Beyonce surprised fans by releasing her new track ‘Break My Soul’ three hours ahead of schedule off her upcoming seventh solo studio album ‘Renaissance.’ Jay-Z, Adam Pigott (a.k.a. BlaqNmilD, who’s worked with Drake, Quavo, Megan Thee Stallion, and others), Freddie Ross, a.k.a. Big Freedia, and the authors of Robin S’s 1993 hit ‘Show Me Love,’ which is widely sampled in the song, are also listed as writers, according to ‘Variety.’
Beyonce, for one, is sending a message with both her homecoming and the song’s disco theme: the title is inverted to state “You won’t shatter my soul.” It’s chock-full of dancefloor-friendly phrases like “Motivation/I’m looking for a new foundation/ I’m on that new vibration/ I’m creating my own foundation” and an encouragement to “Everybody.”
The song was initially exclusively available on Tidal, the streaming service co-owned by Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z, three hours before its scheduled release time, in an apparent dig at big streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Beyonce has a history of doing this: her 2016 album ‘Lemonade’ was exclusively accessible on Tidal for three years, costing her millions in streaming royalties, according to ‘Variety.’
On June 16, Beyonce confirmed that her long-awaited album will be released on July 29. According to ‘Variety,’ the album will include dance and country-leaning tunes, as well as contributions from star songwriter Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote her 2008 smash ‘Halo,’ as well as successes for Adele, Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, and his own band, OneRepublic.
Raphael Saadiq, who has written songs for Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, and Andra Day as well as his own solo albums, is also believed to be participating. He also executive-produced Solange Knowles’ well appreciated 2016 album ‘Seat at the Table.’
It was unclear if the country songs would appear on their own CD or as part of the standard edition of ‘Renaissance.’ The singer is no stranger to the country: The Chicks even included ‘Daddy Classes,’ from 2016’s ‘Lemonade,’ which is heavy on twang (then often called the Dixie Chicks). Followers have already deduced that the album would feature 16 tracks, and the fact that it is a multi-part launch is clear from the fact that it is labelled as ‘Act 1’.
Pre-orders for four separate boxed sets of the album, dubbed ‘Pose’ 1-4 and featuring a CD, T-shirt, and box, were also available on Beyonce’s website. However, given that they all ship on the same day as the record, it’s probable that they’re merely separate ‘Act 1’ bundles.The singer gave the first sign of trouble earlier this month when she erased her social media accounts, which have yet to be fully repopulated, as seen by the paucity of profile images.
