Beyoncé to release new album RENAISSANCE next month
The follow-up to Lemonade was announced by all major streaming services on Thursday.
Beyoncé has announced details of a new solo album. Eagle-eyed fans spotted on Thursday morning that she had changed the bio of her Twitter and Instagram accounts to read: "act i, RENAISSANCE, 7.29." This was then followed by Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal simultaneously sharing a message about her return on that date. Physical boxset copies of the album, complete with a T-shirt and a 28-page booklet, are available to pre-order via Beyoncé's website.
"The countdown has officially begun. Beyoncé’s back July 29,’" Spotify said in its statement. Apple Music added: "@Beyonce’s #RENAISSANCE coming July 29."
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar in August 2021, Beyoncé said she'd been working on new music for the previous 18 months: "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."
Beyoncé's last solo album, Lemonade, was released in 2016. Two years later she teamed up with husband Jay-Z on the joint record Everything Is Love and then in 2019 she curated The Lion King: The Gift. A musical film and visual album based on the music of The Gift was debuted in 2020 on Disney+. Most recently Beyoncé released the Oscar-nominated "Be Alive," as heard in the Will Smith movie King Richard.