Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” started with disco, and now it has moved to country. And fans are already awaiting details for the promised third installment or "Act III," and speculating that she will choose a new genre to explore.
“Essentially all the acts are a reclamation of lost Black music,” one fan theorized on X, speculating the third act would focus on the rock genre.
The project's first part, the album “Renaissance,” released in 2022 and became a rallying cry to the tune of house music for self-love and self-determination in the face of structural barriers gatekeeping equitable experiences.
"Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world," she wrote on Instagram in June 2022. "It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom."
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Beyoncé wanted the "Renaissance" tour to become a “human disco ball,” she said on her website at the time. From May 2023 to October 2023, the tour raked in upwards of $4.5 billion for the U.S. economy, The New York Times estimated.
The project was nominated for nine Grammys in 2023 and won four. The wins put her over the top to become the artist with the most Grammy wins of all time.
Beyoncé said earlier this month on Instagram that her new country album, "Cowboy Carter," is “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,” she said.
She also shared the inspiration behind the album.
"This album has been over five years in the making. 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."
Fans are speculating that the singer is referring to her 2016 performance of her country song "Daddy's Lessons" with the Dixie Chicks, now known as The Chicks, at the Country Music Association Awards.
The fallout centered around backlash from some country fans and speculation that the CMAs scrubbed videos of the performance from their online presence, The New York Times reported. The CMAs told the outlet at the time that they deleted their posts of the performance at Beyoncé's request.
The singer did not specifically mention this incident as the experience from years ago that birthed “Cowboy Carter,” but mentioned the country genre.
“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 criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me."
The album, per a press release from her company Parkwood Entertainment, "redefines and rebuilds what is Country and Americana."
"Cowboy Carter" was actually recorded before "Renaissance", the press release said. "With the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God’s timing," she said.
Just as she's making a place for herself in the country genre, “Renaissance” was thought to create a space in house music for the genre’s creators, Black queer communities.
Fans are convinced that "Renaissance" Act III will follow the same theme of reclaiming genres that the first two albums did.
But they’re divided on which genre Beyoncé will use to do that for part three and who will join her. "Renaissance" featured artists like Tems, Grace Jones and Beam and sampled Donna Summer, the queen of disco. "Cowboy Carter" features Miley Cyrus, Tanner Ardell and Dolly Parton.
“Beyoncé‘s act 3 won’t be a rock (album),” another person weighed in. “I predict Neo Soul will be the theme.”
“Beyoncé did house music for act 1, country for act 2 and when she do pop for act 3 and Ariana is featured on the album,” a third fan hoped, referring to Ariana Grande.
Others predicted rap, which she has dabbled with in the past, or a "full Spanish album."
Beyoncé has not announced a release date for the final act, but stay tuned. She’s full of surprise drops, as she did in 2016 with album “Lemonade.”
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:
