The teases throughout Beyoncé’s 90-second Verizon ad during the Super Bowl were enough to send her BeyHive swarming for clues on her next release.
Shortly after the unexpected commercial aired, the superstar confirmed fans’ suspicions on her social media, announcing in a teaser video that her next album, labeled “Act II” for now, would be released on March 29.
Online buzz about a potential announcement from the artist began ahead of the Super Bowl. But speculations about new music began months ago, with the release of “Renaissance,” which she had dubbed “Act I.”
The minute-long teaser video showed Beyoncé driving in a yellow taxi car with a “Texas Hold ’Em” license plate.
The clue again sparked questions from fans about whether it was a nod to her hometown of Houston or an allusion to something even bigger: A full country album, which would be a first for the Grammy Award-winning singer.
And within the next half-hour, Beyoncé gave fans even more. The singer debuted two new songs, both with country flavors – “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages” – alongside two photos of her wearing black cowboy hats.
When fans on Sunday night tried to find the songs on Beyoncé’s website, they were met with an error message. They started flooding her social media with comments asking where to find the new releases.
In her Verizon ad earlier in the night, Beyoncé had suggested the fan frenzy was inevitable.
“The network is crazy powerful, I bet you can’t break that,” an actor told her during the ad.
“Bet I can,” Beyoncé replied, chuckling.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Comments are no longer available on this story