Beyoncé is back with her seventh album, Renaissance, out July 29, her first release since Lemonade in 2016.
Confirming the album on her official website, and subtitled “act i,” Renaissance was first teased when Beyoncé’s social media bios were updated with the title and date with no further information revealed. Beyoncé’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were updated without profile pictures or bios for a number of days, until June 15 when the words “act i RENAISSANCE 7.29″ appeared.
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There aren’t many details about the album, but the fan account Beyoncé Legion posted that Renaissance is a 16-song album, which has not been verified. The Renaissance box set featured on Beyoncé’s website includes a T-shirt, CD, collectible box, and a 28-page booklet and mini-poster.
This isn’t the first time Beyoncé has kept some mystery around a forthcoming release. On December 13, 2013, she released her self-titled visual album just a week before releasing Lemonade. Details for both albums, including featured artists, were not revealed until their releases. Beyoncé featured Jay-Z, Drake, Sia, and Frank Ocean, while Lemonade included The Weeknd, Jack White, Father John Misty, Kendrick Lamar, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, and James Blake.
In 2018, Beyoncé partnered with husband Jay-Z for Everything Is Love and released Homecoming, a live album and concert film documenting her headlining Coachella set. In 2019, Beyoncé also appeared in the film and soundtrack of Disney’s update of The Lion King and executive produced the companion compilation The Lion King: The Gift, along with releasing an accompanying visual album, Black Is King in 2020.
Beyoncé set a record in 2021 when “Black Parade” won Best R&B Performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards, earning her the most Grammys won by a female artist, a title previously held by Alison Krauss. She was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for her song “Be Alive,” featured in the Venus and Serena Williams biopic King Richard, starring Will Smith.
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