The Queen’s Gone Country — What We Know About Beyoncé’s Renaissance Act II

There’s a popular saying that we all have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyoncé, but the way the global phenom works nonstop, that adage can’t be accurate. Just months after wrapping her world tour and the release of its accompanying documentary film, and launching both a perfume and a hair care line,  the hardest working woman in show business is back on the scene (and coming for our wallets) with the second act of Renaissance. Dust off your glitter cowboy hats and your diamond-encrusted boots, BeyHive — we’re going country! 

While watching Super Bowl LVIII, Beyoncé’s fans were pleasantly surprised to see the natural (platinum) blonde present at the big game, but even more so to find that she was starring in a big budget Super Bowl commercial with Verizon. The commercial was fun, showcasing so much of the big personality that we fell in love with, but it was its final moments that really threw us for a loop. “Drop the new music!” Beyoncé was heard saying at the end of the ad. 

Wait, what?

Shortly after, news broke across social media that she wasn’t kidding; new music was on the way, and sooner than we’d ever imagined. Renaissance Act II is set to release on March 29, and while it will be a continuation of the technicolour extravaganza that was the first act, it looks like the follow-up will have a totally distinct vibe — a country vibe, that is. In her graciousness, Beyoncé has given fans a taste of what we should be expecting for this next era with two new singles. “Texas Hold ‘Em” is a plucky banjo jaunt fit for the Friday night hoedown, and “16 Carriages” is an introspective country-rock ballad about the trials that come with being the biggest superstar of her time. Same genre, different energies, all Beyoncé. 

The Hive may be shocked by the announcement of new music so close to the end of the first act, but Beyoncé fully steering into the country music lane should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been following her career. Beyoncé was born and raised in the South and has spoken openly in the past about being inspired by country music. And it’s not her first rodeo, either; her Peabody Award-winning album Lemonade featured “Daddy Lessons,” a rousing country hit that she would go on to perform at the 2016 Country Music Awards alongside the Dixie Chicks. She’d also sort of been hinting at this next chapter throughout the first act of Renaissance — the whole intergalactic-cowgirl-with-voluminous-hair-riding-a-disco-ball-horse thing makes so much sense now — and even dropped a clue with her bejewelled Louis Vuitton yeehaw couture at the Grammys earlier this month. 

It didn’t take long for theories to begin swirling about the thought process behind the choice to zero in on the country music space, and I gotta admit that they’re actually pretty convincing. Many think that the Renaissance as a whole may be Beyoncé’s attempt to reclaim the Black music genres that have been whitewashed over the years. Taking back house music with Act I was the first mission, and with the second act, she’ll hopefully be highlighting country music’s very Black roots and paying homage to greats who shaped the sound. (Get Tracy Chapman on the phone, mama!) What’s next? If there are three acts, my money’s on rock ‘n roll. We know that Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock, is Beyoncé’s idol, and Lemonade sleeper hits “6 Inch” and “Don’t Hurt Yourself” are proof that Rockyoncé is a very real, very good thing. Bring on the mullets and head-to-toe leather! 

With Act II fully upon us, it’s time to get back into formation for whatever this next chapter of the Renaissance has in store for us. (Hopefully, it involves a line dance.)

Renaissance: Act II is set to release on March 29.