Beyoncé Announces 'RENAISSANCE ACT II' Release Date And Delivers Two Country Singles
BY Malcolm Trapp / 2.12.2024
Beyoncé announced her upcoming album, RENAISSANCE ACT II, moments after appearing in a Verizon Super Bowl commercial with Tony Hale on Sunday (Feb. 11) night.
The “BREAK MY SOUL” artist teased the project with an Instagram video featuring a woman — likely Bey — starting a car up with a “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” license plate and driving down a desolate road. The scene later shifted to men gazing at a billboard of the music icon wearing red lingerie. At the end, viewers were met with “ACT II, 3.29.”
The singer’s website confirmed a March 29 release. Beyoncé also shared two country singles: “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES.” Listen to the tracks below.
In the latter offering, Beyoncé sang, “It’s been 38 summers, and I’m not in my bed/ On the back of the bus and a bunk with the band/ Goin’ so hard, now I miss my kids/ Overworked and overwhelmed/ I might cook, clean, but still won’t fold/ Still workin’ on my life, you know.” The lyrics seemingly hinted that the record was written in 2019 when she was 38.
Tina Knowles fueled speculation about the song’s age. She captioned an Instagram post, “I have loved this record for years. Now, [I’m] so happy that you guys get to hear. It’s amazing. It’s on TIDAL right now!”
ACT II will be a follow-up to 2022’s RENAISSANCE. Beyoncé’s seventh studio album topped the Billboard 200 chart and featured hits like “COZY” and “CUFF IT.” Tems, BEAM, JAY-Z, Hit-Boy, Mike Dean, and more contributed to the project. Her subsequent trek, “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR,” amassed over $579 million.
“Beyoncé gave me a commercial, two songs, three Instagram posts, stepped out of her house, and made an album announcement on the same day! Oh! I’m fed to the brim,” wrote one fan on Twitter.
Another wrote, “Beyoncé possibly stretching her three acts across six years — if she follows the album drop [and] tour formula again — might be the most genius artistic move we’ve ever seen from the 21st century of music.” See more reactions below.