Friday, August 5, 2022

Album of the Year Nomination #5 - Beyoncé - Renaissance

It's been a minute since Album of the Year Nomination #4 dropped, now with Renaissance (also titled as Act I: Renaissance) out there it's high time for Album of the Year Nomination #5.

The seventh studio album by American singer Beyoncé, was released on July 29, 2022, the first solo studio release since Lemonade back in 2016.

It also  serves as the first installment of a trilogy project. 

Beyoncé conceived the album to reflect her state of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing and producing it with Nova Wav, The-Dream, Symbolyc One, A. G. Cook, Honey Dijon, Beam, Tricky Stewart, BloodPop, Skrillex, Hit-Boy, No I.D., P2J.

Break My Soul blew up radios, the charts on June 20. Reaching the top 10 of the singles charts in eight countries. One day after it's release, Spotify announced that the album had become Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day by a female artist in 2022 so far.

Renaissance is an upbeat dance, pop, and R&B record drawing influences from disco and house music styles, with songs arranged like a DJ mix. The lyrics are strongly hedonistic, discussing sex, joy, and self-worth. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics for its cohesive, eclectic sound and exuberant mood.

In the United States, Billboard reported that Renaissance had earned over 275,000 album-equivalent units in its first four days of availability, including 175,000 album sales, of which 25,000 are vinyl LP sales. In the United Kingdom, as of its second day of availability, Renaissance outsold the rest of the week's top five best-selling albums combined.

So joining The Weeknd, Charli XCXKendrick Lamar, Vance Joy, please welcome Beyoncé to the class of 2022.