Beyoncé explains why there were no visuals for ‘Renaissance’

Beyoncé fans have been begging for visuals since she released Renaissance in 2022, but in a new cover interview with GQ, she explains why she decided against them.

“I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice,” Bey said. “The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own.”

“Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music,” she said. “The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film.”

Bey’s interview sees her discuss her many businesses, the expectations that come with her discography, whether she thinks about retiring and more. When asked what artists are currently inspiring her, she named Victoria Monét, GloRilla, Doechii, Chloe x Halle, Sasha Keable, Raye, Reneé Rapp and That Mexican OT, who she says “goes hard.”

Bey adds she’s also a fan of Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Please Please Please” and thinks “Thee Sacred Souls and Chappell Roan are talented and interesting.” She of course mentioned Miley Cyrus, noting, “I’m obsessed with my backseat baby,” but says she spends the majority of her time “listening to the classics, like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and music from artists on the Stax label.” 

As for shows, Bey is currently watching House of the Dragon and The Chi. She’s a fan of Inside Out 2, which she says is “the best movie I’ve seen this year.”