Beyoncé is no stranger to rock music. photo by Getty Images
The third act in Beyoncé’s trilogy of albums is widely speculated to be rock.
Starting in 2022, Grammy-winning artist Beyoncé began a musical project celebrating Black pioneers throughout different genres. The first album, Renaissance, was a dance/house music album, paying homage to the many black and queer artists who founded that genre. Major hits like “Cuff It,” “America Has a Problem,” and “Break My Soul” all came from this album. Renaissance, currently one of my favorite Beyoncé albums, covers topics of Black womanhood, heartbreak, and reconciliation. The next installation was Cowboy Carter, which was evidently a country album. Black artists were an integral foundational role of the country genre, bringing in influence from the blues and folk. Beyoncé, who is from Houston, created Cowboy Carter to bring recognition to Black voices within the industry. Country music was never really my preferred genre, but I did appreciate this album’s concept and message. The whole album is formatted like a radio station, with integral voices in the country music scene (Dolly Parton, Linda Mattrell, and Willie Nelson) acting as Disc Jockeys. Cowboy Carter gave features to many Black country artists like Willie Jones and Shaboozy. Both albums were spaced two years away, hence why Beyoncé’s fanbase (also known as the Beehive) widely speculates that Act III will come out in 2026.
Rock is another genre built from Black artists, fusing blues, gospel, R&B, and country in order to create the earliest form of Rock and Roll. While not officially confirmed, many fans believe that Act III will be a rock album, which would tie into Beyoncé’s goal of highlighting Black influence in many popular genres. I personally am a big fan of that idea. Rock is one of my favorite genres, and Beyoncé is one of my favorite artists. It is only natural that I would love that type of album from Beyoncé. While there are a multitude of different ideas I would like to see on a rock infused album, there are a couple aspects that I believe would make the album incomplete if not included.
For starters, my number one hope is to see a Hayley Williams/Paramore feature. This is my dream collaboration. I believe that a Paramore-inspired track with Beyoncé and Hayley Williams would easily top charts. This is especially dear to me because Paramore is my favorite band of all time, and their sophomore album of “Riot!” is definitely on my Mount Rushmore of albums. Now, with Paramore’s hiatus, and Hayley Williams and Taylor York’s alleged breakup, it is not looking good for a complete Paramore feature. However, with Hayley Williams still releasing music solo, I’d argue that it isn’t completely out of the question to see two of my greats on a song together. Many members of the Beehive share this sentiment. Hayley Williams’ has given out lavish praise to Beyoncé and her music throughout the years, so a feature seems very possible. Besides Hayley, I would love to hear a legend like Lenny Kravitz (this almost a given, I feel the album would be incomplete without him), as he is possibly one of the best artists to ever grace the genre and his style of rock, funk, and the blues would fit perfectly with Beyone’s vocal capabilities.
While Renaissance did not have any covers, it did include heavy interpolations and samples of classic disco music and Cowboy Carter included an iconic cover of “Jolene” by Dolly Parton. This is a trend that I hope carries on into Act III. Considering the fact that each song Beyoncé chooses to pay homage to is a classic, I’m sure that many people would love to hear Beyoncé’s take on “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. (Although she has covered this song before, it was only a snippet on tour.) While fans of the genre all have different opinions on what they believe rock should sound like, Queen is one of the bands I’m convinced could unite nations (behind Paramore of course); practically everyone likes “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Beyoncé’s vocal talent would excel in a song like that. I would also like to see Beyoncé do revamps of her own songs but with a rock twist on them. I think that most of her songs transition flawlessly, especially songs like “Sweet Dreams” (one of my favorite songs by Beyoncé), and “Don’t Hurt Yourself” would sound perfect with distorted vocal lines and electric guitar riffs.
Finally, before anything, I want Act III to be authentically and unapologetically black. It is hard to find a fan of rock that acknowledges the true history. Artists like Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones have stolen original pieces from Black artists, and despite this, have been held as pioneers of the genre today. This should not be the future of rock as there are many influential Black rockstars like Lajon Witherspoon from the band Sevendust, Diamond Rowe who is one of the first black women to receive a signature guitar, and Gary Clark Jr., who would fit beautifully in what Act III could be. I want Beyoncé to give a platform to artists like herself that are unrecognized in this genre and this generation of rock listeners. With these additions, I believe Act III would be complete in diversity and inclusion, perfect to bring notice to the true core of rock.
