Beyoncé is less than ten days away from releasing her new country-inspired album titled Cowboy Carter. After revealing the cover art of it yesterday, she has now released an alternate version. Unlike the original where she rocks a sash reading the album’s name, the one in this new photo says “act ii / Beyincé” on it.
Although it might be a blink-and-you-miss-it detail, internet users have been wondering why she changed it to an “i” instead of the “o” in her name.
Here’s why it says that.
Why Does Beyoncé’s Alternate Cowboy Carter Cover Say ‘Beyincé?’
For those who might not have known, Beyoncé was named after her mother Tina Knowles-Lawson‘s real last name.
“A lot of people don’t know that Beyoncé is my last name. It’s my maiden name,” Tina previously told People Magazine. “My name was Celestine Beyoncé, which at that time was not a cool thing to have that weird name. I wanted my name to be Linda Smith because those were the cool names.”
However, Tina’s mother and siblings spelled their last name with an “i” to make it Beyincé because there was an error with the birth certificates. When Beyoncé’s grandmother (aka Tina’s mom) tried to correct Tina’s, she was told she should just be lucky because Black people didn’t previously receive certificates.
“It’s interesting — and it shows you the times — because we asked my mother when I was grown. I was like, ‘Why is my brother’s name spelled B-E-Y-I-N-C-E? You know, it’s all these different spellings,’” Tina added. “And my mom’s reply to me was like, ‘That’s what they put on your birth certificate.’ ”
Check out Beyoncé’s alternate Cowboy Carter cover referencing this below.
Limited edition cover for ‘COWBOY CARTER’ by Beyoncé. pic.twitter.com/Q8dNmN8ntW
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 20, 2024