Since Beyoncé announced her 2022 album Renaissance, made it clear that the work was only the beginning of a body of many works. And now, after keeping fans waiting nearly two years for a sequel, the 42-year-old superstar has finally announced that Act II it's on its way.
In true Bey fashion, the “Halo” singer dropped the news with virtually no warning. While casually enjoying the 2024 Super Bowl with Jay-Z in Las Vegas on February 11, fans around the world were freaking out. Act II announcement released simultaneously on her socials (but more on that later).
Once it arrives, Act II will mark Bey's eighth album. It will also be vying to become her eighth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, as all seven of her previous LPs debuted at the top of the chart — dating back to 2003 Dangerously in love to Renaissance.
And how excited Kypseli is to enter the Act II time, Renaissance it sure is hard to leave behind. The album found the former Destiny's Child member embracing a whole new sound inspired by electro-house music, touring the world on her record-breaking Renaissance Tour and winning 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 best artist in history of the Recording Academy.
More information about Act II it will come in due time. But for now, check out everything we know about the album so far below.
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The Verizon partnership
The Act II The era was born out of an action-packed Verizon ad that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast. At the end, Bey teased, “Okay, they're ready … to drop the new music.”
Shortly after the ad was released, the superstar confirmed it Act II Instagram release date.
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The release date
Act II will arrive on March 29, Beyoncé confirmed in a Texas-themed Instagram video minutes after the Verizon ad aired.
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The Lead Singles
On the same date as the Super Bowl, Bey dropped not one, but two country 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 put your cards down, down, down, down,” he sings on the first track. “Come on, put some sugar on me too, honey/ It's a real boogie and a real swagger.”
In “16 Chariots,” he laments, “Sixteen carriages drive away/ While I watch them drive my dreams away/ In the summer sunset on a holy night/ On a long black road, all the tears I fight.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3OwdoMR5qB
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Go country
Although she's dipped her toes into the genre before (see: “Daddy Lessons”), Bey seems to be fully embracing country 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 to country radio. It is also her first entry on the Billboard Country Airplay chart (dated February 24), debuting at No. 54.
