Beyonce teases surprise move away from country music for next album – with name a nod to ‘flamboyant' music legend

The Sun

5 days ago

SHE dabbled in dance with chart-topping record Renaissance, then country with Cowboy Carter, and now it seems Beyonce is about to become a fully-fledged rock star.
The Texas Hold 'Em singer has been dropping hints that her next album will be called Betty Black — and she is already teasing a corresponding tour before her current one has even finished.
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Her 32-date Cowboy Carter trek finishes a week today in Las Vegas, but the website bettyblacktour.com now redirects to her own beyonce.com site.
It is believed that the title is a bid to reclaim the 1977 song Black Betty by Ram Jam, which has its roots in African-American music and has become controversial in recent years due to its connection with a whip used on enslaved people in prisons.
It is likely to also be a nod to late American singer and model Betty Davis, who was publicly scorned for her sexually liberating lyrics and funk-rock sound, which led to her being boycotted by radio and TV stations.
Betty has been described as 'wildly flamboyant', with the 'gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie and the trend–setting flair of Miles Davis,' the latter of whom she was briefly married to.
And it wouldn't be the first time Beyonce has referenced her.
On a remix of her Renaissance song Break My Soul, Beyonce sang 'Betty Davis, we love you', and on her Cowboy Carter track Bodyguard, she sang 'Davis in my bones'.
Bey went on to dress up as her for Halloween last year and, in a video for her GQ cover story to promote her whisky brand SirDavis, the Betty Davis song They Say I'm Different was used.
In another teaser about the Betty Black title, during her Cowboy Carter tour show, a newspaper appears on a screen behind her which has the headline: 'Betty Black tour sold out.'
And fans reckon they have worked out that her next album will be released on May 29, 2026, given she has picked Friday the 29th to release her last two records, and that is the next time the 29th falls on a Friday.
Blue Ivy looks IDENTICAL to mom Beyonce as she arrives in Paris with dad Jay-Z
The project will wrap up a trilogy of albums, which she announced when Renaissance came out in 2022.
In a message on her website at the time, she said: 'This three-act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic.
'Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognised for far too long. This is a celebration for you.'
Bey has been vocal about her love for rock'n'rollers like Betty and Tina Turner — who has inspired several outfits on her latest tour.
So I'm excited to see what she's cooked up, even if we do have a ten-month wait on our hands.
It Girl Sabrina
SABRINA CARPENTER celebrated the biggest shows of her career by jetting off to a £6,500-a-night villa in Italy to unwind.
I can reveal that after performing to 130,000 fans during two shows at BST Hyde Park in London earlier this month, she flew to Tuscany where she treated her pals to a luxury getaway.
They stayed at the 600-year-old Villa I Busini which has seven bedrooms, a pool, walled gardens and a chef to make them breakfast.
The Espresso singer shared photos on Instagram of her well-deserved holiday.
She has had a stratospheric 18 months with a world tour and hit album Short n' Sweet, which spent a whopping 46 weeks in the Top Five.
On top of that, she has somehow found the time to record an entirely new album, Man's Best Friend, which will be released on August 29.
The first single Manchild has already gone to No1 and I've no doubt the follow-ups will be huge too.
I hope workaholic Sabrina managed to switch off on her break, because the rest of the year is going to be even busier.
New twist in Leigh-Anne's tale
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LEIGH-ANNE gets a foot up on her competition as she samples a Noughties favourite for her comeback tune.
The former Little Mix star, who is now going it alone as an independent artist, showed off her flexibility in a promo photo for her new single Been A Minute, which features the hook from the 2001 Masters At Work song, Work.
Also back with new music is Tinie Tempah with his song Eat It Up, WILL.I.AM with East LA, Jayo with Turning Me On and Robbie Williams' Spies, from his album BritPop, due out on October 10.
I also recommend newcomer Nectar Woode's sublime EP It's Like I Never Left, while Robert Plant has put out Everybody's Song, from his upcoming album Saving Grace.
Ahead of the new series of Line Of Duty, Vicky McClure has shown off her vocal skills as a guest singer on Reverend & The Makers' new single Haircut.
And after racking up half a million views in a fortnight, Yungblud has released his breathtaking cover of Black Sabbath's Changes, recorded at their Back To The Beginning farewell concert, to raise money for charity.
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ALEX WARREN admitted he 'hated' his song Ordinary when he first wrote it – despite it going on to become the biggest track of the year, spending 13 weeks at No1.
On Hits Radio Breakfast yesterday, the American musician, below, explained: 'When we first wrote it, I actually hated it.
'I hated it when it was just us on a guitar, like, we didn't really do anything to it.
'We were still writing it and I was like, 'It just doesn't sound like a record I'd put out.'
'And then I sang it and I was like, 'OK, let's see where this goes.'
"And we started putting stuff into the file and it sounded insane when we started adding the choir and everyone on top of it, and I was like, 'Holy shoot. This is amazing.''
Sir Paul's piano made BGT Tom very Abbey
BRITAIN'S Got Talent singer songwriter Tom Ball is following in the footsteps of greatness.
The vocal powerhouse, who released new single Timeless last month, got to use Sir Paul McCartney's piano at Abbey Road studios when working on new music.
He told Bizarre: 'It was really amazing. I got to play on the piano when I was in Abbey Road and there's just so much history. You could still feel the dents in the keys where he used to play.'
Tom, pictured at Abbey Road with wife Hannah and their six-month-old daughter Adeline, will release second album Spotlight on October 10.
He is also playing shows around the globe, including in the US, where he gained new fans after winning America's Got Talent: All-Stars in 2023.
But the ex-teacher admitted that he isn't too proud to go back to the classroom.
Tom said: 'I love what I do but teaching was fun too. I'd go back.
'Right now I'm making a lot of music. I have my own studio at home, which is great.'
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KATY PERRY is still up for a laugh despite her split from Orlando Bloom.
She shared a video on her secret TikTok page of herself wrapped head to toe in a dressing gown as she left the Kia Forum in Los Angeles following her latest Lifetimes Tour gig.
The Firework singer has been posting all sorts of silly clips @urmom_ontour – although not many fans have realised it's actually her.
I just want to wrap myself up in my dressing gown sometimes too, Katy.
Margot gin treat a tonic
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MARGOT ROBBIE is a woman after my own heart, having forked out for a massive round of drinks for surprised punters.
The Barbie actress was at a restaurant with her movie producer husband Tom Ackerley and a group of mates when she shouted to everyone she was giving them all a treat.
One of the lucky diners at Bondi Green in Paddington, West London told me: 'We were eating lunch and then sudden-ly Margot stood up and said she was buying every single person a drink.
'She had the bar staff make cocktails from her Papa Salt gin and had them served to everyone who wanted one.
'It was a lovely gesture and she was in great spirits – very relaxed and friendly.'
That's a sure-fire way to win people over. And an easy way to plug her booze brand.
JOJO SIWA's Infinity Heart Tour will head to the UK in October with gigs at Newcastle, London, Manchester, Brighton and Birmingham.
The Celebrity Big Brother finalist has just released a cover of Bette Davis Eyes, but we've been told she is also working on original music.
Safe to say Bizarre's Jack will be there front and centre.
Simon's Aston smarting
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FORMER X Factor host Kate Thornton has finally revealed why the judges' houses section of the show did not take place at the panel's actual homes.
She has claimed that someone damaged one of Simon Cowell's cars when they did film at his plush pad and he decided never to let them in again.
Kate who hosted X Factor from 2004 to 2006, said on her White Wine Question Time podcast: 'Do you know why we'd gone to Spain? The year before, we'd done it in Simon's actual house.
'Somebody had driven something into one of his cars, the Aston or something.
'He was trying to pretend not to be p***ed off – but he was really p***ed off.
'So he was like, 'We're taking it abroad.''