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When Beyoncé posts, the world pays attention.
While her husband Jay-Z is in the news for his close personal ties with famed sexual abuser Diddy, the one-time Destiny’s Child lead singer and current cultural icon has sent social media into a spin with her latest post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The post simply reads “Look at that horse,” and includes a video of Beyoncé on top of a stallion while waving the American flag. It ends with the date 14th January 2025 splayed across the screen, meaning something will undoubtedly be announced in around two weeks.
What that announcement will be has led to intense speculation, with most of those in the know landing on one of two options: either Beyoncé is going to reveal she will be touring Cowboy Carter, or we are about to see her drop the third part of her trilogy project.
The evidence for it being a tour is mostly backed by the fact that tour operator and organizer Live Nation reposted the message. This, in turn, led to another flurry of posts, which can best be summed up as “take my money.” “Let me check my account balance…,” one particularly conscientious fan wrote.
The prospect of a Beyoncé tour is certainly a tasty one, and would make the most sense as she is yet to tour her latest album. It also fits in well with the horse and flag motif in her video, as Cowboy Carter was a country record, and that is one of the main aesthetics associated with that genre.
Beyoncé’s last set of concerts was the ultra-successful Renaissance World Tour, during which she performed over 50 times in cities all over the globe, grossing well over half a billion dollars in the process (as per Forbes).
While the opportunity to see Beyoncé kill it on stage is an exciting one, it would be just as culturally impactful for her to drop her next album in what many are calling her trilogy.
This group of three albums began with Renaissance and was followed up by Cowboy Carter. In the three-act project, Beyoncé is seeking to explore the (sometimes forgotten) black roots of three major genres: dance, country, and a third, unconfirmed style of music. Many have speculated about the third album, with potential genres including gospel, jazz, and rock, all of which have strong and substantial roots in African American culture.
Cowboy Carter was meant to be the first album in the series, but as a result of the pandemic, Beyoncé and her team decided a dance album would serve an ailing and depressed world better than a country one.
Rock would probably be the most interesting genre for Beyoncé to take on for the third album, especially as, like with country music, many prefer to ignore the vital influences of Black America on the genre. Yet, Black stars like Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, and Jimi Hendrix did more to define rock music than some more celebrated white bands and figures.
No matter what is happening on Jan. 14, we know it will be a good day for music, and Beyoncé’s wallet. Unlike ours.