No one can deny Beyoncé has range. The singer got her start as one-third of the R&B-pop group Destiny’s Child. She has since moved on from the trio to launch a wildly successful solo career, dropping eight studio albums and earning an all-time record 32 GRAMMY Awards. Beyoncé’s latest album, Act II: Cowboy Carter, saw the Lemonade artist plunging headfirst into country music waters. But before that album even dropped, fans were already anticipating Queen Bey’s next genre shift. That speculation has only grown since she released her country debut.
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Why Do Fans Think Beyoncé Is Going Rock?
The hitmaker has confirmed that Cowboy Carter is the second in a planned trilogy kicked off by her 2022 album Renaissance. Beyoncé’s first country record couldn’t differ more from its disco and house-inspired predecessor. Fans expect a similarly drastic change on Act III. When the singer sported a mullet for a February photo shoot, many interpreted it as a sign that a rock album was coming.
Beyoncé added fuel to the rock rumors when she sent flowers to former White Stripes frontman Jack White. In an accompanying message, the “Crazy In Love” singer thanked White for how much he influenced her new record.
An article by Complex recently highlighted the plentiful rock influences in Beyoncé’s career to date. The “Run the World” singer opened the 2004 GRAMMYs with the late rock legend Prince. More than a decade later, she dropped in on Coldplay’s Super Bowl 50 halftime show.
“We’re gonna get dark haired Beyoncé back for the rock album and I’ll be the most insufferable person ever,” a member of the Beyhive wrote on X/Twitter.
What Are Fans Hoping to Hear?
Social media speculation for Beyoncé’s hypothetical rock album runs the gamut from prog-rock to emo and grunge. The “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer took a deep dive into country music history for Cowboy Carter, and one fan hopes for the same, rock-style. “i understand shes probably gonna go for rock roots but i want a cumulative rock album like how this felt like a cumulative country one,” they wrote on X/Twitter. “from classic rock to later eras of rock to beyoncé rock even. with features like funkadelic, death, living colour, fishbone, lenny kravitz, etc.”
The late Tina Turner’s name is also coming up on social media. One fan wondered, “What if Beyoncé recorded her rock album before Tina passed and Tina is on it.”
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Regardless of which musical direction Queen Bey chooses next, there is little doubt it will break records.
Featured image by Michael Caulfield/WireImage
