The new Beyoncé album is called Renaissance

The last time we were given a straight-to-the-point Beyoncé album was six years ago, when she dropped the visual masterpiece Lemonade back in 2016. Since then, she’s returned for standalone singles (“Be Alive” from King Richard), compilation albums (The Lion King: The Gift) and collaborations with her husband Jay-Z (Everything is Love). But a considered, full length record with one voice at the helm? We’ve been gasping for that for what feels like forever. Thankfully, a new chapter looks like it’s about to begin.

Bey recently performed the ultimate ‘pop star is coming’ flex: by deleting her profile pictures from of every social media account, making her verified profiles temporarily resemble bot accounts. For an artist as image-focused as Beyoncé (she is pretty much everything-focused at this point), it’s a statement in itself: a clean slate, making way for something new.

After a number of days of mysterious happenings on the artist’s official website, we finally have an answer: Queen Bey will be blessing us with her first full-length album in over half a decade. Praise be.

What is the new album called? And what will it sound like?

According to the Jay-Z-owned streaming service TIDAL, the record will be titled ‘RENAISSANCE – act i’. This also suggests it will be the first of a potential staggered several-part release. Maybe God is real.

In her Harper’s Bazaar cover feature last year, Beyoncé teased what a new album might sound like: “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again… I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible.” We’re ready for rebirth too, queen!

So how many tracks are we going to get?

There are 16 songs on the new album, as revealed by a tracklist on its Apple Music page.

When is the release date for ‘Renaissance’?

The record is slated for release on July 29 this year. A mere 43 sleeps away!

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