Everything We Know About Beyoncé’s New Album Cowboy Carter

Beyoncé performs onstage during the “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR” at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 30, 2023 in London, England. Credit – Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood

Act II of Beyoncé’s album trilogy officially has a name: Cowboy Carter. The singer announced the title of her follow-up to Renaissance on her website and social media on Tuesday, updating her homepage with what appears to be an album cover, an image of a saddle with a sash that says “Cowboy Carter.”

The title and Cowboy Carter’s two lead singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” indicate the project, out March 29, will be a country album. It’s been highly anticipated since Beyoncé referred to 2022’s Renaissance as “Act I” and wrote in the liner notes that accompanied the album: “This three act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic. A time to be still, but also a time I found to be the most creative.”

Beyoncé’s Renaissance era ended with the release of the supporting tour film in December 2023, and one last surprise drop, the single “MY HOUSE,” which was featured at the end of the film and later released to streaming services.

The star confirmed a second album during the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, when in her Verizon commercial with Tony Hale, Beyoncé says, “Okay, drop the new music.“ Shortly after, she released the lead singles and announced Act II on her social media channels.

Beyoncé is known for being selective about what she reveals about her projects before they are released. Here’s everything we know about her new album, Cowboy Carter.

Cowboy Carter’s first two singles are “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” 

In 2016, Beyoncé performed “Formation,” the lead single off Lemonade, to an audience of 115.5 million viewers at the Super Bowl. This year, she harnessed the power of the NFL again to announce new music during a Super Bowl Verizon ad. As fans scrambled to figure out what new music she was referring to, Beyoncé shared on Instagram that two new songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” were available to stream.

For a short period of time, the songs were only available on Tidal before they came to Spotify. On Feb. 26, “Texas Hold ‘Em” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Beyoncé’s ninth single to top the chart. The song also topped the publication’s Hot Country Songs chart, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to achieve this honor. This came as, online, debate over Beyoncé’s country roots and the erasure of Black artists who pioneered the genre grew after an Oklahoma-based radio station refused to play Beyoncé’s new song per a fan’s request.”Hi—we do not play Beyonce on KYKC as we are a country music station,” the station replied to a listener’s request. After facing backlash, KYKC ended up playing the song.

In a TIME op-ed, music journalist Taylor Crumpton wrote an op-ed for TIME about how Beyoncé has used her platform to uplift Black musicians who have made a name for themselves in the predominantly white space of mainstream country music. “The failure of country music’s ‘truth’ is that those who created the genre never left—in spite of the fact that they may have not been perceived by those holding positions of power in the country music industry,” Crumpton wrote. “Knowles-Carter’s presence in country music is signaling the birth of a new era, a renaissance if you will. It is time for the institutional oppressive regimes of country music to be removed, and for those who have continued to carry on the legacy of country’s music heart and soul to be seated at the table.”

What else do we know about Cowboy Carter?

Aside from the title, release date, the singles, and a few visual clues, not much. The most recent hint came from the country legend Dolly Parton, who said in an interview that Beyoncé had recorded a version of her hit song “Jolene.” “I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about,” she said. “I love her! She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.” Parton also added that she has been in contact with Beyoncé for a few years.

That detail (and what Beyoncé shared in Renaissance‘s liner notes) supports a fan theory that she worked on a country album a while ago. In “16 Carriages,” Beyoncé sings, “It’s been 38 summers, and I’m not in my bed,” suggesting 42-year-old singer recorded the song when she was 38. Also, her mother, Tina Knowles, posted a photo of her daughter on Instagram and wrote in the caption that she’s “loved this record for years.”

The inclusion of “Jolene” would also fit with Beyoncé’s love for honoring those who have paved the way before her. With Renaissance, Beyoncé paid homage to Black queer artists who pioneered house and disco music. On Cowboy Carter, she appears to be doing the same—recruiting Black country stars like banjo player Rhiannon Giddens on “Texas Hold ‘Em” and steel guitarist Robert Randolph on “16 Carriages.”

Write to Moises Mendez II at [email protected].