By now, you’ve surely heard the news: Beyoncé has a new 16-song project titled Renaissance on the way.
The Lemonade follow-up, as potentially suggested in a brief “act i”-mentioning Tidal announcement overnight, could be set for a multi-chapter rollout. At any rate, the latest Beyoncé era has a kickoff date of July 29.
And while a new British Vogue cover announcement (see above) on Thursday didn’t include new insight on the upcoming project from Beyoncé herself, Edward Enninful—the publication’s editor-in-chief—did generously provide an account of having the chance to hear some of the new music during their meeting earlier this year. He described a “wall of sound” hitting him “instantly” upon Beyoncé pressing play. Early into the listening, Enninful added, he was “transported back to the clubs of my youth.”
While the new project will indeed mark the singer’s first new solo studio album since 2016’s Lemonade, Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z delivered the collab effort Everything Is Love in 2018, which was followed the year after by the Beyoncé-curated The Lion King: The Gift album and her live record/concert film Homecoming: The Live Album.
Naturally, the late-night unveiling of a Renaissance launch date spurred immediate celebratory pandemonium across social media. Below, we’ve assembled a few highlights from the sure-to-continue-for-days landscape of reactions.
