The rumors were true: Beyoncé is back.
Queen Bey will release her seventh solo album, which is titled either RENAISSANCE: act i, or act i: RENAISSANCE — it’s hard to tell for certain from the meager information on her official website. According to the ordering information for various bundles of merch and music on the site, the album will be released on July 29.
This will be Beyoncé’s first conventional solo album since 2016’s Lemonade, though since then, she’s released the collaborative album Everything Is Love as The Carters with husband JAY-Z, the live album Homecoming, and The Lion King soundtrack album, which she curated. She was also nominated for an Oscar for her song “Be Alive,” from King Richard.
Fans became convinced new music was coming when Bey wiped her socials clean about two weeks ago. According to Variety, the Beyhive also determined that a tweet from the star’s BeyGOOD Foundation contained a secret reference to her upcoming album.
Bey also covers British Vogue, which got an early listen to the album. While there are no quotes from the star in the article posted online, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Enniful, writes of Beyoncé, “The creation [of the album] has been a long process, she explains, with the pandemic giving her far longer to spend thinking and rethinking every decision. Just the way she likes it.”
The July issue of British Vogue is available on newsstands and via digital download on June 21.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.