Everything We Know About Beyoncé’s ‘Act II: Cowboy Carter’ So Far
From the moment Beyoncé announced her 2022 album Renaissance, she made it clear that the project was only the beginning of a multi-act body of work. And now, after keeping fans waiting almost two years for a follow-up, the 42-year-old superstar has finally announced that Act II is on its way.
True to Bey fashion, the “Halo” singer unloaded the news with basically no prior warning. While she was casually enjoying the 2024 Super Bowl with Jay-Z in Las Vegas Feb. 11, fans all over the world were freaking out over the Act II announcement that simultaneously went live on her socials. Later, the singer confirmed that the record’s actual title will be Cowboy Carter.
Once it arrives, Cowboy Carter will mark Bey’s eighth studio record. It’ll also vie to become her eighth straight No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, as all seven of her previous LPs have debuted atop the chart — from 2003’s Dangerously in Love to Renaissance.
And as excited as the Hive is to enter the Cowboy Carter era, Renaissance is certainly a difficult one to leave behind. The album found the former Destiny’s Child member embracing an entirely new sound inspired by electro-house music, traveling the world on her record-breaking Renaissance Tour and earning a whopping four Grammys at the 2023 awards — best dance album, best dance/electronic recording for “Break My Soul,” best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and best R&B song for “Cuff It” — after which she became the winningest artist in Recording Academy history.
More information about Cowboy Carter will come in due time. But for now, see everything we know about the album so far below.
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The Verizon Partnership
The Act II era was born out of an action-packed Verizon commercial that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast. At the very end, Bey teased, “OK, they ready … drop the new music.”
Shortly after the ad went live, the superstar confirmed the Act II release date on Instagram.
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The Release Date
Act II will arrive March 29, Beyoncé confirmed in a Texas-themed Instagram video mere minutes after her Verizon commercial aired.
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The Lead Singles
On the same date as the Super Bowl, Bey dropped not one, but two country-tinged lead singles for Act II — “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” Both tracks premiered on Tidal before making their way to YouTube and other streaming services.
“This ain’t Texas/ Ain’t no hold ’em/ So lay your cards down, down, down, down,” she sings on the first track. “Come pour some sugar on me, honey too/ It’s a real-life boogie and a real-life hoedown.”
On “16 Carriages,” she laments, “Sixteen carriages drivin’ away/ While I watch them ride with my dreams away/ To the summer sunset on a holy night/ On a long black road, all the tears I fight.”
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She’s Going Country
Though she’s dipped her toes into the genre before (see: “Daddy Lessons”), Bey seems to be fully embracing country on Act II. At least, that’s what the sound of the project’s lead singles suggests.
In fact, “Texas Hold ‘Em” marks the Ivy Park mogul’s first song to be officially promoted on country radio. It’s also her first entry on the Billboard Country Airplay chart (dated Feb. 24), debuting at No. 54.
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The Title
After plenty of fan speculation, Bey finally unveiled the album’s title mid-March, following a full month of simply referring to the project as “Act II.” In a promo photo shared to the singer’s website and Instagram Story, a sash draped over a horse saddle revealed its name, Cowboy Carter.
