Random

Renaissance Trivia | 64 facts about the new Beyonce album

“Renaissance” is Beyonce’s seventh studio album and her first solo release since “Lemonade” in 2016.

So let’s dive into the new album and its unique sound based on the 90s house scene.

Renaissance is the seventh studio album by American singer Beyoncé,
It is also titled as Act I: Renaissance
The album released on July 29, 2022
It was released via Columbia Records and Parkwood Entertainment
It is her first solo studio release since Lemonade (2016)
It serves as the first installment of a trilogy project
Beyoncé conceived the album to reflect her state of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic
She wrote and produced it with Nova Wav, The-Dream, Symbolyc One, A. G. Cook, Honey Dijon, Beam, Tricky Stewart, BloodPop, Skrillex, Hit-Boy, No I.D., P2J and various others
Beam, Grace Jones and Tems appear as guest vocalists
The lead single “Break My Soul” was released on June 20, 2022
The song reached the top 10 of the singles charts in eight countries
Including a peak of number six on the US Billboard Hot 100
“Renaissance” is an upbeat dance, pop, and R&B album drawing influences from disco and house music styles
With the subject matter characterized by hedonism, sex and self-worth
It received widespread acclaim from music critics for its cohesive, eclectic sound and joyous mood
In her August 2021 Harper’s Bazaar cover story, Beyoncé revealed that she had been working on her seventh studio album for over a year,
Beyoncé began to tease a new album on June 7, 2022
She removed her profile picture from all of her social media platforms
Four days later, the text “What is a B7?” appeared on the homepage of the singer’s official website
Fans noticed that the website also had placeholders for her upcoming seventh and eighth studio albums
Beyoncé officially announced the album and released the pre-sale for Renaissance on her website and digital streaming platforms the following day
It is Beyoncé’s first solo studio album since Lemonade (2016), marking the longest gap between studio albums in her career
Discussing the album’s themes and her creative intention, Beyoncé explained her desire to “create a safe place, a place without judgment”
She called it “a place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom”
Upon the album’s release, Beyoncé posted a note on her website revealing that Renaissance is the first part of a three-act project that she recorded over the past three years, during the COVID-19 pandemic
She also shared that the album is dedicated to her children, her husband, and Uncle Jonny
Uncle Jonny was her late first cousin who was gay and battled HIV
She says he was “the first person to expose [her] to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album”
On June 30, 2022, Beyoncé revealed the album’s cover art, accompanied by a brief note, on her social media accounts
In the cover image, she is seated atop a “glowing”, “holographic”, “crystal horse” in a “futuristic, centipede-ish bikini”
Critics interpreted the equestrian pose as an allusion both to John Collier’s 1897 painting Lady Godiva and to photographs of Bianca Jagger riding a horse into Studio 54
Beyoncé’s garment was designed by Nusi Quero and is reminiscent of the crystal top she wore on the 2003 Dangerously in Love cover
An alternate cover image for the vinyl release features Beyoncé atop the same horse, but “wearing a white cowboy hat with a silver headpiece that hides her hair” and “sparkling silver chains that drape her arms and legs, as white, feathery poofs hang along the body of the horse”
On June 20, 2022, Beyoncé announced the album’s lead single, “Break My Soul”, would be released at midnight Eastern Time on June 21
The release was to coincide with the 2022 summer solstice
The song appeared on music streaming service Tidal hours early, on June 20
A lyric video was later released on YouTube
After first joining TikTok in December 2021, Beyoncé posted her first video, a compilation of “dancing, vibing, and singing along” to Renaissance’s lead single, “Break My Soul”, on July 14, 2022
Further, she made her entire catalogue available for use on the platform, attracting significant media attention
Two days before the scheduled release, on July 27, the album arrived in retailers in France
The album eventually leaked onto the Internet
Billboard said Renaissance has an innovative and playful approach to genre
With the album blending and shifting between several styles
Musically, Renaissance is a dance, pop and R&B album
Drawing influences from disco, and house styles such as Chicago house, deep house, electro house and hip house
With elements of techno, garage, Afrobeats, boogie, funk, gospel, soul, hip hop, trap, gqom, new jack swing, Jersey club, synth-pop, hyperpop, dancehall, and nu disco
The tracks are connected by seamless transitions, evoking a DJ mix
Lyrically, the album “urg[es] listeners to wholeheartedly embrace pleasure”
The album emphasizes Black joy and Black pride
Upon release, Renaissance was met with widespread acclaim from music critics
Many of whom praised its cohesive yet eclectic production, joyous nature, and vocal range
On review aggregator Metacritic, Renaissance received a score of 93 out of 100
Based on 15 reviews
Indicating “universal acclaim”
On review aggregator AnyDecentMusic?, the album has a rating of 8.3 out of 10
Based on 15 reviews
The song “Heated” was met with criticism online for its use of the word “spaz” in its lyrics
Some disability advocates viewed as an ableist slur
Others highlighted that the word is not taboo in the US, and that “spaz” is a different word in African-American Vernacular English (meaning “freak out”)
This meaning of the word has been widely used in historically black genre
The same day, Beyoncé confirmed the word would be removed from the song
An earlier version of Lizzo’s 2022 song “Grrrls” also included the word
The song was met with similar criticism before it was eventually removed from the song
In the UK, as of its second day, Renaissance outsold the rest of the week’s top five best-selling albums combined