Okay Beyhive, now let’s get in formation.
Beyoncé’s long-awaited seventh album now has a release date. Late Wednesday night, the announcement was made via social media. The post featured a large black box that read “act i RENAISSANCE” in white font. The caption read: “Beyoncé. RENAISSANCE. July 29.”
“WOW!!! It’s coming,” Tina Knowles Lawson, Beyonce’s mom, posted on Instagram, touting her daughter’s project. “The grease is getting Hott!!!”
The singer changed her bios on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook promoting the release as well. It’s unclear if “act i” means more than one album. According to the fansite, Beyonce Legion, the project will have 16 tracks.
Right now, fans can preorder the album on her website. The “RENAISSANCE” box set comes with a CD, t-shirt, collectible box, poster and a 28-page photo booklet. The whole set is $39.99 and will begin shipping when the album is released on July 29.
Those using Spotify or Apple Music can pre-save it here.
The highly-anticipated project has been on the radar of fans for a while. The Beyhive began to buzz once their Queen scrubbed the profile photos from all of her social media accounts, leaving the default gray icon in its place.
The rumor mill heated up even more after the “Lemonade” songstress’ BeyGood foundation posted a photo for Black Music Month, showcasing albums from prominent Black artists. Eagle-eyed fans noticed an unknown photo seemingly pointing to Brandy’s “B7” album cover. Bey conspiracists took that as Beyoncé teasing her own seventh album was upon us.
Following news of the album, Beyoncé revealed she’s on the July cover of British Vogue. The cover shows the singer sporting a headdress, sitting atop a horse in what appears to be a club. The photoshoot is described as a “fashion fantasia spun from the tropes of club life during the last century’s final quarter.”
“In what might be her most ambitious musical project to date,” Edward Enninful wrote in the article. “The culture-shifting, Grammy-dominating Queen Bee of all she surveys has trained her considerable artillery on America’s musical soundscape of the late 20th century.”
The last time fans received any new content from the “Dreamgirls” star was her 2020 “Black is King” project, which provided visuals associated to the soundtrack to Disney’s live-action movie “The Lion King.” She was the voice of Nala for the film.
In 2018, she joined her husband, Jay-Z, and released “Everything is Love.” The pair embarked on their “On The Run II” tour that same year.
Beyonce’s last full-length album was “Lemonade” in 2016.