Approximately 36 hours before its scheduled release at midnight E.T. on Thursday, Beyonce’s full album has apparently leaked.
Social media was filled with comments on the leak and Variety was able to find high-quality flac files that certainly sound like the album within a matter of minutes. Some posts showed CD copies of the album for sale, apparently in Europe.
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Reps for Beyonce and the album’s distributor, Columbia Records, did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.
The leak came as a shock, as Beyonce’s operation is famously among the most secure in the business, renowned for the surprise drop of her 2013 self-titled album — which required countless non-disclosure agreements — and an overall air of secrecy.
The singer revealed the tracklist for her forthcoming seventh album “Renaissance” last week. The tracklist, which was posted on her Instagram story and appears below, includes many intriguing titles like “America Has a Problem,” “Alien Superstar,” “Church Girl,” “Cuff It,” “Thique,” “All Up in Your Mind” and more, along with the single, “Break My Soul.”
Earlier this month Beyoncé shared the album’s cover artwork, which sees her posing regally atop the silhouette of a luminous horse. In a note accompanying the artwork, Beyoncé 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.”
Late last month, Beyoncé surprise-dropped “Break My Soul,” the first single from the album. The track channels ’90s house music beats over a sample of Robin S’s 1993 hit “Show Me Love,” and features vocals from Big Freedia. “Renaissance” is said to feature both dance and country-leaning tracks, although it remains unclear whether the country songs will appear as a separate album, or as part of the first edition of “Renaissance.”
Beyoncé has released four albums since 2016’s “Lemonade,” although none of them are full studio solo albums. In 2018, she dropped “Everything Is Love,” with her husband Jay-Z under the name the Carters; in April of 2019, she put out “Homecoming,” an album of her explosive 2018 headlining performance at Coachella; and that summer she followed with “The Lion King: The Gift,” a companion album to the Disney film that featured several new Beyoncé songs (a deluxe edition of that album featuring three additional tracks was released a year later).
“Renaissance” tracklist:
I’m That Girl
Cozy
Alien Superstar
Cuff It
Energy
Break My Soul
Church Girl
Plastic Off the Sofa
Virgo’s Groove
Move
Heated
Thique
All Up in Your Mind
America Has a Problem
Pure/Honey
Summer Renaissance
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