Singer Beyoncé surprisingly dropped her new single 'Break My Soul' three hours before the announced release time from her forthcoming seventh solo studio album 'Renaissance'.
Also in the writing credits are Jay-Z, Adam Pigott (a.k.a BlaqNmilD, who's worked with Drake, Quavo, Megan Thee Stallion and many others), Freddie Ross, a.k.a Big Freedia, and the writers of Robin S's 1993 hit 'Show Me Love', which is prominently sampled in the song, reports 'Variety'.
For her part, Beyoncé is on message with both her return and the disco theme of the song: The title is flipped by saying "You won't break my soul".
It's filled with dance floor-friendly lines like: "Motivation/I'm looking for a new foundation/ I'm on that new vibration/ I'm building my own foundation" and a repeated exhortation of "Everybody".
BREAK MY SOUL pic.twitter.com/tICrPPCj8B
— TIDAL (@TIDAL) June 21, 2022
In an apparent slight to major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, the song initially appeared only on Tidal, the streaming service co-owned by Beyoncé's husband, Jay-Z, three hours before its announced release time.
Beyoncé has a history of this: Her 2016 'Lemonade' album was available only on Tidal for three years, a move that likely cost her millions in streaming royalties, reports 'Variety'.
Beyoncé announced on June 16 that the long-expected album would be arriving on July 29.
Sources told 'Variety' that the album would feature both dance and country-leaning tracks, the source says, with contributions from hit songwriter Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote her 2008 hit 'Halo' as well as hits for Adele, Taylor Swift, the Jonas Bros. and his own group, OneRepublic.
Also said to be involved is Raphael Saadiq, who has crafted hits for Mary J. Blige, D'Angelo, Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Andra Day, as well as his own solo albums, and executive-produced a 'Seat at the Table', Beyoncé's sister Solange's widely praised 2016 album.
It was unclear whether the country songs would appear as a separate album or as part of the first edition of 'Renaissance'.
Country is not new terrain for the singer: 'Daddy Lessons', from 2016's 'Lemonade', is heavy on twang and was even covered by the Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks).
Fans have already sleuthed information suggesting that the album will contain 16 tracks, and the fact that it is a multi-part release is clear from the face that it is billed as 'Act 1'.
Beyoncé's website also featured pre-orders on four different boxed sets for the album, billed 'Pose' 1-4 and including a CD, T-shirt and a box. However, since they all ship on the day of the album's release, it seems likely that they're just different packages for 'Act 1'.
The singer sounded the alarm that something was coming earlier this month when she wiped her social media accounts, which, as evidenced by the lack of profile pictures, still have not been fully repopulated.
IANS