Beyoncé is coming into her Cowgirl Period.
When you thought that Bey was simply randomly rocking cowboy hats impulsively — from the promo pics for her “Renaissance” album and tour to merch and her Grammys look simply over per week in the past — then you definitely don’t know Bey.
And just like the advertising and marketing queen that she is, she used the largest viewers doable — in a Tremendous Bowl 2024 industrial for Verizon that ended with Beyoncé saying “Drop the brand new music” — to tease the arrival of two new shock nation singles: “Texas Maintain ’Em” and “16 Carriages.”
On an evening that was alleged to belong to a different pop celebrity — Tremendous Bowl LVIII halftime present headliner Usher — as soon as once more B was inflicting all of the dialog.
(We’re positive that Usher was all good with it — after his epic extravaganza at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, he reportedly went forward and acquired married to his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea.)
However right here we’re starting what’s “Act II” of the “Renaissance” rollout, which started with “Act I” — a house-music manifesto led by her No. 1 hit “Break My Soul” — in 2022.
However judging by “Texas Maintain ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” Beyoncé is now taking us from the golf equipment to the nation on “Act II,” which, fortunately — no surprises right here — we all know is due March 29.
Welcome to the Rodeo-sance.
It shouldn’t be a whole shock that the all-time Grammy winner can really do nation music. On “Lemonade,” her now-classic 2016 LP, she went full-on hoedown on “Daddy Classes.”
To (cowboy) boot, she even earned some nation cred by performing the tune on the 2016 Nation Music Affiliation Awards with the Chicks.
And on the uncommon instances that we really get to listen to Beyoncé communicate, you possibly can inform that she’s an all-the-way Southern woman.
She reps her Houston roots on “Texas Maintain ’Em” — the primary monitor on “Act II” — a bluegrassy bop that’s the catchier of the 2 new tunes.
“Come pour some sugar on me, honey too/It’s an actual life boogie, it’s a real-life hoedown/Don’t be a bitch, come take it to the ground now,” she instructions over a banjo-laced, foot-stomping beat.
In the meantime, “16 Carriages” — the final of 16 tracks on “Act II” — is extra of a dirge than a ditty that rides with a solemn deliberation.
Each songs are hardly what is taken into account “sizzling” in nation music now — Morgan Wallen needn’t be apprehensive.
Beyoncé’s spin on the style is definitely extra of a conventional take with components of gospel and a little bit of blues.
However for now, the jury continues to be out on whether or not this new course goes to cease anybody from wishing that she hadn’t simply dropped one other “Cuff It.”