BEYONCé JUST DROPPED THE TRACKLIST FOR “COWBOY CARTER”
At long last, Beyoncé is releasing the follow-up to Renaissance.
The superstar teased the upcoming album in a surprise Verizon commercial that aired during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11. The ad shows Beyoncé attempting to break Verizon’s 5G network with a number of attention-grabbing schemes—from opening a lemonade stand to putting a “BarBey” spin on Barbie—before ultimately resorting to “drop[ping] the new music.” Soon after the commercial aired, she released the first teaser for the new project on her Instagram.
This is far from the first time Bey has dropped Easter eggs to promote new music. She teased latest album Renaissance in an interview for Harper’s Bazaar’s September 2021 cover story.
“I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible,” she said at the time. “I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”
Ahead, we break down everything to know about the album she has billed as “Act II” of a trilogy that began with Renaissance.
What is the new album called?
In a March 12 post on the Instagram account for her company Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé announced that “Act II” is officially titled Cowboy Carter, and shared promotional limited-edition artwork along with the news.
What songs are on the track list?
Beyoncé dropped the track list on March 27. In addition to already-released singles “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” Cowboy Carter also promises tracks titled “Ameriican Requiem” and “My Rose.” The track list also confirmed the rumors of a Dolly Parton collaboration, with the country legend’s name and hit “Jolene” included on the list.
It was inspired by Beyoncé’s experience performing at the CMAs.
While unveiling the official album art for Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé opened up on Instagram about what inspired the Act II project. Specifically, she seemed to be alluding to her 2016 performance with the Dixie Chicks at the 50th annual Country Music Association Awards ceremony, where, it was rumored, other country artists were not pleased to see her grace the stage.
“I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant,” she wrote on Instagram. “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history."
The star also promised there were “a few surprises” on the new album, saying she had “collaborated with some brilliant artists” whom she deeply respects. As a whole, Beyoncé said, Cowboy Carter was a way to challenge herself creatively and also the world’s perception of her.
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work,” she wrote. “I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.”
She continued:
I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE … I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop.
This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyoncé” album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!
What will be on the album?
We don’t know much about the specific contents of Cowboy Carter, other than that it will clearly pay homage to Bey’s Texan roots. After seeing the teaser she posted after the Super Bowl ad aired, many fans speculated she’d be shifting gears to release country music. (She had waded into that genre before, with “Daddy Lessons,” from 2016’s Lemonade, the song she performed with the Chicks that year at the CMAs.)
What is the release date?
Cowboy Carter will drop March 29.
What’s the track list?
While we don’t have a full track list yet, Beyoncé did announce the name of the two lead singles: “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages.” (Both tracks are already available to stream.)
Are there any visuals?
Yes, Beyoncé has already released two cover-art images.
One shows the singer wearing a metallic cup bra and a metallic chain garter and matching underwear, which she layered underneath a cropped leather jacket. She went big with her accessories, which included a black baseball cap and a massive pair of sparkly earrings.
The second image features a black-and-white portrait of Beyoncé, clad in a cowboy hat and a studded country-western-style shirt.