Only Beyoncé could successfully pull attention away from Taylor Swift and the 2024 Super Bowl.
On Sunday night, Verizon aired a Super Bowl commercial that featured an exciting announcement from Beyoncé: new music is on the way.
The intricate, self-referencing advertisement saw Beyoncé playfully wear a number of different hats, appearing as a live-streaming gamer, an AI robot and even as a candidate for Beyoncé of the United States (BOTUS).
In the end, the ad led Beyoncé fans to a much-anticipated announcement.
“OK, they ready — drop the new music. I told y’all the Renaissance is not over,” Beyoncé revealed in the ad.
Separately on her social media pages, the singer said her new album Act II, a follow-up to her 2022 album Renaissance, will be released on March 29.
Beyoncé also released two new songs after the Verizon ad aired, Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages, both of which feature a country-esque twang.
A promotional video for Texas Hold ‘Em showed Beyoncé driving through the state while onlookers gawked at a billboard advertising the single.
The anticipated album is widely believed to be country-inspired.
In Texas Hold ‘Em, Beyoncé references her home state and a number of country music tropes, including whisky, hoedowns and dive bars.
“This ain’t Texas / Ain’t no hold ’em / So lay your cards down, down, down, down,” Beyoncé sings over acoustic guitars.
16 Carriages, a much more sombre and emotional country song, hears Beyoncé croon about her life and career in the entertainment world.
“At 15, the innocence was gone astray / Had to leave my home at an early age / I saw Mama prayin’, I saw Daddy grind / All my tender problems, had to leave behind,” Beyoncé sings.
Fans of Beyoncé have been expecting Act II since Renaissance was first released in 2022. At the time, Beyoncé teased the musical endeavour as a “three-act project.”
Beyoncé, who has long since been a musical chameleon, has already ventured into a number of different genres including pop, R&B and house music.
Though Renaissance was a sweeping ballroom-inspired album, Beyoncé fans online are now donning their cowboy hats to say “Yee-haw!”
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