Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has thrilled music lovers with news of a new album, titled Renaissance, releasing on July 29, 2022. Renaissance will be Beyoncé’s seventh album and her first solo studio album since releasing Lemonade in 2016. Though song titles are not available, Renaissance is available for pre-save on Apple Music, which shows placeholders for 16 tracks.
Prior to the official news announcement, the Beyhive went into high alert on June 10th when the 40-year-old superstar cleared all avatar images from her social media feeds. Nine days later, official news of the album was announced alongside a British Vogue cover story shot by Brazilian-born Rafael Pavarotti.
British Vogue editor in chief Edward Enninful heard a preview of the album and described it as featuring “soaring vocals and fierce beats” transporting him “back to the clubs of my youth.” He added, “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.”
Hinting at the possibility of more than one album, Enninful wrote, “New music is coming, “a thrilling abundance of it.” More than a single album’s worth of material is also hinted at on beyonce.com where the words “act 1” sits opposite the title of the album. As well, there are four different merch bundles available on the site, each of which is distinguished by a graphic of Beyoncé striking one of four poses.
Priced at $39.99, fans can pre-order merch bundles including a collectible box, CD, t-shirt, 24-page photo booklet and poste on beyonce.com.
