Beyoncé's fans are highly anticipating the release of her new country album, the title of which was revealed earlier in the week as Cowboy Carter.
The studio album is the 42-year-old pop icon's eighth and is the follow-up to her highly successful Renaissance from 2022, marketed as an "Act ii" to the largely house and ballroom inspired project.
However, while we don't have many details on the new album, one thing that we do know is that the album already serves as an implicit nod to her husband, Jay-Z.
The title uses her marital surname, his family name (Jay-Z's birth name is Shawn Corey Carter), and pays tribute to the legacy they've created as one of the music industry's biggest power couples.
After first collaborating with him for 2002's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (and hitting number one months later with "Crazy in Love"), the two have been inseparable, married since 2008 and the parents of daughter Blue Ivy and twins Sir and Rumi.
© InstagramWhen does Beyoncé's new album come out?
Cowboy Carter is set for release on March 29, 2024. The album comes out nearly two years after the release of Renaissance in July 2022.
When was the album announced?
Beyoncé surprised the world with news of the album with her Verizon Super Bowl commercial (which was a surprise in itself), saying at the end that we were "ready" for new music, as early reports indicated.
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She then surprised on social media and released the album's first two singles, both of which indicated the new direction her music would be taking with this record.
Are there any singles off Cowboy Carter?
© InstagramWe already have two singles from the record, those being leads "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," the first being an uptempo country pop song with western and soul influences, the second a more grandiose country ballad.
"Texas Hold 'Em" was embraced by many fans as the lead and eventually became the one pushed to mainstream and country radio, becoming a top-ten hit worldwide and reaching number one in the United States, her ninth.
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It also became her first number one on the Billboard Country Songs chart, the first song by a Black woman to reach the top of the chart and one of only eight Black women to hit the chart at all.
© Getty ImagesWho is featured on Cowboy Carter? Is the track list out?
As of now, no other details about Cowboy Carter have been revealed, apart from merch drops related to the title, which was announced on March 12 via social media.
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However, many eager fans and critics have speculated that Beyoncé will possibly cover Dolly Parton's "Jolene" on the album, particularly after Dolly herself shared her praise for the record and for her achievement on the Country Songs chart.
When asked about the possibility of "Jolene" being recorded for the album, Dolly told Knox News: "Well, I think she has! I think she's recorded 'Jolene' and I think it's probably gonna be on her country album, which I'm very excited about."
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