By Shukri Osman,
Beyoncé has announced her next solo album, Renaissance, her first in the last six years, will be released on July 29.
The singer changed her bio on her social media accounts to read “act I RENAISSANCE, 7.29,” confirming the rumors.
The 40-year-old earlier took down her profile photos from all of her social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, fueling speculation that she will soon release an album.
Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and other music sites confirmed the news with a photo of the singer’s bio. “The countdown has officially begun,” Spotify wrote in a tweet. Beyoncé will be back on July 29th for #RENAISSANCE.”
The Crazy in Love singer’s seventh album will have 16 tracks.
“Beyoncé’s #RENAISSANCE will be released on July 29,” Apple Music said on Twitter.
According to a listing on Apple Music, Renaissance will have 16 songs. It’s unclear whether “Act I refers to the initial installment of a multi-album project or whether the 16 tracks will be published in installments.
Beyoncé’s humanitarian foundation, BeyGOOD, teased fans earlier this week by sharing a montage of album covers to commemorate Black History Month in the United States.
The 40-year-old told Harper’s Bazaar in 2021, that she had started working on new music. “I think we’re all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again after all the isolation and injustice of the previous year,” she remarked.
“I see a renaissance taking shape, and I want to be a part of nourishing it in any way I can. For the past year and a half, I’ve been working in the studio.”
She also talked about how she constructs songs with dozens of individuals, honing and creating the music in her own image.
“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,” she said.
“Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”
In 1997, she debuted as a member of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, before going solo in 2003. She is one of the most successful and influential recording artists of her generation, with singles like Crazy In Love, Single Ladies, and Hold Up.
She has received more Grammy awards and nominations than any other female musician in her career, with 28 wins and 79 nominations.
She has created a soundtrack for Disney’s Lion King remake and organized a historic performance at the 2018 Coachella Music Festival, which celebrated the culture of historically black schools and universities in the United States, in the six years since her last album. Homecoming, a Netflix special about the concert, earned a Grammy for best music film.
Her most recent musical release was the surprise single Black Parade, which was released in 2020 in the midst of worldwide Black Lives Matter protests.
“Put your hands up in the air, show black love / Need peace and atonement for my people,” the diva sang on the single, which included dramatic lyrics about black history, police brutality, and the George Floyd protests.
On Juneteenth, the official end of slavery in the United States, the song was released.
