What was Beyoncé’s first album in the trilogy that began with Renaissance?

Renaissance was the first album in Beyoncé’s planned trilogy.

Released on July 29, 2022, Renaissance is Beyoncé’s seventh studio album and her first solo studio album since The Lion King: The Gift in 2019. It is built around dance, disco, house, funk, and electronic influences.

The album’s lead single, “Break My Soul,” became Beyoncé’s first solo number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 since “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” Renaissance also includes “Cuff It,” “Alien Superstar,” and “Virgo’s Groove.”

Beyoncé later described Renaissance as the first act of a three-act project. Its follow-up, Cowboy Carter, arrived in 2024 and shifted toward country, Americana, rock, and related traditions. Renaissance is therefore both an album title and the opening chapter of a larger artistic sequence.