If you haven’t already heard, Beyoncé is releasing a new album on March 29, Renaissance Act II. This is the second part of Renaissance, which she has already revealed will be a three-part project.
This announcement came during this year’s Super Bowl, when she starred in a Verizon commercial where she was trying to “break the internet” and she did a bunch of silly challenges and released a bunch of products. At the end of the commercial, she says “Okay they’re ready, drop the new music!” leaving everyone wondering if it was real or just a bit for the commercial.
My friends and I immediately lowered the volume of the game and went to scrolling through every streaming service and social media app praying it wasn’t a joke, and then we saw her teaser video for the album on Instagram and started screaming. The teaser was set in an old western town, giving off the impression that this album may be country-centric.
Later, she surprise-released two songs, “16 CARRIAGES” and “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”. The covers of both singles have her posed in cowboy hats, and just like the teaser showed, the songs have a country influence. “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” is a fun, upbeat track that makes you want to two-step and square dance, whereas “16 CARRIAGES” is an emotional ballad. A lot of fans are excited about her dip into country, especially those who loved “Daddy Lessons” from the Lemonade album. A lot of them also felt like she’s been teasing her country era for a while because of the cowboy hat theme from the Renaissance World Tour, and because of how she’s been wearing hats and boots more frequently, like with her 2024 Grammy’s look.
When Beyoncé first announced Renaissance in 2022, she released a letter revealing that this project would be three separate acts. She also wrote a thank you to her Uncle Johnny, who introduced her to new music and LGBTQ+ culture. She also thanked “all of the pioneers who originate culture” and “all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long.” These messages led people to theorize that each act of Renaissance was going to be centered around Beyoncé taking back genres that were originally Black-centric but were taken over by white people. She wants to highlight these genres and give the originators the flowers they deserve.
Act I was a mix of house music and disco, which solidified some people’s beliefs. Both house and disco have Black roots, but white people became the face of the genres over time. If Act II is country, it’ll be Beyoncé taking back that genre, along with bluegrass and folk-style music. There’s speculation that Act III might be centered around rock music, another genre that has ties to African Americans but was also gentrified and taken over by white people. “Renaissance” in itself means “revival”, which is what she’s doing by tapping into the origins of these genres.
The theory as a whole seems to be holding up so far, and if people are correct, I can’t wait to see Beyoncé embrace rock and roll a little bit more. This whole Renaissance era has been experimental and fun, and I love that she’s making this one big project rather than several dissonant albums.
I love Beyoncé and I’m so excited for the next two albums. She never disappoints and I’m glad to see her bringing awareness to stolen art forms. I just hope it’s easier for me to get tickets for this next tour.