With just 10 days to go until her new album “Act 2: Cowboy Carter” arrives, Beyoncé has revealed that the record came about after she went through an experience where she did “not feel welcomed.”
In a lengthy post on Instagram, the singer wrote that the idea for the highly anticipated follow-up to “Renaissance” was hatched after she was involved in an unnamed incident. “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,” she said. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Though she doesn’t name the incident itself, it’s likely that she’s referring to her performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the Country Music Association Awards alongside the group then known as the Dixie Chicks in 2016. At the time, there was blowback from many country fans on social media about her appearance, along with reports of some in the industry displeased that prominent a spot was devoted to a pop artist.
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she wrote. “Act II is a result of challenging myself and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
Beyoncé says that she began work on “Act 2” five years ago, and that she has a few surprises in store for the album, including several collaborations. “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 wrote. “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.”
She ended her post with a bold statement: “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
Beyoncé first entered this new era during the Super Bowl in February, when she dropped a pair of singles — “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” — that sparked conversation about the origins of country music. Shortly after, she became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Country Songs chart after “Texas” debuted at the summit. Collaborators on the singles included Raphael Saadiq, Robert Randolph and Rhiannon Giddens. Dolly Parton recently suggested that Beyoncé may have covered or interpolated her 1973 hit “Jolene” for a song, though it’s unclear if that will end up on the project.
“Act 2: Cowboy Carter” is slated for release on March 29. Read the full post below.
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