Who runs the world? Well, Beyoncé of course!
This week, the global icon’s seventh album, the critically acclaimed Renaissance, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, with the second-biggest opening week of the year, and her scorching ode to house music “Break My Soul” climbs to the top of the Hot 100, reports Billboard.
Renaissance had the largest streaming debut for an album by a woman this year.
The album’s lead single “Break My Soul,” which was released in June, rose five spots to No. 1, becoming Beyoncé first song to top Billboard’s singles chart since “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” back in late 2008.
If that’s not enough, Beyoncé released “Break My Soul—the Queens Remix" which samples Madonna’s “Vogue,” in which Bey pays tribute to several Black women in music.
On the track Beyonce sings, "Rosetta Tharpe, Santigold / Bessie Smith, Nina Simone / Betty Davis, Solange Knowles / Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl' / Lauryn Hill, Roberta Flack / Toni, Janet, Tierra Whack / Missy, Diana, Grace Jones / Aretha, Anita, Grace Jones / Helen Folasade Adu, Jilly from Philly, I love you, boo / Don't just stand there, get into it / Strike a pose, there's nothing to it / Vogue!"
Later, she adds, “Michelle, Chlöe, Halle, Aaliyah/ Alicia, Whitney, Riri, Nicki.”
Renaissance is the first act of a trilogy of albums that the multiple Grammy-award winner is planning to unveil.
“Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” she wrote on Instagram. “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,” she wrote, echoing a previous message she wrote to fans. “A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration.”
