Beyoncé surprise-released a new song, “Before I Let Go,” that serves as both the closing credits song to her new Netflix documentary/concert film Homecoming and a studio bonus track to her unannounced companion LP Homecoming: The Live Album.
“Before I Let Go,” a cover of the 1981 single by Maze, boasts a shuffling drum groove buoyed by delightful horn stabs that pop up around Beyoncé’s powerhouse vocals. The track is primarily a high-energy love track — “You know, I thank God sun rises and shines on you/You know there’s nothing, nothing, nothing I would not do/Before I let you go” — though the song closes with Beyoncé cheekily flexing about her legendary Coachella performance.
As Variety noted, Destiny’s Child recorded their own version of “Before I Let Go” but it remains unreleased. Homecoming: The Live Album also features a studio version of the Beychella song “I Been On.”
While Beyoncé’s Homecoming concert film was slated to arrive on Netflix today, April 17th, the pop star had given no indication that she would also release the accompanying live album and “Before I Let Go.” The live album, also titled Homecoming, is split into 40 tracks and captures the same Coachella set, including solo hits, her reunion with Destiny’s Child, various interludes and a version of the hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which features her daughter Blue Ivy.
Beyoncé’s Homecoming bundle marks her first major solo release since 2016’s Lemonade. Last year, she and husband Jay-Z released the collaborative album, Everything Is Love.