Photo: Instagram.com/beyonce
It’s official. Beyoncé’s new studio album is coming, as announced by Tidal, the Jay-Z-backed streaming platform this morning. Titled Act I Renaissance, the album is set to feature 16 tracks and will be released on July 29.
The singer’s last album, Lemonade, dropped six years ago in 2016, making this her seventh studio album, which fans referred to as B7 before the official announcement. The Grammy-winning artist is known to go on long breaks before dropping new music in unexpected ways, and this time was no different. Speculations from the Beehive ran wild after the star hinted at new music. On June 9, all of the profile images on Beyoncé’s social media accounts were cleared, which was followed by two mysterious pages appearing on her website on June 10. When typed B7, June 10, or June 11 in the website’s search bar, a black image with Beyoncé’s with the caption “Image B7” had shown up.
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A number of clues, and the fact that the album name says ‘Act I’, also point to a double release. In now deleted tweets, Tidal had posted, “What is a B7/B8?” and since Beyoncé is known to release music every three years, a six-year wait could potentially mean two albums.
Celebrating the brilliance and creativity of Black Musicians who have influenced the world through their art.#blackmusicmonth#BeyGOOD pic.twitter.com/6v4groCQFS
— BeyGOOD (@BeyGood) June 15, 2022
Eagle-eyed fans were also quick to spot a probable album cover in a photo posted by Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD foundation. Celebrating Black musicians, the tweet included a collage of album arts, one of which showed a red glove-covered arm in the bottom right corner. Seeing as many of Beyoncé’s recent posts feature red, from backdrops to entire outfits, it’s safe to say the color plays a role in her new release.
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