Beyoncé Reveals Why Her New Album Took 5 Years To Produce

Beyoncé is close to releasing her much-anticipated album after five years without a solo project, saying she spent time in the studio during the pandemic.

“With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love and laugh again,” she recently told Harper’s Bazaar. “I feel a renaissance emerging and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible. I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half.”

Beyoncé said that releasing this album has taken time for many reasons. As just one example, she said “it takes a year” for her to “personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare.”

“Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion and healing that I feel in the recording studio,” the singer added, “After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”

Beyoncé’s last solo project was 2016’s Lemonade, but the singer has also worked on three other projects: Everything Is Love, a collaborative album she recorded with her husband, Jay-Z; a soundtrack for the 2019 film, The Lion King; and Homecoming: The Live Album, which was released with her Netflix documentary.

The singer has won eight Grammys for her work, setting a record for the most wins by a solo singer in the awards’ history.

Beyoncé has also launched a clothing line, IVY PARK, and worked on other musical collaborations, including a feature on J Balvin and Willy William‘s “Mi Gente” as well as a duet with Megan Thee Stallion on a “Savage” remix, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last summer.