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Beyoncé‘s Renaissance era is about love in all forms, and in an open letter alongside the freshly released album, the superstar dedicated the 16-song set to her children, her husband, and her family as well as LGBTQ+ “pioneers” — particularly her late Uncle Johnny.

“A big thank you to my Uncle Johnny,” the letter reads. “He was my godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album. Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long. This is a celebration for you.”

In response to the sweet dedication, Bey’s mother Tina Knowles took to Instagram to share her own memories with her beloved nephew. “This dedication was beautiful ! It included my Nephew Johnny on this photo with me when I am 38 years old he is 40 we are at a club he made this dress for me it was so cute!” she wrote alongside a photo of the open letter.

She continued, “Johnny was the closest human being in the world to me we were inseparable growing up ! Later He was my nanny / housekeeper / designer / Dance partner / confident and bestie. I laughed constantly with him and trusted him unconditionally! When he died a piece of me went with him . Solange and Beyonce worshiped him . He helped me raise them. And influenced their sense of style and uniqueness!”

Knowles went on to reveal that Johnny made Beyoncé’s prom dress, which the singer references in Renaissance track, “Heated,” when she chants, “Uncle Johnny made my dress/ That cheap Spandex, she looks a mess.”

“I got so teary eyed,” Knowles said of the lyric. “You see Johnny loved house music ! And introduced my kids to it early on. He is smiling from Heaven at Bey right now ! Saying you did that Ms Thing !! We love you Johnny and we miss you constantly . Wish you were here to dance with me we would tear it up!!!”

See Knowles’ heart-melting note in full below.

In the official press release for the album, Bey and her Parkwood team have confirmed that visuals for "Renaissance" will be coming at "a later date":

"While the visuals are scheduled for a later date, the album comes with a robust menu of formats giving music fans and collectors plenty to choose."

Read the entire press release here.

"Renaissance" deluxe vinyl and merchandise are now available on Shop Beyonce!

"Renaissance" is now available on all platforms! Listen and download here.

Beyonce revealed the packaging for the "Renaissance" CD and the four poses for the box sets.

Beyonce revealed the packaging for the "Renaissance" vinyl. Pre-order the release here.

Beyonce released official acappella and instrumental versions of "Break My Soul". Buy here and here.

Beyonce has been promoting "Renaissance" with billboards all around the world.

Beyoncé's highly anticipated new album Renaissance -- her first in over six years -- arrives next week (7/29), and she has now revealed the tracklist with composer credits for each song. The credits are adapted from Apple Music and do not represent the full scope of album contributors.

Sample credits include Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, James Brown, Teena Marie, Twinkie Clark, Kilo Ali, Moi Renee, and more, and other composer credits include Jay-Z, Drake, Syd, Lucky Daye, Labrinth, Tems, The Neptunes, Skillrex, 070 Shake, The-Dream, BloodPop®, A.G. Cook, P2J, Boi-1da, Leven Kali, Mike Dean, No I.D., Hit-Boy, Raphael Saadiq, and more. See the full tracklist and composer credits below.

01 I’m That Girl
Beyoncé, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, Kelman Duran, MIKE DEAN, Tommy Wright III & Andrea Yvette Summers

02 Cozy
Beyoncé, Nija Charles, Honey Redmond, Christopher Lawrence Penny, Luke Francis Matthew Solomon, MIKE DEAN, Dave Giles II, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant & Curtis Alan Jones

Beyonce revealed the tracklist for "Renaissance"!

Beyoncé has given the world innumerable gifts: the lyric “tell MCI to cut the phone poles,” the Bob Fosse–inspired “Single Ladies” dance, the infamous Met Gala elevator drama, decadent pregnancy announcements, this GIF, Coachella. Which Beyoncé souvenir am I most grateful for? I choose what now feels like an anomaly in her rarefied, holier-than-holy pop career: Foxxy Cleopatra, a.k.a. “a whole lotta woman.”

Austin Powers in Goldmember, the third installment in a franchise that launched to modest success and ballooned to an abiding cultural phenomenon, turns 20 this summer. Destiny’s Child would release one final album in 2004, but Goldmember — the seventh-highest-grossing movie of 2002 — marks Beyoncé’s transition from girl-group captain to singular superstar. It’s when Beyoncé Knowles became simply Beyoncé, even if it feels nothing like the Beyoncé we know today. With the movie came her first solo single (the underrated funk jam “Work It Out“) and a bridge to the image-defining smash “Crazy in Love,” generally considered her true breakthrough.

At the time, Beyoncé was anxious to prove herself as an actress. (Crossover fame remained very important in the early 2000s. Just ask Mariah Carey.) Her only credit was Carmen: A Hip Hopera, MTV’s contemporary spin on the classic French opera. That’s where Goldmember producer John Lyons got the idea to enlist her to play Foxxy, a stylish FBI agent who used to shag Austin (Mike Myers) and moonlights as a nightclub singer at Studio 69. As Beyoncé recounted in 2002, she auditioned twice. “I read with Mike and just tried to be the straight guy. When I left, I was convinced I wasn’t going to get it,” she told Newsweek. For her callback, she “went back in wearing a Pam Grier–like catsuit, an Afro wig, and had memorized every blaxploitation film ever made.” Her fate was sealed.

Amazon Italia reported that Renaissance will be the first part of a trilogy. Read the album description from the website below:

"Six years after ‘Lemonade’, finally arrives the new album of unreleased songs by BEYONCE ‘, out on Friday 29th July. Composed of 16 new tracks, it is titled ‘Renaissance Act I’ and will be the first disc of a celebratory trilogy of black music and culture with many samples of past hits. The new songs will be uptempo with a strong dance, house and even techno orientation. Among the producers of ‘Renaissance Act I’, in addition to BEYONCE itself ‘appear, among others, Ryan Tedder and Raphael Saadiq. , is a proof of this. Entitled ‘Break My Soul’, it is already at # 22 in the ranking of the most played singles by Italian radios and is preparing to become one of this summer’s hits. In Italy ‘Renaissance Act 1’ will only be available on softpack CD with 24 page booklet."

Beyoncé bounces to her first leader on Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated July 9) with “Break My Soul” (4-1). The track soars following its first full tracking week June 24-30 (after its arrival on Tidal at 9 p.m. ET June 20 and its wide release at midnight June 21).

“Break” reigns with 23 million all-format radio airplay audience impressions June 24-30 (up from 10.7 million June 20-23), 15.6 million U.S. streams (up from 14 million) and 11,000 sold, according to Luminate. It also bounds to No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs, likewise becoming Beyoncé’s inaugural leader, and spends a second week at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart (after it launched with 22,000 sold in its first three-plus days).

The song bursts 15-7 on the Hot 100, soars 17-8 on Streaming Songs and enters Radio Songs at No. 28, while falling to No. 4 on Digital Song Sales after it opened at No. 1.

Beyoncé banks her landmark 20th solo Hot 100 top 10 and first since Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” on which she’s featured, became her seventh No. 1 in May 2020. Beyoncé notches her first top 10 in a lead role since “Formation” debuted and peaked at No. 10 in May 2016.

Beyoncé’s new single “Break My Soul” debuts at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of June 27, after just three days of tracking.

It marks Beyoncé’s sixth-highest debut on this chart as a solo artist and seventh overall, followed by “Walk On Water” with Eminem. That collaboration, taken from his Revival album, opened at No. 14 in December 2017.

“Break My Soul,” co-produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, also debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Sales chart. It’s her fifth song to debut atop this list, followed by 2020’s “Black Parade.”

Additionally, “Break My Soul” made chart splashes on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Sales (No. 1), Hot R&B Songs (No. 4), R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (No. 10), and Adult R&B Airplay (No. 17), to name a few.

Beyonce shared the album cover for "Renaissance". She wrote:

"Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are."

UPDATE: The album is now available for pre-order on Shop Beyonce as digital download and CD.

Renaissance Limited Edition Vinyl is available now for pre-order on shop.beyonce.com.

Big Freedia was interviewed about being featured on "Break My Soul" and the sound of "Renaissance".

Official lyric video for "BREAK MY SOUL" by Beyoncé is available now!

Beyonce will drop “Break My Soul,” the first single from her forthcoming seventh solo studio album “Renaissance,” tonight at midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT, the singer announced on social media Monday morning. Unusually, the announcement was not made via a tweet or Instagram post but rather on her profile on each platform.

While some had expected the singer to drop a new song over the weekend or even on Juneteenth — which took place on Sunday and is officially observed as a holiday today — as she did two years ago with her last major single, “Black Parade,” the timing of this one may reflect a song that has no relation to the holiday.

Beyonce announced early Thursday that the long-expected album will be arriving on July 29. Sources tell Variety that the album will feature both dance and country-leaning tracks, the source says, with contributions from hit songwriter Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote her 2008 hit “Halo” as well as hits for Adele, Taylor Swift, the Jonas Bros. and his own group, OneRepublic. Also said to be involved is Raphael Saadiq, who has crafted hits for Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Andra Day as well as his own excellent solo albums, and executive-produced “A Seat at the Table,” Beyoncé’s sister Solange’s widely praised 2016 album.

It was unclear whether the country songs will appear as a separate album, or as part of the first edition of “Renaissance.” Country is not new terrain for the singer: “Daddy Lessons,” from 2016’s “Lemonade,” is heavy on twang and was even covered by the Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks).

UPDATE: Pre-order of the song is available now on shop.beyonce.com!

Beyonce’s new album Renaissance promises to be ‘dramatic’ with the singer using the pandemic and her marriage as inspiration, Metro.co.uk can exclusively reveal.

The Beyhive woke up to twerk-worthy news on Thursday with Beyonce finally confirming the arrival of her new music.

Renaissance, her seventh studio album, will be a two-part project with Act I set for release on July 29 and available on various streaming services, with Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal among those promoting the news on their platforms.

It’s set to become Beyonce’s first album in six years following the release of the Grammy-nominated visual album Lemonade in 2016, and is expected to precede a set of pop-up shows across the UK this summer.

In an interview last year, the 40-year-old singer explained how she used the Covid lockdowns as an excuse to hone in on writing the album, and now an insider has revealed exactly what we can expect from the new era of Beyonce.

A source told us: ‘She played some of the new records for some friends and the consensus is that it’s her happiest body of work to date.

‘It’s a natural continuation from her last two records because she wrote them out of her desire to find peace in the world and in her marriage. She is in a place where she feels like that is possible, and wrote songs which reflect where she is with her faith as a Christian.’