UPDATED: Beyoncé is upping the ante as the release tonight of her first solo album in six years, “Renaissance,” approaches: On Thursday, the singer uploaded a message to her website describing the new set as a “three-act project.”
In her note, Beyoncé re-stated the album’s creative process took three years and detailed working throughout the pandemic, calling it a “time to be still, but also a time I found to be the most creative.” The new album has been referred to as “Act I” since its initial announcement in mid-June. “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” she continued. “It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment, a place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration.”
Little is known about how the three parts will be divided. However,apart from a couple of brief teasers (including a new one below), Beyonce had not released any videos from the new album at the time of this article’s publication, even through the first single, “Break My Soul,” dropped more than a month ago. It seems possible that a video collection is a third chapter of the project, which was originally said to comprise two albums. Beyonce released a 65-minute film containing multiple music videos simultaneously with her previous solo album, 2016’s “Lemonade.”
RENAISSANCE… pic.twitter/b8HYlHD2yU
— BEYONCÉ (@Beyonce) July 29, 2022
Pictured in the post are her three children — Rumi, Sir, and Blue Ivy — who she thanked for “allowing me the space, creativity, and inspiration.” She also shared her gratitude for her parents, the producers who worked on the album and her husband Jay-Z, who she referred to as her “muse, who held me down during those late nights in the studio.”
Also pictured is Beyoncé’s uncle Jonny who she identifies as “my godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album.”
“Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long. This is a celebration for you,” she wrote. Addressing the Bey Hive, she said: “I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are. Love y’all deep, B.”
The message comes just one day after the album was leaked online. Photos of CD copies in Europe started popping up online revealing the album’s 16-song tracklist and its complementary booklet photos. “Renaissance” is scheduled for official release at midnight E.T. on Thursday.
Beyoncé has released four albums since 2016’s “Lemonade,” although none of them were solo studio efforts. In 2018, she dropped “Everything Is Love,” with Jay-Z under the name the Carters; in April of 2019, she released “Homecoming,” an album accompanying her 2018 headlining performance at Coachella; and that summer she followed with “The Lion King: The Gift,” a companion album to the Disney film that featured several new Beyoncé songs (a deluxe edition of that album featuring three additional tracks was released a year later).
