It is set to release on March 29 and will be the second installment of Beyoncé’s “three-act project,” which began with Renaissance in 2022. The album was initially announced with just the title Act II in February, following a Super Bowl ad. Beyoncé also shared two singles from the album, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.”
There is little else known about the album at this point, but Dolly Parton revealed some information about it in a recent interview with Tennessee outlet Knox News. The country legend said that Beyoncé recorded a version of her classic song, “Jolene,” and added, “I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about that… I love her! She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.”
After the release of the two singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Beyoncé’s ninth solo number one. Even more noteworthy, “Texas Hold ‘Em” hit Number One on the Hot Country Songs chart, making Beyoncé the first Black woman artist to top that chart. The song was also added to country radio and managed to reach Number 33 on the Country Airplay chart.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, Beyoncé recorded “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” with a group of talented musicians. The celebrated multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens played banjo and viola on “Texas Hold ‘Em,” while pedal steel player Justin Schipper, steel guitarist Robert Randolph, and producer/multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq joined her on “16 Carriages.”
