February 23, 2024/Midnight
Erie, Pa., –During Verizon’s Super Bowl commercial that aired shortly after halftime, Beyoncé teasingly addressed the idea of doing something to “break the internet.” The superstar has fulfilled her words with the release of two country-themed singles.
After days of online rumblings and fan-driven investigations, Beyoncé has officially announced her upcoming drop on March 29.
Verizon’s Super Bowl commercial featuring Beyoncé made fans go wild. The mega pop star embodies a variety of matchless concepts, from “Beyonce-A.I.,” to a Barbie-inspired “Bar-bey,” and even running for a presidential “BOTUS.” Right before the end of the ad, Beyoncé gives an unexpected hint about her upcoming drop as she concludes, “Drop the new music.”
Shortly after, her website was updated to reveal the release of a new album titled “Act II” on March 29. This album is the continuation of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” project. The sound of two recently dropped singles, “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” suggests a possible country-rock theme.
The two singles are filled with country-inspired sounds. “Texas Hold ’Em” features rapidly plucked banjo and a lively beat with Beyoncé rhyming lines like “It’s a real live boogie and a real live hoedown.” In “16 Carriages,” Beyoncé reflects on a life after losing innocence “at an early age” in a ballad-formatted style, reminiscent of a dusty old road with the use of guitar and organ.
Both songs feature contributions from producer Raphael Saadiq, who also worked on the “Renaissance” album. The visual accompanying both tracks showcases Beyoncé wearing a cowboy hat and a Western-style shirt. The cowboy hat has become a consistent representation of her Renaissance era, which she presented during the Renaissance World Tour and at the recent Grammy Awards.
In July 2022, Beyoncé introduced “Renaissance” as the first part of a “three-act project,” which was set under production during the pandemic.
“My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment, a place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration,” Beyoncé states in her note on the releases of Renaissance.
Described as “Act I,” the retro-themed album was a major financial success. The following Renaissance World Tour earned $579 million worldwide, with 56 shows across North America and Europe. The tour is one of the highest-grossing tours by a female artist in history.
The drop of “Act II” marks a swift change in Beyoncé’s communication strategy, according to The New York Times. Different from previous surprising drops such as “Beyoncé” in 2013 and “Lemonade” in 2016, the Renaissance project involves more conventional advertising approaches.
While the revealed sounds of Act II could be surprising, country music has never been an unfamiliar inspiration to Beyoncé. In her 2016 “Lemonade” album, Beyoncé has had an exciting experiment with this genre through “Daddy Lessons.”
Despite mixed reactions from country fans, the anticipated drop will no doubt embody her resolution as featured in Verizon’s ad – to “break the internet.”
