Beyonce will release a new album called Renaissance next month after a six-year hiatus.
The pop superstar’s last full length solo release, in 2016, was Lemonade, which was accompanied by a 65-minute film of the same title and went to number one in many countries.
The 40-year-old, who has scored three number one albums and five number one singles in the UK, confirmed the first part of her music project will be released on July 29, writing in her Instagram bio: “Act i, RENAISSANCE, 7.29.”
Beyoncé RENAISSANCE July 29 pic.twitter.com/ZenmtPQM9W
— TIDAL (@TIDAL) June 16, 2022
The announcement comes days after the star wiped her social media profile photos, prompting speculation from fans that new music was on the way.
In 2013, her self-titled album was released in the early hours of the morning without warning.
Last August, Beyonce told Harpers Bazaar magazine in a rare interview that she had been been in the studio for a year and a half working on new music.
She said: “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again.
“I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible.
“I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare.
“One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies.
“Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio.
“After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”
The singer, who has been married to rapper and businessman Jay-Z since 2008, made history last year when she became the most decorated female artist at the Grammy Awards.
She won four awards out of nine nominations, making it 28 over her career, which surpasses the 27 of bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss.
Beyonce and Jay-Z had daughter Blue Ivy in January 2012, and in June 2017 she gave birth to twins Rumi and Sir.