LP 3-Part Project Confirms Beyonce Releases Long-Awaited Seventh Studio Album Renaissance

Updated on July 30, 2022 10:17 AM by Anthony Christian

Renaissance – Seventh Studio Album Released

The musician, 40, officially released her seventh studio album Renaissance as the clock struck midnight early Friday morning.

Featuring previously released lead single "Break My Soul," which dropped last month, the dance-heavy LP features 15 other tracks: I'm That Girl, Cozy, Alien Superstar, Cuff It, Energy featuring BEAM, Church Girl, Plastic Off the Sofa, Virgo's Groove, Move featuring Grace Jones and Terms, Heated, Thique, All Up in Your Mind, America Has a Problem, Pure and Summer Renaissance.

In contrast to the ultra-personal material of her previous solo album, 2016's Lemonade, the songs on Renaissance have been crafted for dance floors and laden with mainly confident, often sexy lyrics about celebrating your identity and having fun. Comfortable in my skin with who I am, goddamn, Beyonce declares on "Cozy."

JAY-Z Relationship

However, she seems to reference her relationship with JAY-Z and its rumored turbulence widely believed to have inspired Lemonade a couple of brief times throughout the record. If you keep playing with my heart, I'm just as petty as you are, she sings on "Heated."

Plastic Off the Sofa, meanwhile, seems to nod to some of the public's perception of the couple following the confessional album. We do not need the world's acceptance too hard on me, and they're too hard on you, boy, she says in the first verse. She will always be your secret weapon in your arsenal, your arsenal.

Beyonce Three-Act Project

In a message shared ahead of Renaissance's release, Beyonce revealed the album will be part of a "three-act project."

They recorded this three-act project over three years during the pandemic. A time to be still, but also a time she found to be the most creative. Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world.

Renaissance marks Beyonce's first solo album in six years. She released 2003's Dangerously in Love, 2006's B'Day, 2008's I Are Sasha Fierce, 2011's 4, 2013's Beyonce, and 2016's Lemonade.

Beyonce Original Music

In 2018, she released the collaborative album Everything Is Love as one-half of The Carters alongside JAY-Z, 52. The following year saw the arrival of The Lion King: The Gift, a soundtrack for Disney's live-action adaptation that featured original music from Beyonce and Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, and other artists.

The superstar also released Homecoming: The Live Album in 2019, which went hand in hand with her iconic Coachella performance from the year prior.

The LP features live renditions of some of the former Destiny Child member's biggest hits, from the girl group's "Soldier" to "Sorry" from Lemonade.

Beyonce surprised fans late last month by revealing the cover art for Renaissance. In the image, the 28-time Grammy-winner is seen sitting atop a silver horse with what appears to be an electric current flowing inside its body.

Beyonce is nearly nude as she wears what looks like a spiked silver chain that covers her breasts, runs down her stomach, and loops back around her backside with matching silver heels. Her long, crimped hair complements the look.

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, the “Love on Top" musician wrote on Instagram, showing off the cover art.

Love On Top – Beautiful Journey

I intended to create a safe place, a place without judgment. She continued a place to scream, release, and feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. She hopes you find joy in this music. She hopes it inspires you to remove the wiggle.

Beyonce previously chatted with Harper's Bazaar for its September 2021 cover story, where she touched upon new music.

In the story, she included a "renaissance" mention, telling the publication, "With all the isolation and injustice over the past year from COVID-19, she thinks we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again. She feels a renaissance emerging and wants to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible.

Beyonce then told Harper's Bazaar that she had "been in the studio for a year and a half, noting, 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.

Added Beyonce: "Still, there's nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that she feels in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when she was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!"