Fans are just hours away from finally hearing Beyoncé’s highly-anticipated “Renaissance” album, and it’s clear this new project hits very close to home for the singer. A day before its July 29 release, she shared a special message on her website and a rare selfie of her and JAY-Z’s three kids, Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir Carter. In her heartfelt statement, Beyoncé dedicated “Renaissance” to her biggest supporters.
“I want to give a special thank you to Rumi, Sir, and Blue for allowing me the space, creativity, and inspiration. And a special thanks to my husband and muse, who held me down during those late nights in the studio,” she wrote. Beyoncé also thanked her “Godmother” Uncle Johnny, whose photo also appears on her website, for being “the first person to expose me to a lot of music and culture that served as inspiration for this album.” She concluded her message of gratitude by thanking “all the pioneers who originate culture,” “fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long,” her team, and parents, Matthew and Tina Knowles.
The “Renaissance” album rollout has revealed a lot of fun surprises so far. A week before its release, Beyoncé shared the album’s 16-song tracklist in a July 20 Instagram Story. The announcement came a few weeks after she unveiled the “Renaissance” album art, which dropped on June 30. The dramatic image of the singer riding a glowing, synthetic-looking horse and wearing a barely-there spiked silver bikini was shot by the artist Carlijn Jacobs. Similar images, which appear in the special “Renaissance” boxes, were also teased in the days leading up to the album’s arrival.
On June 20, Beyoncé dropped the first single from the album, “Break My Soul” featuring bounce music icon Big Freedia — which became an instant dance-floor hit. With lines about quitting your job, falling in love, and letting go of stress atop an infectious beat, the track has already endeared itself to cash-strapped millennials and become a major contender for song of the summer. The release came just days after Beyoncé announced on June 16 that her new album would be released July 29. The album is subtitled “Act I,” leading fans to believe that there might be a sister album, “Act II,” on the way sometime soon.
Beyoncé also appeared on the cover of British Vogue on the day the album was announced, which she previewed for the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful. Here’s how he describes it: “Soaring vocals and fierce beats combine and in a split second I’m transported back to the clubs of my youth. I want to get up and start throwing moves. It’s music I love to my core. Music that makes you rise, that turns your mind to cultures and subcultures, to our people past and present, music that will unite so many on the dance floor, music that touches your soul.”
Beyoncé started dropping hints that something big was on the way earlier in June. On June 9, she deleted the profile images across all of her social media accounts, from Instagram to TikTok. Then on June 11, two mysterious pages appeared on her official website. If fans searched for June 10, June 11, or simply B7, they got a message that said, “What is a B7?” B7 is a reference to the fact that Beyoncé’s next album is her seventh solo album. It seems Beyoncé’s team wanted to lovingly troll fans a little bit before the album announcement.
The website also contained another possible clue that “Renaissance” will be a double album. As first reported by Buzzing Pop, the site had a shell page for “B8” when fans searched “B8,” too.
“Renaissance” will be Beyoncé’s first solo album since 2016’s “Lemonade.” But she has been incredibly busy since then. In 2018, she headlined Coachella, and in 2019, she released her film “Homecoming,” which chronicled that performance and the journey of its creation. She also released a live album of the performance along with the movie.
In 2018, she and her husband JAY-Z also released a collaborative album, “Everything Is Love.” And the following year, Beyoncé released “The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack for the “Lion King” movie. She followed that up with her visual album “Black Is King” in 2020, which she wrote, directed, and executive produced. In 2021, she released the song “Be Alive” for the movie “King Richard.” She was nominated for her first Oscar for the song and performed it at the ceremony.
In an August 2021 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Beyoncé first discussed her new music. “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again,” she said. “I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible. I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”
Read on for everything we know about “Renaissance.”
“Renaissance” Release Date
“Renaissance” will release on July 29.
“Renaissance” Song List
“Renaissance” has 16 tracks, including the single “Break My Soul.” Check out the full tracklist below.
1) “I’m That Girl”
2) “Cozy”
3) “Alien Superstar”
4) “Cuff It”
5) “Energy”
6) “Break My Soul”
7) “Church Girl”
8) “Plastic Off the Sofa”
9) “Virgo’s Groove”
10) “Move”
11) “Heated”
12) “Thique”
13) “All Up in My Mind”
14) “America Was a Problem”
15) “Pure/Honey”
16) “Summer Renaissance”
“Renaissance” Tour
Beyoncé hasn’t released details about whether she will be touring “Renaissance.”
“Renaissance” Cover Art
Beyoncé shared the cover art on Instagram on June 30, along with the caption, “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are.”
— Additional reporting by Victoria Edel and Njera Perkins