New music from Beyoncé is on the horizon. Queen Bey, 39, gave a rare interview as the cover story for Harper’s Bazaar‘s September ICONS issue, where she revealed that she has new tunes coming out soon following a minor reprieve from music amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again,” the superstar told the publication in the interview, which was published on Aug. 10. “I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible,” she added.
Beyoncé, whose most recent album, Lemonade, came out back in April 2016, told Harper’s Bazaar that she’s been in the studio creating new music “for a year and a half.” The mom of three added, “Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”
While it’s been over 5 years since Lemonade, Beyoncé has not left her die-hard fans in a complete drought. In 2018, she and husband Jay-Z, 51, released their collaborative album Everything Is Love. The following year, Queen Bey curated the soundtrack album to The Lion King film remake. She was then featured on the remix of Megan Thee Stallion‘s hit “Savage” in April 2020, and then dropped charity single “Black Parade” two months later.
Beyoncé’s work over the last year certainly did not go unnoticed. In fact, at the 2021 Grammy Awards on March 14, she earned nine nominations and four wins, making her the most decorated singer — male or female — in Grammy history. “As an artist, I believe it’s my job and all of our jobs to reflect the times,” she said at the star-studded awards show. “And it’s been such a difficult time. And so, I want to uplift, encourage, and celebrate all the beautiful Black queens and kings that continue to inspire me and inspire the whole world.”
Now arguably more successful than ever, Beyoncé is preparing for the next major chapter in her life. On September 4, the superstar will turn 40, and she’s hoping this new decade of life is her best yet. “My wish is for my 40s to be fun and full of freedom. I want to feel the same freedom I feel on stage every day of my life,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I want to explore aspects of myself I haven’t had time to discover and to enjoy my husband and my children. I want to travel without working. I want this next decade to be about celebration, joy, and giving and receiving love. I want to give all the love I have to the people who love me back.”