Beyonce
Singer switches to the country genre
Beyoncé with her husband Jay-Z at this year’s Grammy Awards – including a cowboy hat.
© Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Beyoncé is changing genres: With “Act II,” the singer has announced a country album for March.
Pop star Beyoncé (42) dares to take an unusual excursion into the country genre. In a commercial that aired on US television during the Super Bowl on Sunday, the wife of Jay-Z (54) announces a new album.
First, the singer tries out in the commercial to generate the greatest possible interest for a telecommunications company with the help of actor Tony Hale (53): The two want to generate attention on the Internet with one spectacular PR campaign after another. But neither a performance in space nor her presidential candidacy nor a Beyoncé robot bring the hoped-for success. At the end of the spot she simply says: “Okay, bring out the new music.”
At the same time as this clip, Beyoncé published a short teaser on her homepage about their upcoming album “Act II”, which is scheduled to be released on March 29th. Two songs from her new work that are already available give a first impression. The song “Texas Hold ‘Em” is a classic country song and has little in common with the otherwise pompous pop and R’n’B anthems that one is used to from the 32-time Grammy winner. The second track that has already been released, “16 Carriages”, is also rather atypical. It is a ballad that was also recorded in Western style.
Beyoncé highlights her style change with a cowboy hat
Beyoncé also appears in a matching cowboy hat for the artwork of the two new songs, underlining her foray into the country genre. At this year’s Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, Beyoncé appeared alongside her husband wearing a cowboy hat, fueling the first rumors of a possible change in style.
“Act II” will be the artist’s eighth studio album. All of their long-players made it to number one on the official Billboard charts in the USA. With an estimated 200 million records sold, Beyoncé is one of the most successful artists in the world. Together with husband Jay-Z, the family fortune is estimated at around 1.6 billion US dollars (around 1.5 billion euros). Her last album “Renaissance” was released in summer 2022.