Whether she is having her Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience moment is yet to be seen, but it's clear that her fans have been starving for some new material, and the Queen has delivered.
Beyonce is making her own rules with the unorthodox and unprecedented release of her self-titled fifth studio album. Laced with profanity, sex, feminism, and spirituality--BEYONCE may be the most growth displayed during the singer's entire career as a solo artist. Not only was the public caught off guard by the surprise release, but so were members of her Sony family. Only a dozen or so were informed in advance.
The LP is already being called, "...one of the most X-rated pop albums since the release ofMadonna's Erotica," by Telegraph. The Guardianhas referenced it as, "A brilliantly strange record." While theIdolator has given the album 5/5 stars.
TheSpin's Rob Harvilla stated, "I watched every video last night. Was up until 4. ("Superpower" is the funniest, "Heaven" the heaviest, "XO" the sweetest.) By the time I got to "Partition" I was ready to declare this the single greatest musical thing that has ever happened...I just spent $16 on this outta nowhere, and it's the best $16 I've spent in ages," giving the album a rating of 9/10.
Christopher Weingarten said, "All in all, a smarter attempt at modern #ARTPOP than, say, the last Jay Z album, but no hooks I'm gonna walk away singing (save the Dirty Mind-era Prince minimalist new-wave gem "Blow")," giving the album a rating of 6/10.
The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon praises BEYONCE, placing it above both Gaga and Britney's releases. "It’s intimate, raw, even X-rated, and cements her status as the most untouchable pop star alive...Beyonce, though, actually achieves the pleasurable experimental aesthetic that Gaga teased and really is the superstar’s most personal ever. Maybe the album actually accomplishes those things when ARTPOP and Britney Jean couldn’t because its unexpected arrival allowed it to debut its songs with no prejudgment. Or maybe it’s simply because it’s better than them."
However he questions whether it's a singles album, "It’s hard not to notice that, for the range of emotions explored in BEYONCE, there’s no big Beyonce hit. It doesn’t have a “Single Ladies,” or a “Crazy in Love.” But it doesn’t need it. Every pop star is under pressure to top themselves. How could Beyonce possibly do that? As it turns out, it’s by showing us herself and all her imperfections. And, of course, executing it flawlessly."
Kitty Empire of The Guardian gave the album 4/5 stars, summing up what the masses have been saying. "The best surprise of all, in an autumn in which Beyonce's closest competitors – Gaga, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus – made underperforming bids for the throne, is how thoroughly assured, immersive and substantial this album is."
The pop icon will release the first two singles to radio next week. So just which ones will they be?
The dream-team from Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” – JT, Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon, James Fauntleroy and Timbaland--bring on Pharrell as producer and a sexy vocal Bey for the slinky club banger "Blow," that recalls previous “B Day” collabs with Pharrell like “Kitty Kat” and “Green Light.” A personal favorite track of mine for which I'm estatic is receiving the single treatment, boast cunnilingus references from beginning to finish, and will be sent to Top 40 as the album's lead single.
The Jay Z assisted "Drunk in Love," will serve as the duosingle for urban radio, which could very well see itself crossover considering both artist broad fanbase. An ode to raunchy love-making with a dedicated partner, “Drunk in Love” delicately dances around TMI territory with its asides like “grainin’ on that wood” (she’s supposedly talking about a “surfboard.”) But an infectious, wailing of “loooove” on the chorus, a sassy half-rapped second verse from Bey and a memorable rap from Jay (“your breastesses my breakfastesses”) make this a potential smash, being compared to Rihanna and Chris Brown's explicit treat "Birthday Cake."
The infectious "XO," co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder and The Dream is the most Billboard friendly song on BEYONCE, will follow in 2014 as the second single at Top 40. The Terry Richardson-directed video was shot at Coney Island over the summer.
As with every album from the Queen, radio has already begun playing Bey’s fifth album in its entirety after its iTunes exclusive release on Friday.
Streaming services including Spotify and Rdio will have access to BEYONCE next week and physical copies will arrive in time for the holidays.
The album is already on track to debut at No. 1 with projected sales of over 200,000 in its first three days. To put that number into perspective, her previous studio set 4 sold 310,000 copies in its first week of July 2011.
The album is also No. 1 on iTunes in 75 countries including the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Russia, Singapore, Spain, and more. There is no doubt that the album will debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, while final first week sales will revealed on Wednesday, December 18.