tour last year $580 million in ticketsaccording to trade publication Pollstar – second only to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

Beyoncé dabbled in country music on Daddy Lessons on her 2016 album Lemonade, and the Chicks also appeared on a remix. She teamed up with the Nashville group to perform at the Country Music Association Awards in November of that year, which received a mixed reception from country music fans online but was vigorously defended by the singer's loyal fans.