Beyonce’s Seventh Studio Album “Renaissance” Leaked 2 Days Before Release
Queen B’s albums always seem to come with a surprise.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, the iconic singer-songwriter and actress, is known to be theatrical when putting out new music. In 2013 and 2016, her albums Beyoncé and Lemonade were released by her with little to no warning to the fans (not even a teaser or a single)!
Ironically, her seventh studio album Renaissance, for which she followed a traditional promotion rollout, was leaked on the internet. With just 18 hours to go for the official release, the internet was filled with links to audio files to the new songs from the album.
The “Crazy In Love” singer went all out to promote this new album. Perhaps tired of the element of surprise, she announced the album’s release 6 weeks ago while shooting for a cover with Vogue. She put out a single called “Break My Soul,” which is reminiscent of ’90s dance house songs. Queen B also followed the contemporary route of making a TikTok account to create buzz for the album.
Despite this slow build-up sprinkled with plenty of teasers, the album was leaked. The 40-year-old musician’s devout fans, also known as the “Beyhives,” spared no time criticizing those behind this leak. They’re urging people to not listen to the leaked songs as a way of showing respect to the artist.
The album art shows Beyoncé with long flowing hair straddling a glowing, ethereal horse. The music of Renaissance is said to have elements of both dance house and country genres.
The cover art was released with a note from Bey, saying:
“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. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment.” It seems like the pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns brought on a wave of creative energy for Queen B.
“A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. 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,” she goes on.
It’s been almost nine years since a single by Beyoncé entered UK’s Top 10 charts. “Break My Soul”’ is now ranking at number four. Queen B is also one of “the only artists in Billboard history to achieve at least 20 Top 10 songs as a solo artist and 10 as a member of a group.”
Even though Renaissance comes six long years since her last solo studio album, Queen B hasn’t taken any breaks when it comes to putting out new music. She formed a musical duo with her husband Jay-Z named The Carters, and together, they released an album called Everything is Love in 2018. In 2019, she wrote original songs for Disney’s The Lion King: Sing Along movie alongside Donald Glover.
