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Between her blockbuster 2024 Super Bowl commercial with Verizon and her brand new “Texas Hold ‘Em”-led country era, Beyoncé has been the talk of the town — and she hasn’t even revealed all of her cards yet. On Tuesday (Feb. 20), in conjunction with the official launch of her new haircare line, Cécred, Queen Bey announced a $500,000 cosmetology school scholarship fund through her BeyGOOD charity.

“Hairstylists have an immense impact on the people in their chairs,” reads a statement on on BeyGOOD’s website. “They create a sacred space where we can show up how we want and express ourselves through our hair. We’re honored to give back to this amazing community.”

“Fostering talent, promoting professionalism, and supporting entrepreneurship within the hair industry is deeply important to us,” the message continues. “The Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund … celebrates the influence professional stylists have on hair health and the critical importance of advocating for the salon community. An annual $500,000 will fund cosmetology school scholarships and salon business grants across five cities chosen for their large, diverse community of hair stylists: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New Jersey.”

The cosmetology schools in each of the five communities must have “inclusive curriculums” to qualify for the fund; they will receive $250,000 to be used toward financial aid student scholarships. Cécred x BeyGOOD-awarded institutions include Beaver Beauty Academy in Atlanta, Trenz Beauty Academy in Chicago, Universal College of Beauty in Los Angeles, Franklin Institute in Houston and Janas Cosmetology Academy in New Jersey.

The other half of the Cécred x BeyGOOD fund will be awarded annually to “qualifying salon business owners” in the same five areas. “We recognize running your own business is difficult, no matter if you rent a booth, operate a salon, or work out of your home,” the statement reads. “Each year, 25 $10,000 grants will be awarded to qualifying salon business owners in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New Jersey so they can continue their transformative impact in the community.”

Visit BeyGOOD: https://beygood.org/cecred to learn more and to APPLY TODAY!

Pop and R&B/hip-hop superstar Beyoncé makes her debut on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Feb. 24) with her first two entries on the survey: “Texas Hold ‘Em” at No. 1 and “16 Carriages” at No. 9.

The songs start at Nos. 2 and 38, respectively, on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

Both tracks were released Feb. 11, as announced in a Verizon commercial that aired during CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII, ahead of the March 29 arrival of Beyoncé’s album expected to be titled Act II, which follows her 2022 Renaissance LP.

“Texas Hold ‘Em” drew 19.2 million official streams and 4.8 million in all-format airplay audience and sold 39,000 in the U.S. through Feb. 15, according to Luminate. “16 Carriages” rides in with 10.3 million streams, 90,000 in radio reach and 14,000 sold.

Notably, the Hot Country Songs coronation of “Texas Hold ‘Em” grants Beyoncé No. 1s on seven of Billboard’s multimetric song charts as a solo artist: the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Hot Gospel Songs, Hot Latin Songs, Hot R&B Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. She’s the only act to have notched No. 1s on that combination of rankings.

🚨THIS A REMINDER. Get ready to CÉ our name. Available tomorrow exclusively at cecred.com

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter wears quite a few hats. She juggles life as a married mother of three with being the greatest living entertainer—two undertakings that are brain- and body-bending separately, and nearly inconceivable when combined. Her pointed manicures are the needle under which global interest spins. One hip bounce, one social post, one brand mention: That’s all it takes to send the public into orbit. She’s mentor, mountain, and muse—every woman and every woman. Over the years she’s launched multiple ventures, including House of Deréon, Parkwood Entertainment, BeyGOOD and IVY PARK. Her latest undertaking has technically been on the burner since her youth—but more tangibly since 2018. It branches from her family’s generational focus on hair, taking root in the idea of self-care as ritual. She first teased the project in May 2023 via Instagram, where fans assumed the sprays and pumps before her were filled with self-made hair elixirs. She, and all involved, have been characteristically mum about the offering—until now.

“Hair has always been a very big part of our lives,” says Ms. Tina Knowles. “Just as fashion saved our family, hair is how we made a living.” In Beyoncé’s formative years, Ms. Tina was a hairdresser who owned and operated her own salon. She says her career in cosmetology is but a continuation of what Black people have done for ages. “In the culture of Black folks, all the way from the beginning: If you could do some hair, you’ll never be broke,” she explains. “I told my kids that. My mama told me that. So it’s just our legacy, and this full-circle moment feels amazing.”

Beyoncé attended the Thursday premiere of Kelly Rowland's new project — Netflix thriller, Mea Culpa — in New York City. She wrote: "Dats my best friend! Dats my best friend!!!!! So proud of you Kelly 🙏🏽".

New promotional photo for Act II has been released online.

Robert Randolph was tooling around Florida when the call came. The musician, whose sacred steel slide guitar has powered his own Family Band albums and has popped up on records by Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Thomas, Santana, and Dave Matthews Band, was behind the wheel when his office phoned to tell him that Beyoncé wanted him to record with her.

“I said, ‘Record what — you sure you have the right person?’” Randolph recalls, noting his own jam-band style. “I’m the kind who plays and plays and plays on. It was kind of surreal.”

Shortly after her commercial for Verizon aired during Sunday night’s Super Bowl, Beyoncé dropped two songs from Act II, the second installment of her three-part Renaissance project. Details of the album, due March 29, are still emerging, but it’s widely believed to focus on country music. Rhiannon Giddens, the Americana singer and multi-instrumentalist, called it Beyoncé’s “new country record” on Facebook on Monday (on Twitter, she said it was “country-inspired”) and announced her participation, citing “my banjo and viola playing” on one of the new songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” “The beginning is a solo riff on my minstrel banjo,” she wrote. Other participants include pedal steel player Justin Schipper, who plays with Randolph on “16 Carriages.”

When Randolph arrived in L.A. a few months ago, he found himself in a room with Giddens, producer and instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq (playing drums and bass), and keyboardist Khirye Tyler. Beyoncé was there too.

Pop and R&B/hip-hop superstar Beyoncé made a surprise announcement during Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, releasing two tracks noticeably different in sound from the bulk of her catalog: “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.”

The former is officially being promoted to country radio, as announced in a Columbia Nashville email to stations Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. ET, and arrives as Beyoncé’s first entry on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Feb. 24), starting at No. 54 with 1.1 million in audience via 100 stations at the format in the tracking week ending Feb. 15.

The Country Airplay survey reflects songs’ audience impressions on nearly 150 U.S country radio stations as monitored by Mediabase and provided to Billboard by Luminate.

“We immediately added it a sub-power rotation, which is where we put top-trending new music,” Alpha Media-owned KBAY San Jose, Calif., program director Bo Matthews tells Billboard of “Texas Hold ‘Em.” “I want people to hear it. One of the biggest artists in the world delivered a great country record for us to have fun with, and the song is really good. We are in the business of creating excitement for our listeners and I’m embracing the moment. Plus, there is plenty of room for great artists, even from other genres. It’s a big country tent.”

Concurrent with its Country Airplay entrance, “Texas Hold ‘Em” opens at No. 38 on Pop Airplay, with its plays on 98 chart reporters translating to 1.3 million audience impressions at the format.

Beyonce discusses the Legacy of Black hair in the March/April issue of Essence magazine.

Beyonce was spotted last night at the Claud restaurant in New York.

Beyonce posted new personal pictures on her website. She wrote: "Happy Valentines Day to you, sending lots of love."

Beyoncé attended the Luar fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 13, 2024 in New York City.

Beyonce posted behind the scenes photos from the "Can't B Broken" Verizon commercial.

Beyonce released instrumental and acapella versions of "Texas Hold 'Em".

Beyonce released official lyric videos for "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES".

Beyonce attended Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, February 11, 2024.

After days of speculation and online sleuthing by fans — just another week, in other words — Beyoncé used her appearance in a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday to announce that she would soon be releasing new music.

In a Verizon ad that ran shortly after halftime, Beyoncé joked with the comedian Tony Hale about doing something that would “break the internet” (i.e. Verizon’s 5G network). She ran through a few riffs, like “Beyonc-A.I.,” a Barbie-like “Bar-bey” and a presidential “BOTUS.”

Then she said, “Drop the new music,” before the commercial ended. Soon after, Beyoncé’s website updated with the announcement that a new album, identified as “Act II,” would be released on March 29.

It appeared to be the second part of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album project, and perhaps one with a country-rock theme, given the sound and look of two new songs, “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” that quickly appeared online.

“Texas Hold ’Em” begins with rapid-plucked guitar and moves into a stomping beat, with Beyoncé rhyming “Texas” and “Lexus” and singing lines like, “It’s a real live boogie and a real live hoedown.” On “16 Carriages,” an epic ballad, the guitars swell with organ-loud percussion as Beyoncé sings about looking back at a life after losing innocence “at an early age.”

The visuals for both picture Beyoncé in cowboy hats — a feature of last year’s Renaissance World Tour and Beyoncé’s continued style signature, as seen last week at the Grammy Awards.

Last night Beyonce was spotted in Las Vegas.

On Wednesday Madame Tussauds Blackpool unveiled their new wax figure of Beyoncé.

Healthy hair starts at the foundation. Get ready 2.20.24