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Beyoncé is back, baby. Last week, fans noticed the singer’s social media platforms had been wiped clean with everything – including her profile pictures – disappearing overnight from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Many speculated it meant there was an announcement coming, and they were right: on 16th June, with one single succinct tweet, Beyoncé announced her seventh studio album as a solo artist, ‘Renaissance,’ is on the way, a follow-up to 2016’s wildly acclaimed ‘Lemonade.’ Specifically, the album, which appears to be two-parts, will be out next month on July 29.
The news was shared in a tweet by the music streaming platform Tidal, which Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, launched in 2015. It read simply, “act i … RENAISSANCE.” Streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal quickly posted minimalist artwork featuring the same wording while offering fans the chance to pre-save the release. As The Guardian notes, the Apple Music listing suggests the project will consist of 16 tracks.
Beyoncé
RENAISSANCE
July 29 pic.twitter.com/ZenmtPQM9W— TIDAL (@TIDAL) June 16, 2022
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar last year, Beyoncé hinted new music was on the way, saying, “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.” Though we didn’t know it at the time, she was giving us the album’s name on a platter.
She added, “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!”
In a coinciding cover shoot with British Vogue released today, Beyoncé told editor Edward Enninful that the pandemic allowed her the extra time she needed to ensure her new release was perfect. Given this is the woman who turned her husband’s infidelity into an award-winning audio and visual masterpiece, we’d say the world’s not ready for ‘Renaissance.’
