Since her last solo studio LP and accompanying film, Lemonade (2016), Beyonce has captivated fans with many ambitious mid-term projects.
In 2018, she appeared as one of the headliners at the Coachella Festival. There, her show historically paid homage to the tradition of black college marching bands and was widely welcomed as a victory. As New York Times critic Jon Caramanica wrote, it pops and frames straight into the Southern Black musical tradition pedigree. The performance later became a Netflix special and album, both titled “Homecoming.”
In 2018, Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z released a Carters-credited co-album, “Everything Is Love.” And in June 2020, during a public protest triggered by the murder of George Floyd, she wrote a song with lines like “Raise your fist into the air and show the love of blacks.” “Black Parade” has been released.
The “Black Parade” won a Grammy Award for its best R & B performance the following year. This is one of the four awards of the night that made Beyonce’s career 28, more than any other woman. This year, Beyonce was nominated for an Academy Award for the best original song of “Be Alive” from her biography of Venus and Serena Williams’ father, the movie “King Richard.”
It remains unclear how early leaks will affect the commercial outlook for the “Renaissance.” A few years ago, unauthorized pre-release of music could have devastating consequences for the album. But that risk is mitigated by the move to streaming.
And Beyonce, like most other artists today, pre-ordered a physical copy of the album. It counts on the chart as soon as it ships, usually in the week of release. Beyonce’s website sells out four boxed sets of “Renaissance” and their limited edition vinyl version.
