Music
Beyoncé Fans Are Convinced She's Releasing A Country Album
The Beyhive is saying “yeehaw.”
Get out your cowboy hats because Beyoncé is going country, y’all — or at least fans think so. The Beyhive is buzzing with speculation that the singer is going to drop a country album soon.
When Renaissance was released in July 2022 with a mysterious “act i” moniker preceding the album title, Bey confirmed it was the first part of a “three-act project” she had been working on for over three years, leaving fans to wonder about the next two acts to come.
Thanks to several reports and hints from Beyoncé herself, fans immediately suspected that the “act ii” album would lean into the country genre, akin to how dance and house music influenced Renaissance. The speculation hit new heights when the singer showed up to the 2024 Grammys in a western-inspired outfit.
Bey previously flirted with country on her 2016 album Lemonade with “Daddy Lessons.” Later that year, she remixed the blues-tinged track with The Chicks and famously performed it with the band at the 2016 Country Music Awards. Now, it may be time for her to go full-fledged cowgirl. Read on to find out why the Beyhive thinks Beyoncé’s country album is imminent.
Ivy Park Rodeo
One of Beyoncé’s Ivy Park collaborations with Adidas was specifically country-themed — the 2021 drop called Rodeo. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Bey said the collection’s inspiration came from “the overlooked history” of American Black cowboys, whom she watched at the Houston Rodeo as a child.
“Many of them were originally called cowhands, who experienced great discrimination and were often forced to work with the worst, most temperamental horses,” she wrote. “Through time, these Black rodeos showcased incredible performers and helped us reclaim our place in western history and culture.”
For the ad campaign, she spotlighted some real-life cowboys, including actor Glynn Turman and country artist Orville Peck.
Jimmie Allen Hints At Country
The first hint that Beyoncé was making country music came from singer Jimmie Allen, who named her as a dream collaborator in a 2021 interview with Billboard.
“There were rumors about her wanting to do a country song or a country record,” he said. “Listen, Beyoncé: I’m here. Let’s get cracking.”
Renaissance Confirmations
In June 2022, a month before Renaissance was released, Variety reported that Beyoncé had recorded country music. At the time, the outlet said Bey’s new album “will feature both dance and country-leaning tracks,” but said it was unclear whether the country songs would “appear as a separate album, or as part of the first edition of Renaissance.”
As fans found out the following month, the genre was nowhere to be found on Renaissance, aside from the disco horse (named Reneigh) on the cover art and the singer’s mirrored cowboy hat in promotional images. This only fueled speculation that “act ii” would likely be the country-inspired album.
The Renaissance Tour Visuals
The Renaissance World Tour also contained hidden glimpses of country-inspired imagery. In a December interview with British Vogue, stage designer Es Devlin confirmed those specific visuals had a special meaning to Bey and were possibly inspired by her CMAs performance.
“I think she had a really bad experience at a country music award show, and she wanted to research its African-American roots,” Devlin said. “She discovered that 50 percent of cowboys were Black, in the 19th and early 20th century, and country music, of course, has been largely appropriated. She wanted to reappropriate Americana and country music from a Black perspective.”
Bey’s 2024 Grammys Look
Beyoncé attended the 2024 Grammy Awards to support her husband, Jay-Z, who received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. But it was her outfit that caught more attention, especially from the Beyhive.
Bey donned a blinged-out checkered button-up shirt, complete with a western-esque bolo tie and a huge white cowboy hat. If that doesn’t scream country, nothing does.
