Written by: Libby Thoma | Staff Writer

Beyoncé has announced the second part of her “Renaissance” album, which is a three-act installment. However, this album takes a different approach than her previous ones because it classifies as country; it is said to come out on March 29. Fans are referring to the album as “Renaissance Act II” or “Act II,” although the name of the album remains unknown.

The news was dropped during the Super Bowl halftime show and confirmed to be country. Beyoncé also starred in a Super Bowl commercial with Tony Hail by acting as ‘firsts,’ such as the first female president. The commercial ended with a voiceover stating, “ok, they ready, drop the new music.” Later on the same Super Bowl Sunday, the songs “Texas Hold ‘Em’” and “Act II,” both country, were released and posted to her Instagram.  

However, Beyoncé’s new country album did not come without controversy. A country station, KYKC 100.1, refused to play Beyoncé’s new country music on their station, and Roger Harris, the owner of the station, stated they get a high volume of calls to play Beyoncé’s new songs, which on other stations, played up to eight times a week. 

The release of “Texas Hold ‘Em’” and “Act II” has been met with backlash from country listeners who don’t consider her music ‘real country.’ This has led to many stations facing the problem of receiving hundreds of calls or sticking to more traditional country music. 

Bobby Bone, along with many other Beyoncé fanatics, finds it interesting that there has not been much controversy surrounding Post Malone’s upcoming country album despite the two artists delving into the genre for the first time simultaneously. Fans think that an artist can tackle multiple genres of music. Along with creating attention for Beyoncé, the singer-songwriter has also generated attention for country music. Some say that country music is being more widely talked about now that there is this controversy, and that either way, the controversy is good for the genre. 

It is unknown where the new album will be available for streaming, but the two songs that were released became available on Tidal before Spotify or Apple Music. 

Beyoncé’s new music has country listeners and Beyoncé fans divided. Although there is this divide, attention is being brought both to the genre and the artist herself. 

Contact the author at ethoma23@mail.wou.edu