BEYONCÉ The Queen of Pop
Ballroom & sleazy nightclub. One could say that i's what characterizes Beyoncé's seventh album: Renaissance. It was released immediately after the COVID 19 pandemic. An album that she experienced as a rebirth and a liberation of her talent.
"I made my debut in the music industry at 15. I grew up feeling like the whole world was watching me. And ever since then I've been working on project after project. I released the album 'Lemonade' while touring with the Formation World Tour, gave birth to twins and toured with Jay-Z, directed the movie 'Homecoming'. Then came 'Black is King'. All back-to-back. No breaks. It's been hectic. But now I've allowed myself to focus on my joy of making music," she told Pop Stars magazine in a rare interview.
Her career to date has been like a rising sun. Today, at age 42, Beyoncé is at the top of her game. She's been touring Europe this summer, and this fall, her Renaissance World Tour wraps up with a string of concerts in the U.S.
Surprisingly, a life in the spotlight was not what came most naturally to the pop queen. As a child, she was quite introverted. "I didn't talk much when I was little. I lived my life in my head. But I learned to relate to other people. And today, I'm definitely not timid or shy."
Since the age of 20, she has been focused on building her career. Commercially, too. On top of the pandemic, she felt a strong need to set not only herself, but also the rest of the world, free. "I feel like we were ready to let go, travel, love and laugh again. Like a renaissance. And I wanted to be a part of this 'nurturing', this rebirth."
32 Grammy Awards
The album that she released last summer was a hit. It is mixed together as a continuous DJ set. Some of the 16 tracks were released as a preview of the upcoming album. Among them is Break My Soul, a track that reached the top of the charts. This is the first time since Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) in 2008.
And that's not all: Once the album was released, it was nominated for no less than nine Grammy Awards. She won four. Including Best Dance/Electronic Album. This, though, is certainly not the first time Beyoncé has scored a Grammy Award.
In fact, she is the American pop artist with the most wins of all time. She has won no less than 32 awards.
There are, with almost certainty, more to come. Not least because, as rumor has it, the Renaissance album is just the first in a trilogy that will be released over the next few years.
We see a new and more liberated Beyoncé who plays with different genres on the Renaissance album. It's both ballroom and sleazy nightclub. It's the joy and desire to conquer the dance floor that binds the album's 16 tracks together. As mentioned, the album was recorded during the pandemic, which turned out to be a period of relief for Beyoncé. "Being able to work in a calm, focused way was amazing. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous at a time when very little was happening."
That this was possible, she attributes partly to her husband Jay-Z, who she describes today as her 'beautiful husband'.
It's a bit of a turn around. Not least because her previous album, Lemonade (2016), is said to be a reckoning with her husband's infidelity. She says it fairly plainly in the track Intuition: "What are you hiding?" And in a music video, she smashes everything with a baseball bat before ending by throwing a diamond ring at the camera.
Whether or not there was an actual affair has never been verified. But apparently, Beyoncé's work on the highly acclaimed album has cleared the air and dispelled any rumors of a divorce.
What is certain is that Beyoncé has been on an amazing journey since her time with girl group Destiny's Child and her first solo album Dangerously In Love (2003). Not only has she manifested her name in pop history with her last two albums, she has also succeeded in setting her mark in a time when, as an avowed modern feminist, she has taken a stand on the major issues of the day. She actively supports the Black Lives Matter movement and works for women's rights. All this while innovating pop music and running several businesses.
Amongst other, she has created her own fashion brand. It's a bit of a balancing act. And all the while she continuous to deliver sensual concert experiences with glitter, sexual undertones and strong lyrics.