It's always nice to see the usually prim and proper Beyonce step outside the comfort zone of her blonde tresses and into an edgy look such as the ones displayed in the latest edition of FLAUNT.
The 31-year old singer shines in the July issue, baring her "Grown Woman" physique in all glitter. The Tony Duran images--along with all the photos from the editorial were reportedly featured in Beyoncé's "Year of 4" documentary, which debuted back in 2011.
On being called a "gay icon," like Barbra Streisand and Madonna:
"I'm flattered if I'm in the company of those great women. I think they love that we are bold, unafraid to love, and flaunt our sexuality and strength."
On her diet:
"I'm okay with gluten. Sunday pizza is a must for me!"
On balancing her Pepsi sponsorship with her "Move Your Body" campaign:
"Pepsi is a brand I've grown up seeing my heroes collaborate with. The company respects musicians and artistry. I wouldn't encourage any person, especially a child, to live life without balance. When you work out, take care of your body, rehearse as hard as I rehearsed in the commercial, I think it's great to have a Pepsi or Diet Pepsi when you want one. It's all about choices."
Speaking of her Pepsi sponsorship, this era of her career has been the most unorthodox.
Back in February herself as well as her former Destiny's Child bandmates shutdown the stadium during the Superbowl XLVII Halftime show, becoming the third most watched program in US television history. and the following day she released the official promo for the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, along with its' dates.
In March the controversial "Bow Down/I Been On" debuted and the Bey-Hive became increasingly excited as the premiere of the track as well as the accompanying tour gave them hopes that the new era was upon them.
Fast-forward to May, the full version of The-Dream penned and Timbaland produced "Grown Woman" leaked, but besides the occasional feature on Dream's IV Play, Kelly Rowland's Talk A Good Game, Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail, nothing new from the singer's forthcoming fifth studio album has been released.
In an interview given last month singer/songwriter Ne-Yo gave insight on what could possibly be the holdup with the album.
"I'm still putting stuff together for Beyonce's album," he said. "They're still trying to figure out what they want that to be, which I'm not mad at. Beyonce's the kind of artist where you're not gonna see it till it's right. And her fans -- they love her so they'll be patient."
Beyonce has been working on the album ever since secret songwriting sessions began last summer in the Hamptons, where writers and producers like Ryan Tedder, The-Dream, Greg Kurstin, Sia and others stayed for over a week to write and collaborate on potential tracks.
It's no secret that I'm not the biggest Beyonce fan, but she does have some decent songs here and there, and her live performances are never to be missed. The biggest challenge with this forthcoming effort may be if she's looking for the commercial success of B'Day or I Am, compared to the critical success of 4.
One thing is for certain, this new album better be the best thing since Michael Jackson's Thriller
