Beyoncé has revealed the cover for her upcoming album, act ii: COWBOY CARTER.
She took to Instagram Tuesday to celebrate the 10-day countdown to the release of the new album, arriving March 29.
In the album’s cover photo, Beyoncé sits astride a horse, wearing patriotic cowboy garb and holding an American flag. She wears white-heeled boots and a sash across her chest that displays the album’s title, “COWBOY CARTER.”
Beyoncé also thanked fans for supporting the album’s first two singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” in the post’s caption.
“I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” Beyoncé wrote. “My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
She then revealed it took over five years to make the album, before seemingly referring to her 2016 CMA Awards performance with The Chicks.
“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,” Beyoncé wrote. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
She said the criticism she faced as she first entered the country genre helped her to create this project and then promised surprises and collaborations on the record.
“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,” Beyoncé wrote. “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!”
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