It’s Beyoncé’s world, and we’re just living in it! We’ve all expected she’ll knock it out of the park with her new album Renaissance, but she managed to exceed our wildest expectations. This album easily debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart and set several major milestones in its wake.
With 332,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week on the chart, Renaissance scored the largest debut of the year by a female artist. It’s the second largest debut of 2022 overall behind Harry Styles’ Harry’s House with 521,500 units earned in its first week.
Renaissance is also the first LP released by a female artist in 2022 to top the Billboard 200 chart. It marks Beyoncé’s seventh solo album to hit No. 1 in the US, making her the first artist to have all seven of their studio albums debut at the top spot.
Beyoncé started working on Renaissance during the COVID-19 pandemic and said it allowed her to find escape during a scary time for the world.
“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,” Queen B wrote on Instagram.
Renaissance was released on July 29, as the first installment of a trilogy project.
