Beyoncé’s 2022 album inspired by dance music and released as the first act of a trilogy is Renaissance.
Columbia Records released Renaissance on July 29, 2022. Beyoncé described it as the first act of a three-part project. The album draws on house, disco, funk, dance-pop, and ballroom traditions, with extensive use of samples and interpolations from earlier recordings.
Its lead single, “Break My Soul,” became Beyoncé’s eighth solo number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. Renaissance debuted at number one in several countries and won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album in 2023.
The album is sometimes confused with Cowboy Carter, released in 2024 as the second act of the trilogy. It is also distinct from The Gift, Beyoncé’s 2019 album connected with The Lion King. Renaissance is the title of the first act and the project released in 2022.