Beyonce is back with two new country tracks -- "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."
After a Verizon commercial starring Beyonce aired during the Super Bowl ended with the superstar saying "They ready, drop the new music," the question became -- was she serious? Later, a cryptic Instagram video with country iconography appeared on her page, teasing "act ii" on March 29. (Beyonce's 2022 album "Renaissance" is frequently referred to as "Act I: Renaissance.")
At the end of the clip, a plucky acoustic guitar riff plays, and Bey's unmistakable voice kicks in. She sings, "This ain't Texas / Ain't no hold 'em / So lay your cards down down down," in a Southern twang.
It appears on her official website as well. Under the "music" tab, two titles were listed -- "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," which later appeared as full songs on Tidal, YouTube and Spotify. The first is an uptempo country and western stomp. She sings in the earworm bridge: "And I'll be damned if I cannot dance with you / Come pour some liquor on me honey, too / It's a real-life boogie, and a real life hoedown / Don't be a bitch, come take it to the floor now."
The second, "16 Carriages" is a soulful slow-burn with ascendent organs and steel guitar, Beyonce singing an ode to hard work and legacy. "I miss my kids / Overworked and overwhelmed," she sings in the pre-chorus. "Still workin' on my life, you know / Only God knows, only God knows." A quick examination of the credits shows she may be working closely with Tony! Toni! Tone! 's Raphael Saadiq.
In a mostly fictional Verizon commercial that aired moments before the Instagram announcement, Beyonce tried several tactics to try to break the internet.
With former "Veep" star Tony Hale playing an adviser, she opens a "Lemonade" stand, releases a saxophone album called "Let's Get Saxy," does her own version of the "Barbie" movie called "BarBey," sells a cyborg version of herself, runs for "Beyonce of the United States," and blasts off in a rocket to become the first woman in space.
After Hale tells her none of that worked, she says on the space ship intercom, "OK, Bey ready: drop the new music."
Beyonce was also shown soon on the telecast soon after at Allegiant Stadium watching the Super Bowl with husband Jay-Z.
An image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023 has been obtained by CTVNews.ca.
MPs debated the first non-confidence motion of the fall House of Commons sitting today, seeing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre push once again for a snap election. But with votes secured to keep them afloat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were quick to turn the discussion into a referendum on the Conservative alternative.
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Â鶹´«Ã½ and the Investigative Journalism Foundation spoke with a Canadian who claims his identity was stolen and used to set up a series of companies peddling fraudulent investment schemes.
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Four puppies were found near County Road 21 in Essa Township after a passerby spotted one when it ran out of the ditch and onto the road.
After Ontario Premier Doug Ford made controversial comments about solutions to get people out of homeless encampments, advocates and members of the opposition spoke up on Tuesday.
Â鶹´«Ã½ and the Investigative Journalism Foundation spoke with a Canadian who claims his identity was stolen and used to set up a series of companies peddling fraudulent investment schemes.
A Missouri man convicted of breaking into a woman’s home and repeatedly stabbing her was executed Tuesday over the objections of the victim’s family and the prosecutor, who wanted the death sentence commuted to life in prison.
Kg rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and its ally Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group. Israel has responded with increasingly heavy airstrikes and the targeted killing of Hezbollah commanders while threatening a wider operation.
Iran’s new president signaled to world leaders Tuesday that he wants to open a 'constructive' chapter in his country’s international relations — but he made clear that everyone else, including the United States, needs to do their part.
A man who authorities say staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida and wrote of his desire to kill him was indicted Tuesday on an attempted assassination charge.
Special counsel Jack Smith this week will be allowed to file hundreds of pages of legal arguments and evidence gathered in the 2020 election subversion and Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack criminal case against former president Donald Trump, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
A federal judge sentenced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend to two years in prison, citing her extensive cooperation with prosecutors that led to the conviction of the former face of the cryptocurrency industry in one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.
The federal government has 'no intention' of pausing the next planned increase to the carbon price, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault confirms.
U.S. President Joe Biden reflected on the motivation behind his decision to step away from politics and sent a message of unity to global leaders gathered at a time of increasing division and geopolitical instability.
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A team at the University of Waterloo are developing a process to 3D-print bones, which could dramatically improve the quality of life for cancer and trauma patients.
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Canadian rapper Drake and rockers Arkells are among the top musical talent set to be toasted at the SOCAN Awards tonight.
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An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.
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An image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023 has been obtained by CTVNews.ca.
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Amherstburg town council has given the go-ahead for restoration proposals for the Belle Vue National Historic Site.
A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.
A boater was rescued on Monday evening after spending three hours in the frigid waters off Vancouver Island.
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A federal offender who was last seen in Sudbury is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for allegedly breaching his statutory release conditions.
The Crown's key witness in the sexual assault trial against former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard will take the stand in a northern Ontario courtroom Tuesday afternoon following the judge's instructions to the jury.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
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