July 1, 2022
High On Her Horse: Beyoncé Shakes Up Social Media Sitting Atop a Holographic Horse for Renaissance Album Cover
Beyoncé knows how to shake up the atmosphere.
On Thursday, the mercurial artist dropped the cover art for her fiercely anticipated seventh studio album, Renaissance, on Instagram, according to Harper’s Bazaar.
Her album cover, set to be released July 29, gives a sneak peek into the tracks Beyoncé has concocted for her Beyhive. She even revealed that social and economic upheavals that have occurred globally significantly impacted her artistry.
“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,” Beyoncé said for the September 2021 Harper’s Bazaar cover story.
Her followers on Instagram soaked in the recent image she posted.
The multiple Grammy Award winner is wearing a provocative, bejeweled harness designed by Nusi Quero, which harkens back to the crystal top she donned for her debut album cover, Dangerously in Love, in 2003, as she saddles a silver holographic horse. She is relatively nude, wearing stilettos, sporting a soft glam look paired with a wavy ethereal blonde mane cascading down her back, and accented her visage with a bold red lip, Harper’s Bazaar reports.
For art history students, most will recognize that the “Break My Soul” singer is paying homage to Countess Lady Godiva from the 1897 painting by English artist John Collier.
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She captioned the earth-shattering photo by detailing her experience working on her latest album: “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” she wrote. “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.”
Six years ago, she released Lemonade, and then her visual Black is King in 2020 to accompany her role in the remake of Disney’s Lion King. She also had an eventful 2021 when she dropped “Be Alive,” her Oscar-nominated song for King Richard, the Daily Beast reports.