Queen B came back with music on July 29th, 2022, Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records (alongside Beyoncé) released Renaissance, her seventh studio album, her first solo release since Lemonade (2016). The album was well received by critics and the BeyHive (Beyoncé’s fans). Beyoncé recently confirmed at the Wearable Art Gala that she is going on a Renaissance Tour in summer 2023. The tour includes national and international destinations.
There are no exact dates of the tour or the cities she will be going to, yet Beyoncé said she was offering two tickets in order to see her live in any part of the world. Tickets are valued at 20,000 USD, also the concert package includes first-class plane tickets, hotel accommodations and backstage access tour led by Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson. Last time Beyoncé went on tour was in 2018, with her husband and rapper Jay-Z, where both co-headlined their On The Run II Tour. The same year he headlined Coachella Festival.
The album she released this year has a total of 16 songs, including “Break My Soul”, a single she released on June 20, 2022, almost a month before the album release. The project was recorded during th COVID-19 pandemic with the purpose to inspire joy and confidence to listeners who had experienced isolation. The tracks’ style is upbeat blended with 1970s black dance music like discos and house. Renaissance pays tribute to the black and queer pioneers of the genre.
Few days after the album was released, Queen Bey shared a four-track EP of “Break My Soul” Remixes, followed by a remix of the song with the Queen of Pop, Madonna. Since Renaissance came out, Beyoncé had to change the album twice. The first one was a removal of an offensive lyric which uses an ableist slur (a word or phrase that devalues people with a disability) on the song “Heated”. The second time the track “Energy” was modified where the artist removed an interpolation of the song Milkshake by Kelis, released in 2003. Kelis alleged Beyoncé used song elements without permission.
The album reached number one on different charts worldwide such as the US Billboard Hot 100. Beyoncé’s seventh studio album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart. She reached number one in countries like Belgium, Canada, Australia, Denmark, France, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands and The United Kingdom.
Beyoncé recently submitted Renaissance for both Album of the Year and Best Dance/Electronic Album for the 2023 Grammys. She also added “Break My Soul” for Song of the Year, Recording of the Year and Best Dance/Electronic Recording. How to forget that Beyoncé is the artist with most Grammys awards ever, in total 28 wins throughout her career.
Beyoncé is one of the most important female artists in the music industry, since her beginning in Destiny’s Child it was the one who stood out the most out of the three members. Beyoncé is known for always having good live performances. In fact, The Formation Tour, back in 2016, was cataloged as one of the best World Tours of all time. Even though it is unsure where and when Beyoncé is kicking off the Renaissance Tour, surely it will be as exciting as the album.
Andrea Rich
