Categories
  Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
  supported by EncyclosphereKSF

Beyoncé (album)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 63 min

This article is about the self-titled album by Beyoncé. For other albums by Beyoncé, see Beyoncé albums discography.
Beyoncé
A black background; the word "Beyoncé" is stylized in an uppercase pink font and located in the center of the image.
Standard edition cover
Studio album by
Beyoncé
ReleasedDecember 13, 2013 (2013-12-13)
Recorded2012–2013
Studio
GenreElectro-R&B[1]
Length66:35
Label
Director
Producer
Beyoncé chronology
4: The Remix
(2012) 		Beyoncé
(2013) 		Lemonade
(2016)
Singles from Beyoncé
  1. "XO"
    Released: December 16, 2013
  2. "Drunk in Love"
    Released: December 17, 2013
  3. "Partition"
    Released: February 25, 2014
  4. "Pretty Hurts"
    Released: June 10, 2014

Beyoncé is the fifth studio album by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on December 13, 2013, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Created as a visual album, it was released in the middle of the night as a complete surprise. The album and its release are frequently credited with inventing the modern definition of the visual album, popularizing the surprise album release strategy, and provoking the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to change the day of the week when music is released worldwide from Tuesday to Friday.[2] Rappers Jay-Z and Drake, singer Frank Ocean, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy Carter appear as guest vocalists on the album.

The album's initial recording began in New York City, where Beyoncé invited the "world's best" producers and songwriters to live with her in a mansion for a month. During extensive touring the following year, the album changed as she conceived of creating a visual accompaniment to its songs and resumed recording sessions with electronic producer and rock musician Boots. Their collaboration led to more sonically experimental material, which combined contemporary R&B with electronic and soul music. Throughout this period, the album's songs and videos were composed in strict secrecy as Beyoncé devised an unexpected release. Beyoncé's desire to assert her full artistic freedom served as inspiration for the album's dark, personal subject matter, which incorporated feminist themes of sex, monogamy, beauty standards and relationship problems.

Beyoncé was released digitally on the iTunes Store without prior announcement or promotion in the early hours of December 13, 2013, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number-one album on the chart. The album sold over 617,000 copies in the United States and 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days of sales, becoming the fastest-selling album in the history of the iTunes Store up to that point.[3] In the 19 days between the album's release and the end of 2013, Beyoncé sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, finishing the year as the tenth-best-selling album globally, according to the IFPI.[4] The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. The album was supported on two tours: the 2014 leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, and the Jay-Z co-headlining On the Run Tour.

Five US singles were released from the album, one would reach the top twenty of the US Billboard Hot 100, the number two peaking "Drunk in Love", featuring Jay-Z. The album received widespread acclaim critics for its production, exploration of sexuality, and vocal performance.[5] In 2020, Beyoncé was ranked 81st in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[6]

Background and development

[edit]

Following the release of her fourth studio album 4 (2011), Beyoncé gave birth to her first child, Blue Ivy on January 7, 2012.[7] Just four months after labor, she pursued a three-night residency at Revel Atlantic City's Ovation Hall, entitled Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live.[8][nb 1] The choice to hold concerts so soon was purposeful; Beyoncé intended to demonstrate to mothers that they need not halt their careers despite having had children.[10] Most of the summer following the residency was spent in The Hamptons, New York, where she took time out from the public to spend time with her daughter and to begin sessions for her next album.[11] She resumed work in early 2013, performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's second inauguration and headlining the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, where there were expectations she would debut new music, although these rumors never materialized.[12] She also released a self-directed autobiographical documentary in February, entitled Life Is But a Dream.[11]

"Bow Down / I Been On"
The demo "Bow Down / I Been On" was the first recording released from Beyoncé.[nb 2] Its controversial refrain and unorthodox, experimental production was noted as a significant departure from Beyoncé's existing catalogue.[14]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

In March 2013, a two-part hip hop track entitled "Bow Down/I Been On" was released onto Beyoncé's SoundCloud account.[14] "Bow Down", produced by Hit-Boy, was written after Beyoncé woke up one morning with a chant stuck in her head, feeling angry and defensive.[13][15] This was melded with a Timbaland-produced second half "I Been On" that makes prominent use of a pitch-distorted vocal as a homage to the Houston hip hop scene.[16][nb 3] Michael Cragg of The Guardian described the song as "brilliantly odd", commending its loud, abrasive production,[14] while Pitchfork's Lindsay Zoladz noted the song's assertiveness and believed it served as an introduction of what was to come.[16] "Bow Down/I Been On" was perceived as a significant departure from Beyoncé's existing catalogue, particularly for its aggressive nature.[14][16] The song's atmosphere and its controversial "Bow down, bitches" refrain drew a mixed reaction from those who questioned whether the lyric was aimed at women or merely a moment of braggadocio.[13][18] Beyoncé clarified after the album's release, where elements of "Bow Down" appear on the track "Flawless", that the song and its refrain were intended as a statement of female empowerment.[13]

Neither Beyoncé or her representatives commented on the release of "Bow Down/I Been On", and many journalists questioned the nature of its release in the context of the release of her upcoming album.[16] Further confusion was created when portions of other tracks "Grown Woman" and "Standing on the Sun" were used for television advertising campaigns, with a similar lack of explanation as to their purpose.[19] Through much of 2013, the media intermittently reported that the album was delayed or scrapped, with one story alleging Beyoncé had scrapped fifty songs in favor of starting again. In July 2013, a spokesperson for Beyoncé denied speculation that her album had been delayed, stating there was no official release date to begin with and that when a date is set, it would be announced via an official press release.[20] There was considerable confusion among music journalists and fans as Beyoncé engaged in extensive touring, while not discussing the album or its release.[12][19]

Recording and production

[edit]

The original plan was to create the entire album in a month and a half, but in the end it took a year and a half. Beyoncé rented a 40-bedroom mansion for the recording process.[21] Recording sessions began in the summer of 2012 in the Hamptons, New York, where Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z were living.[11][22] She invited the "world's best" producers and songwriters to accompany them, including Sia,[23] Timbaland, Eric Bellinger, Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake and The-Dream.[11] Beyoncé described the atmosphere as unconventional, saying, "we had dinners with the producers every day, like a family ... it was like a camp. Weekends off. You could go and jump in the pool and ride bikes ... the ocean and grass and sunshine ... it was really a safe place."[11] She would spend the majority of her day with her newborn daughter, taking some hours out to record music. The album's opening track "Pretty Hurts", co-written by Sia, was completed during these sessions.[15][23] The project was suspended until 2013 and relocated to Jungle City and Oven Studios in New York City, where most of the album was recorded.[15] In an interview for Vogue in January 2013, Jason Gay described Beyoncé's attention to detail as "obsessive" when observing her studio, noting the vision boards she created for inspiration, which contained potential song titles, old album covers and pictures of performances.[11]

"Haunted"
The first part of "Haunted"—known as "Ghost"[nb 4]— was one of the earliest compositions of Beyoncé and Boots.[24] Beyoncé raps a stream of consciousness with robotic vocal inflections[25] over slow, layered guitars inspired by the work of English electronic musician Aphex Twin.[24][26]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

In mid-2013, a relatively unknown artist Boots, signed a publishing deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation. In an interview for Pitchfork after the album's release, Boots was coy when answering questions about how Beyoncé discovered his demo or of his work previous to the project, only confirming his signing. In June 2013, they met in person for the first time and Boots presented Beyoncé with material he felt would resonate with her. However, Beyoncé was more interested in his experimental material, and he reluctantly played her his song "Haunted" on his cellphone. She refused to ignore its potential. At a later meeting, he played her a stream of consciousness rap called "Ghost", which he wrote after an exasperating meeting with a potential record label. Boots began by composing a melody that reminded him of a hypnotic state, then layering guitar arpeggios to resemble the work of English electronic musician Aphex Twin. Subsequently, "Ghost" became the first half of "Haunted"; he later described Beyoncé as the "only visionary in the room" for her ability to find potential in scraps of songs. Following these sessions, Boots would go on to work on eighty percent of Beyoncé.[24]

While recording in New York City, the previously released "Bow Down" was incorporated into a track that became "Flawless".[27] During its composition, Beyoncé chose to interpolate a portion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk "We Should All Be Feminists" into it as she identified with her interpretations of feminism.[28] Organic approaches were taken when writing and recording "Drunk in Love" and "Partition". When working with Detail and Timbaland on a beat that became "Drunk in Love", she was inspired by what she described as pure enjoyment, as both she and Jay-Z free-styled their verses for the track in the studio. Similarly, the bassline of "Partition", which Beyoncé found reminiscent of hip hop music during her early romance with Jay-Z, influenced her to accompany the track with sexual lyrics.[23] She took to a microphone without pen and paper and rapped the first verse, finding herself initially embarrassed by the explicitness of the lyrics. When composing "Partition", a rap known as "Yoncé" was used as the opening of the track, the beat of which was built by Justin Timberlake banging on buckets in the studio.[29]

Only four songs were not recorded entirely in New York studios: "Superpower" and "Heaven", which were partially recorded in California, as well as "No Angel" which was composed in London and "XO" in Berlin and Sydney.[15] Although the demo of "XO" was recorded when Beyoncé had contracted a sinus infection, the vocals were never re-recorded as she felt their imperfections fit more appropriately.[30] In October, the album began taking shape and "Standing on the Sun" and "Grown Woman" were removed[nb 5]—songs which had been previewed in 2013 on television advertisements—from Beyoncé to fit in with its minimalist approach.[32] During Thanksgiving week, the vocals on the album were edited and producers were notified to submit their final cuts.[32] Beyoncé spent less time on vocal production than she had done with her previous projects, instead focusing on perfecting the album's music.[30] Beyoncé was mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City.[15] In total, eighty songs were recorded for the album.[33]

Visuals

[edit]
Beyoncé filmed several music videos in different locations, including Crazy Horse[34] (left) and Stockton Beach, Australia[35] (right).

Beyoncé first considered the idea of creating a "visual album" in June 2013, when only three or four songs had been completed.[36] Explaining her motivation, she said she would often connect images, childhood memories, emotions and fantasies to songs she was in the midst of composing, and that she "wanted people to hear the songs with the story that's in my head as that's what makes it mine". She highlighted the immersive experience of Michael Jackson's Thriller (1982) as the principal influence for creating a body of work that "people would hear things differently and ... actually be able to see the whole vision of the album".[37][38]

The videos were filmed between June and November 2013 in various countries as the singer traveled on her world tour.[22] Todd Tourso, who directed the videos for "Jealous" and "Heaven", served as the creative director for the entire project.[36] Much of his role concerned liaising between Beyoncé, who for most videos already had concepts, and the respective directors who also had propositions. As most videos were shot outside of the US, the crew surrounding the videos was small, consisting only of Tourso, the director of photography and producer, as well as Beyoncé and her stylist, make-up artist and security.[36] When filming in public, Beyoncé would wear in-ear headphones instead of having the music played out loud, in order to maintain the secrecy of the project and prevent any songs leaking.[39] By the time of post-production, the songwriting process began to converge with the content of the visuals and Beyoncé would watch unedited footage to fit the music to them. "Flawless", "Rocket" and "Mine" were noted as having been changed by their visual counterparts, Tourso commenting that "she would rewrite some lines, or she would add certain audio, or she would add bridges" and believed that "it would complete the picture of where the audio needed to go".[13]

Several videos were intended to demonstrate the album's central theme of "finding the beauty in imperfection". While working on "Flawless", Beyoncé was reminded of her loss on television competition Star Search as a child, which she saw as a defining moment in her career, and believed that the competition had taught her how to embrace imperfection in the future.[28] The theme was represented in the videos by the recurring use of trophies, which the singer saw as referencing "all of the sacrifice I have made as a kid, all of the time that I lost".[28] It was also carried into how the visuals were created, with the videos for "Drunk in Love", "Yoncé", "No Angel", "XO" and "Blue" shot without prior preparation, as the singer found enjoyment in the spontaneity of the filming locations and in resisting the urge to perfect them.[33] Noting some of the visuals' explicit content and exposure of her body, Beyoncé said she found shooting them liberating and expressed her intention to demonstrate sexuality as a power that women should have, and not lose after becoming a mother. She went on to say, "I know finding my sensuality, getting back into my body, being proud of growing up, it was important to me that I expressed that ... I know that there are so many women who feel the same way".[23]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

Beyoncé is a fourteen track set with seventeen short films: a video for each audio track, two extra videos to accompany the two-part tracks "Haunted" and "Partition", as well as a bonus video for "Grown Woman", which lacked an official audio counterpart until its standalone release on the album's ten year anniversary. [15] Departing from the traditional R&B leanings of its predecessor, 4 (2011),[40] Beyoncé's songs are predominantly alternative R&B.[41][nb 6] Hence, musically, the album may be located in the post-dubstep era,[43] fusing electronic music with R&B and soul.[44][45][46] The album's dark, moody production[43] is more textured than previous releases[25] and songs are characterized by heavy bass and loud hi-hats, as well as prominent synthesizers.[40] A quality of restraint features among most songs "with subdued pulses, ambient effects and throbbing grooves that sneak up on you, threatening to explode but only occasionally transforming".[47]

The album adopts unconventional song structure and as Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club notes, many songs "[emphasize] moody, shifting beats and drawn-out vibe sessions" and are left to slowly unfurl.[48] This is particularly prominent on "Haunted" and "Partition" which function as two-part suites.[25] The dream-like state created on "Haunted" is ushered in with a stream of consciousness rap entitled "Ghost" which transitions from "smoky ethereality to off-kilter club beat",[40] amid a shifting bassline and ghostly keyboards.[26] "Partition" begins with "Yoncé", a slick rap set over a simple Middle Eastern rhythm.[26] The song is divided by a brief interlude of camera clicks and the whirring of a car window, before launching into a second-half that melds synthesizer pulses with finger snaps to create a Southern hip hop bassline.[23][45][49] Over this, the song follows a candid narrative that describes sex in the back of a limousine when travelling to a nightclub.[45][49]

Several critics noted the album's extensive exploration of sexuality.[47][50] Having been a singer since the age of nine, Beyoncé felt "stifled" by the perception she was a role model for young children, and now into her thirties, believed she had "earned the right to ... express any and every side of [her]self".[51] Addressing the album's sexual content specifically, Beyoncé said: "I don't at all have any shame about being sexual and I'm not embarrassed about it and I don't feel like I have to protect that side of me."[23] Several critics described Beyoncé's sex songs as a celebration of monogamous love.[27][41][46] "Drunk in Love" is a duet with her husband Jay-Z, and features lyrics heavily laden with double entendres that explore lust within their sexual relationship.[47] It fuses intermittent trap beats with heavy bass,[49] skittering synthesizers and drums,[52] and Arabic-scale vocal arpeggios.[53] Beyoncé's vocals are diverse, including a melodramatic chorus sung in her upper register and a half-rapped second verse.[27] "Blow" veers from a thumping jazz beat[54] created with sparse piano chords[26] and guitars[55] to a "swinging electro-funk groove"[26] with elements of neo-disco.[46] Its erotic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics include a running cunnilingus metaphor of "licking Skittles" in its chorus.[40] The slow-jam "Rocket" is a homage to D'Angelo's soul-infused "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (2000).[45][56] Described by Entertainment Weekly's Nick Catucci as a "slippery, six-and-a-half-minute funk excursion",[49] Beyoncé adopts a slow, harmonious vocal[45] as she instructs her love interest to watch her perform a striptease.[57]

A picture of a woman smiling directly at the camera.
"We raise girls to see each other as competitors. Not for jobs or for accomplishments (which I think can be a good thing) but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes". Adichie's (pictured) speech is sampled on "Flawless".[58]

Much like her previous albums, the record is feminist, with greater exploration of gender issues and conflated with "an unwavering look at black female sexual agency".[45][50][59] Soraya McDonald of The Washington Post viewed Beyoncé as significant to black feminism as it celebrates black female sexuality in mainstream music and in the context of hip hop, where it is typically only shown through the male perspective.[59] The album's most explicit commentary on gender is the three-part "Flawless". It opens with the earlier released "Bow Down", before seguing into an excerpt of a speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the socialization of girls.[40][45] The final part uses a staccato, trap beat[40] as Beyoncé reflects on her own feminist attitudes, encouraging self-acceptance among women and criticizing misogynist sentiments.[57][60]

Other songs allude to darker themes of fear and personal insecurities. Beyoncé noted that the album displayed "sides of [her] that only a few people had seen", adding that "all of us want happiness ... sometimes you have to take the insecurities to get to the secure place. And all of those things I feel happy to express".[51] Caitlin White of The 405 believed the songs as "hold forth on the most important issues in a woman's life by delving into [the singer's] personal experience with them".[57] "Jealous" addresses fidelity and features lyrics in which the protagonist experiences "promises, suspicion and potential revenge".[45] It contains an "uncanny mix of tones and styles", most prominently a morose bassline replete with electronic yelps.[27] "Mine", a futuristic R&B song[46] with jazz elements,[26] is self-reflective, with lyrics that reference marital strife and difficulties with postnatal depression.[48] The power pop opener "Pretty Hurts" is a self-empowerment anthem that decries society's obsession with harmful and unattainable standards of beauty.[27][45][50] The song uses audio snippets of beauty pageants which Beyoncé contested in to frame the song in the context of her childhood.[45]

Beyoncé's vocal production is diverse; several songs are half-rapped and half-sung with particular use of falsetto and head voice.[27] The Telegraph's Neil McCormick notes that while the singer uses her expansive vocal range, unlike her previous releases, she restrains from belting and vocal runs as to increase tension in the music.[47] "No Angel", a chillwave song[25] with influences of minimalist hip hop music,[47] is noted for its use of the falsetto vocal register,[27] with a delivery that is "threatening to fray".[26] The doo wop-inspired duet with Frank Ocean "Superpower" is sung in the lower register of both singers, while employing girl group harmonies similar to Beyoncé's work in Destiny's Child.[26][45][47] The love song "XO" uses several vocal techniques to evoke a celebration of love and life,[61] including echo[62] and several hooks.[63] Its ascending chorus lines use call and response, as well as backing vocals of a sing-along crowd, as Beyoncé sings of how her "darkest nights" are enlightened by her lover's face.[64] The album's closing tracks are midtempo ballads "Heaven" and "Blue". "Heaven" is an emotive, piano-led hymn with gospel elements,[26][45] while "Blue" is built on a piano melody over which Beyoncé sings of the love for her daughter, using her full vocal range.[27][49]

Six additional tracks are included on the album's Platinum Edition reissue: two newly recorded songs and four remixed versions of existing tracks.[65] "7/11" is an uptempo hip hop piece and features Auto-Tune in its composition.[66][67] The track incorporates several rapping verses by Beyoncé, with production likened to "Bow Down/I Been On".[66][68] "Ring Off" is described as a midtempo reggae ballad that features dancehall rhythms with slight elements of dubstep, and addresses the end of a marriage between Beyoncé's parents, Tina and Mathew Knowles.[69][70][71] "Standing on the Sun", which was excluded from the album's original release, was included as a remixed version with guest vocals from Mr. Vegas.[72][73]

Artwork, release and promotion

[edit]
See also: The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour and On the Run Tour (Beyoncé and Jay-Z)

I miss that immersive experience, now people only listen to a few seconds of song on their iPods and they don't really invest in the whole experience. It's all about the single, and the hype. It's so much that gets between the music and the art and the fans. I felt like, I don't want anybody to get the message, when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it's ready and from me to my fans.

—Beyoncé discussing her intention behind Beyoncé's unconventional release.[74]

Throughout 2013, Beyoncé worked on the project in strict secrecy, sharing details of the album with a small circle of people and continually shifting the deadline, which was only finalized a week before its release.[32] She later explained that her intent was to reinstate the idea of an album release as a significant, exciting event that had lost meaning in the face of hype created around singles.[37]

Tourso and his small team of designers were tasked with designing Beyoncé's album cover, which he found difficult considering it was a visual album and thus "inundated with imagery". Part of Beyoncé's original notes were that she wanted "no pink" and didn't want her "[buttocks] on the cover." Over three months he considered over a hundred options, only to proceed with his very first idea. He was inspired by the cover of Metallica's eponymous fifth studio album (1991) to create a bold statement, specifically to deviate from a "beauty shot" of Beyoncé which he felt would be expected. They used a font similar to placards used in boxing matches to represent abrasive masculinity, which was contrasted by the greyish-pink font which they described as "a subversion of femininity".[13]

In early December 2013, Beyoncé and her management company Parkwood Entertainment held meetings concerning its release with executives from Columbia Records and the iTunes Store, using the code name "Lily" for the album.[75] Meetings were also held with Facebook executives in regard to advertising that resulted in the album benefiting from the social network's then new "Auto Play" feature for videos.[76] On December 9, 2013, Rob Stringer, Chairman of Columbia Records, knowingly told media that the album would be released at some point in 2014 and it would be "monumental".[77]

On December 13, 2013, the album was released in the early hours of the morning without any prior announcement or promotion exclusively on the iTunes Store. The singer commented that she was "bored" of her music being marketed as it had been done previously, and wanted its release to be a different experience for her fans.[78] The album was available exclusively on iTunes Stores until December 20, 2013, when physical copies were distributed to other retailers.[79] Parkwood Entertainment had a seventy-two-hour turnaround from the moment the album was released online to prepare its physical release.[76]

I had just got off the stage, I had a glass of wine and my cousin Angie was like, "Are you alright?" because I was talking to myself and I was terrified. I was so scared. I'd already envisioned 'people are going to hate it, why didn't I say anything?' It's just things that we all go through, it's just human. I was really nervous because this was a huge risk. [It went] live on iTunes and you know, you're just waiting for the first comment. And [by] the next morning... (dances and audience cheers).

— Beyoncé presenting a video screening for the album at the SVA Theater.[80]
Beyoncé performing at The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in London

As soon as the album became exclusively available to iTunes Stores, Sony Music handed down an edict that forbade retailers to put the album up for pre-order, as to further protect the exclusivity with the iTunes Store.[81] It was then reported that American retailers Target and Amazon Music[81] refused to sell the physical copies of the album. According to a Target spokesperson, the store was only interested in retailing albums that were released digitally and physically simultaneously.[82] On December 21, 2013, all the videos from the album were screened at the SVA Theater in New York City.[83]

I've never done anything so brave in my life. The amount of personal growth from this project is unlike anything I've ever done. I took all of my insecurities, all of my doubts, all of my fears, and everything I've learned [and] I applied it into this project.

— Beyoncé at SVA Theater.[84]

After the album's release, Beyoncé performed "XO" during the remaining stops of the North American leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in December 2013.[85][86] In early 2014, she performed "Drunk in Love" for the first time at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26.[87] "XO"'s first televised performance was at the 2014 BRIT Awards on February 19, marking her first performance at the ceremony since the one held in 2004.[88][89][90] Later that month, songs from the album were added to the set list of the second European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.[91] All the music videos from the album were screened at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 13 along with commentary from three of the videos' directors who were present at the ceremony.[92] To further promote the album, Beyoncé embarked on her first co-headlining stadium tour with Jay-Z.[93] The On the Run Tour kicked off in Miami on June 25, 2014, and ended in Paris on September 13, 2014.[93][94] A pre-recorded performance of "Partition" from the tour was broadcast at the 2014 BET Awards on June 29.[95] Beyoncé performed a sixteen-minute medley of the album's songs at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 24.[96]

On December 12, 2014, just about one year after the release of Beyoncé, a short film entitled Yours and Mine was uploaded to Beyoncé's website and to YouTube.[97] The entirely black and white spoken-word film, which features behind-the-scenes footage and repurposed imagery from the music videos of Beyoncé, was described as "a retrospective short film celebrating the one-year anniversary of the self-titled visual album".[98]

Reports of a follow-up record first surfaced early November, speculating that a second volume of the Beyoncé album was slated to be surprise released in November.[99] One of the songs was titled "Donk", a planned collaboration with Nicki Minaj that was officially registered to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers database;[100] the full song leaked online in September 2023.[101] Parkwood Entertainment dispelled rumors of a leaked track listing for the record, stating it was "completely made up".[102][103]

The album received a reissue on November 24, 2014, subtitled Platinum Edition.[103] The package includes four discs, including two additional discs of new material: More is an audio disc containing two newly-recorded songs and four remixes of existing songs, while Live is a video disc containing ten live performances filmed during The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013–14) and previously broadcast on June 29 by HBO with Beyonce: X10, a 10-episode series of four-minute segments of concert performances that debuted weekly before new episodes of True Blood.[104] More and Live was also made available as an individual EP on digital platforms, under the title Beyoncé: More Only.[105] Platinum Edition also marked the first release of Beyoncé on Spotify.[65][106]

Singles

[edit]

Two lead singles were released from Beyoncé. "XO" impacted hot adult contemporary radio in the United States on December 16, 2013.[107][108] The following day, it impacted urban contemporary, rhythmic contemporary and contemporary radio stations in the United States.[109][110][111] "XO" became a minor hit, peaking at number forty-five on the US Billboard Hot 100, however,it reached the top twenty in several international markets.[112]

Accompanying the release of "XO", the other lead single "Drunk in Love", featuring Jay-Z, was serviced to urban contemporary radio stations in the United States on December 17, 2013.[113] "Drunk in Love" would become the album's only major US hit, peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rhythmic charts.[114] It also peaked at number seven in New Zealand and number nine in France and the United Kingdom.[115][116] The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of one million digital copies.[117]

"Partition" impacted urban contemporary radio in the United States on February 25, 2014, as the album's third single.[118] It peaked at number twenty-three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Dance Club Songs.[112][119]

On April 24, 2014, the music video for the fourth single "Pretty Hurts" was made available for streaming via Time magazine's official website to accompany Beyoncé's feature as one of the world's most influential people.[120] The song impacted contemporary hit and rhythmic radio in the United States on June 10, 2014[121] and contemporary hit radio in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2014.[122]

The fifth single, a remix of "Flawless" featuring Nicki Minaj was released from the album on August 12, 2014, becoming a minor hit, peaking at number forty-one on the US Hot 100. "7/11" and "Ring Off", from the Platinum Edition reissue, were released as the album's sixth and seventh singles on November 25 and November 28, 2014 respectively.[123][124]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[125]
Metacritic85/100[126]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[127]
The Daily Telegraph[47]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[49]
The Guardian[128]
Los Angeles Times[56]
NME8/10[43]
Pitchfork8.8/10[41]
Rolling Stone[46]
Spin9/10[25]
The Times[129]

Beyoncé received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a high score of 85, based on 34 reviews.[126] Critics generally commended the album as thematically and musically bold, as well as emphasizing its visual aspect and surprise release; at the time of release, many said it was her magnum opus.[25][26][27][127] Summarizing the album for Pitchfork, Jillian Mapes calls Beyoncé "MJ-level talent met pop-perfectionism in a moment that defined album-cycle disruption [and] a victory lap Bey took as pop feminism's reigning goddess".[130]

The album's exploration of sexuality was particularly well received by reviewers. The New York Times' chief critic Jon Pareles described the tracks as "steamy and sleek, full of erotic exploits and sultry vocals" noting that "every so often, for variety, they turn vulnerable, compassionate or pro-feminist".[45] Caitlin White, writing for The 405, characterized Beyoncé as a feminist text. She noted that the tracks demonstrate Beyoncé's desire to retain complete sexual agency, while also forgoing the expectations of pop songcraft by placing female pleasure at the forefront unquestioningly.[57] Robert Christgau admired the album's "sex sequence" of songs, where for "over seven well-differentiated tracks", Beyoncé "performs the unlikely feat of conveying an open-ended eroticism that varies because [she] knows eroticism does, for each of us in our individual responses as well as for her".[131] PopMatters' David Amidon similarly praised the album's honest, highly sexual nature, observing it was "her first attempt at bridging an audience, making music that makes the men want to hear what she has to say and the women feel like they can say it to men as well".[132]

Other reviews recognized that the album eschewed contemporary R&B in favor of more experimental compositions. Pitchfork writer Carrie Battan of the same publication wrote that Beyoncé was "exploring sounds and ideas at the grittier margins of popular music" and rejecting "traditional pop structures in favor of atmosphere".[41] Spin's Anupa Mistry felt it was "more textured than its predecessors in both sound and content", and applauded the singer's transition to a maturer sound of "big-hook message pop, multi-directional, mood-shifting suites and delicately resonant R&B ballads".[25] Noting the lack of "guaranteed hits", NME believed that the "low-key, moody production throws the spotlight on the words and the images brought to play" and described it as her most experimental work to date.[43] Rolling Stone's pop critic Rob Sheffield found Beyoncé's boldness among its best attributes, believing the album is at its "strongest when it goes for full-grown electro soul with an artsy boho edge".[46] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times highlighted a desire to push creative boundaries among the tracks and admired "how the music similarly blends the intimate and the extravagant",[56] while Entertainment Weekly writer Nick Catucci concluded that the album was characterized by "clashing impulses—between strength and escape, megapop and fresh sounds, big messages and resonant lyrics".[49]

Praise was also reserved for Beyoncé's vocal performance. The Telegraph's Neil McCormick declared Beyoncé as "one of the most technically gifted vocalists in pop" favoring her "gospel power, hip-hop flow and [huge] range". He was particularly complimentary of the vocal restraint displayed across the tracks that was absent from previous releases.[47] Kitty Empire of The Observer noted the diverseness of her vocals on the album's up-tempo songs and found the singer ranging between "squeaky sexed-up falsettos, hood rat rapping, wordless ecstasies and effortless swoops".[50] Clash regarded her voice most effective on the album's ballads, where they commented on how diversely her vocals conveyed feelings of love and described her "power and control [as] breathtaking".[60]

Accolades

[edit]

Despite being released in December when several publications had completed their year-end lists,[133] Beyoncé was ranked the best album of the year by Billboard,[134] Houston Chronicle[135] and Los Angeles Times,[136] while Spin ranked it the best R&B album of the year.[137] As of January 2015, Billboard also named Beyoncé as the second best album of the first half of the 2010s.[138] The album was ranked within the top ten on lists by Associated Press,[139] HitFix,[140] MTV News,[141] Club Fonograma[142] and Digital Spy.[143] Beyoncé was ranked at number eleven on Metacritic's twenty-five best-reviewed albums of 2013.[144] On the annual Pazz and Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music, the album was ranked at number four.[145] Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it eighteenth on his own year-end list.[146] Some publications included Beyoncé on their 2014 lists, and it was deemed the best album of the year by Vibe, Pretty Much Amazing and Nate Chinen of The New York Times.[147] Consequence of Sound listed the effort as the eighteenth best one from 2014[148] and Tiny Mix Tapes, the fortieth one.[149] Pitchfork named Beyoncé the fourteenth best album of the decade (2010–2014) so far;[150] Fact listed the album as the ninth best one from the same period.[151]

Beyoncé was included in best-of lists of the 2010s decade by several publications, including Pitchfork (3rd),[152] The Associated Press (3rd),[153] Stereogum (7th),[154] Billboard (11th),[155] Rolling Stone (26th),[156] Consequence of Sound (79th),[157] NME (55th),[158] Uproxx (33rd),[159] Tiny Mix Tapes (35th),[160] Paste (40th)[161] and Spex (57th).[162]

Spin considered the album the thirty-eighth best one of the past thirty years (1985–2014)[163] and Q named it one of the greatest albums of the past thirty years.[164] On Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Beyoncé was placed at number 81, citing the album's "musical scope and feminist outreach" and adding that it "proved that nobody else was on her level".[165] The Guardian included the project at number 9 on their ranking of the 100 best albums of the 21st century.[166] Beyoncé was also included on the 2016 update of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[167] Consequence of Sound named the album the 37th best one of the last 15 years (2007–2022).[168] Apple Music ranked Beyoncé thirty-sixth on their list of the 100 Best Albums ever created.[169] Paste listed the album at number 185 on their list of the 300 Greatest Albums of All Time.[170]


The album was nominated for five Grammy Awards at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards (2015), including Album of the Year, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Surround Sound Album and Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance for "Drunk in Love",[171] winning the latter three. In a recreation of an infamous incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards,[nb 7] Kanye West briefly appeared on stage during the presentation of the Album of the Year award to Beck's Morning Phase (2014) in protest of Beyoncé not winning.[173] While it initially appeared to be a joke as West returned to his seat, he said in comments following the ceremony that Beck "needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé".[174] He later apologized for his comments.[175]

At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, Beyoncé was presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her work on the visual album, performing a sixteen-minute medley of its songs. Van Tofler, president and CEO of Viacom, noted that their choice for the Vanguard Award was influenced by this project, saying, "when [she] put out the record and the way she did it in such a visual way, she was the most obvious choice".[96] She won a further three awards, Best Collaboration for "Drunk in Love", and Best Cinematography and Best Video with a Social Message for "Pretty Hurts".[176] The album was nominated for World's Best Album at the 2014 World Music Awards and Album of the Year at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[177][178] It also received two nominations at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards for Top Billboard 200 Album and Top R&B Album, while "Drunk in Love" was nominated for Top R&B Song.[179] At the 2014 mtvU Woodie Awards, Beyoncé won in the category Did It My Way Woodie, awarded for the album's release strategy.[180] It won in the category for Album of the Year at the 2014 Soul Train Music Awards and Favorite Soul/R&B Album at the American Music Awards of 2014.[181][182]

Commercial performance

[edit]

During its first day of release in the United States, Beyoncé sold 80,000 units in three hours[183] and a total of 430,000 digital copies within 24 hours.[184] In its second day, the album sold 120,000 units, which brought its two-day sales total to 550,000.[185] Billboard predicted it to sell around 600,000 digital copies by the end of the tracking week on December 15, 2013.[184] Beyoncé debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with three-day sales of 617,213 digital copies.[186][187] This gave Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number-one album, making her the first female artist to have her first five studio albums debut atop the chart, beating Britney Spears' record of four in a row.[187] It also became the largest debut sales week for a female artist in 2013, and the highest debut sales week of her solo career. The album also gave her the three largest sales weeks by any female and she became the only female to sell 300,000 copies within a week in 2013 and became the first person in the 2010s to score 300,000 copies in each of its first 3 weeks.[187][188] Beyoncé marks the fourth-largest sales week of an album during 2013, behind Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience, Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and Drake's Nothing Was the Same.[187]

In its second week, the album remained at number one, selling an additional 374,000 copies.[189] Ten days after its release, Beyoncé had sold 991,000 copies in the US, making it the best-selling album by a female artist in 2013.[189][190] A third week at number-one with sales of 310,000 copies brought the album's US sales to 1.3 million after 17 days of release,[191] positioning it as the eighth-best-selling album of the year, and the first to enter the year-end top 10 based on just three weeks of sales availability in the Nielsen SoundScan era.[192] In its fourth week, sales reached 1.43 million, surpassing the total sales of Beyoncé's previous album, 4, which was released in 2011 and had sold 1.39 million in total in the two years since its release.[193] Following Beyoncé performing at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, sales of the album in the US increased by 181%.[194] The record sold 878,000 copies in the US in 2014 alone, becoming the sixth-best-selling album of the year.[195] As of August 2022, Beyoncé has been certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[196] for the sale of five million units, and all fourteen tracks are certified gold or higher for the sale of 500,000 units, making it the fourth female album in history to have all its tracks RIAA certified.

On December 16, Apple Inc. announced that Beyoncé was the fastest selling album in the history of the iTunes Store, both in the United States and worldwide.[186] It sold 828,773 digital copies worldwide in its first three days, and topped the iTunes Store charts in one-hundred-and-four countries.[186] Six days after its release, Beyoncé had sold one million digital copies on iTunes Stores worldwide.[197] Beyoncé debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart on December 15, with two-day sales of 67,858 digital copies.[198][199] The Official Charts Company's chief executive Martin Talbot noted that "few (if any) albums have sold as many digital copies in such a short space of time."[199] In its fifth week, the album climbed to a new peak of number two.[200] It was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on February 7, 2014, denoting shipments of 300,000 copies. As of April 2016, Beyoncé has sold 505,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[201] On August 3, 2018, Beyoncé was certified double platinum by the BPI, denoting shipments of 600,000.

The album entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number one, with 35,000 digital copies sold.[202] It debuted at number twenty-four on the French Albums Chart with two-days sales of 12,100 digital copies, and peaked at number thirteen in its fifth week.[203] The album debuted atop the Dutch Albums Chart, giving Beyoncé her first number-one album in the Netherlands.[204] In Australia, Beyoncé entered the ARIA Albums Chart at number two, with first-week sales of 31,102 digital copies.[205] The album topped the chart in its third week, becoming Beyoncé's first number-one album in Australia.[206] It spent three consecutive weeks at number one and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipping 70,000 copies.[207] In New Zealand, Beyoncé debuted at number two and was certified gold by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for sales of 7,500 copies;[208] it was later certified platinum.[209] According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), within the last nineteen days of 2013, the album sold 2.3 million units worldwide, becoming the tenth-best-selling album of 2013.[210] The album also went on to become the 20th-best-selling album of 2014.[211] Worldwide, Beyoncé has sold more than five million copies as of November 2016[201] and has generated over 1 billion streams as of March 2015.[212]

In 2014, Beyoncé was ranked as the second-most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200, only behind Disney's Frozen soundtrack.[213]

Legacy

[edit]

According to Billboard, as of 2022, Beyoncé is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.[214] The surprising release of Beyoncé caused "hilarious, honest and hysterical" reaction among Beyoncé's fans,[215] and "shock" among other musicians in an effect coined as "Beyoncé Syndrome" by the BBC.[216][217] According to data provided by Twitter, the release generated over 1.2 million tweets in twelve hours.[216]

Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield wrote: "The whole project is a celebration of the Beyoncé Philosophy, which boils down to the fact that Beyoncé can do anything the hell she wants to."[46] Peter Robinson of The Guardian hailed the shock release as "Beyoncégeddon", describing it as "a masterclass in both exerting and relinquishing control".[133] Henry Knight for the BBC said "Beyoncé's self-titled album not only proved innovative musically, it rewrote the business model of the industry."[217] Forbes' Zack O'Malley Greenburg included Beyoncé on his "Music Industry Winners 2013" list, noting that the singer "didn't make use of any of the perks of [being signed to a large record label]—the "machine" we're told is so necessary. There was no radio promotion, no single, no advance press of any kind".[218] The marketing strategy of releasing an album with little or no notice was the subject of a case study at Harvard University School of Business.[219] Beyoncé is credited with the popularization of the surprise album, and the act of releasing a project without prior announcement has subsequently been executed by many artists, including Drake,[220] Kanye West,[221] Kendrick Lamar,[222] Rihanna,[223] Azealia Banks,[224] Nicki Minaj,[225] Miley Cyrus,[226] U2,[227] Frank Ocean[228] and Eminem.[229] Canadian musician Grimes named Beyoncé as one of the albums that changed her life, saying that it "revitalized the art of the album" for her".[230]

After the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced Friday as the global record release day, Billboard's Andrew Flanagan thought the album release was among the influencing points in the decision, writing: "After seven months of semi-public back-and-forth, a conversation instigated in part by Aussie piracy and Beyonce's surprise release in December 2013 has resulted in the global recording industry accepting Friday as the release date for new albums."[231] Time named Beyoncé as one of the most influential people of 2014 due to the album release, writing: "In December, she took the world by surprise when she released a new album, complete with videos, and announced it on Facebook and Instagram. Beyoncé shattered music-industry rules – and sales records".[232]

Track listing

[edit]

Standard edition

[edit]
Audio
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pretty Hurts"
4:17
2."Haunted" (contains hidden track "Ghost")
  • Boots
  • Knowles
6:09
3."Drunk in Love" (featuring Jay-Z)
5:23
4."Blow"
  • Williams
  • Knowles
  • Timbaland[a]
  • Harmon[a]
5:09
5."No Angel"
3:48
6."Partition" (contains hidden track "Yoncé")
5:19
7."Jealous"
3:04
8."Rocket"
  • Timbaland
  • Knowles
  • Harmon[a]
6:31
9."Mine" (featuring Drake)
6:18
10."XO"
  • The-Dream
  • Tedder
  • Knowles
  • Hit-Boy[b]
  • HazeBanga[b]
3:35
11."Flawless" (featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
  • Hit-Boy
  • Knowles
  • Rey Reel Music[a]
  • HazeBanga[a]
  • Boots[b]
4:10
12."Superpower" (featuring Frank Ocean)
  • Williams
  • Boots[b]
4:36
13."Heaven"
  • Boots
  • Knowles
  • Boots
  • Knowles
3:50
14."Blue" (featuring Blue Ivy)
  • Boots
  • Knowles
  • Boots
  • Knowles
4:26
Total length:66:35
Visual
No.TitleDirector(s)Length
1."Pretty Hurts"Melina Matsoukas7:04
2."Ghost"Pierre Debusschere2:31
3."Haunted"Jonas Åkerlund5:21
4."Drunk in Love" (featuring Jay-Z)Hype Williams6:21
5."Blow"Williams5:25
6."No Angel"@lilinternet3:53
7."Yoncé"Ricky Saiz2:02
8."Partition"Jake Nava3:49
9."Jealous"
3:26
10."Rocket"
  • Beyoncé
  • Ed Burke
  • Bill Kirstein
4:30
11."Mine" (featuring Drake)Debusschere4:59
12."XO"Terry Richardson3:35
13."Flawless" (featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)Nava4:12
14."Superpower" (featuring Frank Ocean)Åkerlund5:24
15."Heaven"
  • Beyoncé
  • Tourso
3:55
16."Blue" (featuring Blue Ivy)
  • Beyoncé
  • Burke
  • Kirstein
4:35
17."Credits" 2:34
18."Grown Woman" (bonus video)Nava4:24
Total length:78:00

Platinum Edition

[edit]
More
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."7/11"
  • Bobby Johnson
  • Fisher
  • Knowles
  • Sidney Swift
  • Knowles
  • Johnson
  • Detail[a]
  • Sidney Swift[a]
  • Derek Dixie[b]
3:33
2."Flawless (Remix)" (featuring Nicki Minaj)
  • Knowes
  • Hit-Boy
  • Rey Reel Music
  • HazeBanga
  • The-Dream
  • Dixie[c]
  • Boots[b]
3:54
3."Drunk in Love (Remix)" (featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West)
6:35
4."Ring Off"
3:00
5."Blow (Remix)" (featuring Pharrell Williams)
  • P. Williams
  • Knowles
  • Fauntleroy
  • Mosley
  • Harmon
  • Timberlake
  • Nash
  • Williams
  • Knowles
  • Timbaland[a]
  • Harmon[a]
5:09
6."Standing on the Sun (Remix)" (featuring Mr. Vegas)
  • Kurstin
  • Knowles[b]
  • P. Williams[b]
4:33
Total length:26:44
Live
No.TitleLength
1."Run the World (Girls)"4:01
2."Flawless"4:11
3."Get Me Bodied"4:51
4."Blow"3:59
5."Haunted"4:47
6."Drunk in Love" (featuring Jay-Z)4:07
7."1+1"4:47
8."Partition"4:23
9."Heaven"4:39
10."XO"3:54
Total length:43:39

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • Audio and More comprise audio tracks, while Visual and Live comprise video tracks.
  • All tracks vocals produced by Beyoncé Knowles
  • "Haunted" contains two parts – "Ghost" and "Haunted"; presented as one song on Audio, and two separate videos on Visual.
  • "Blow" contains two parts – "Blow" and "Cherry"; presented as one song on Audio, and one video on Visual with two separate sections.
  • "No Angel" is stylized as "Angel" on the back of physical editions.
  • "Partition" contains two parts – "Yoncé" and "Partition"; presented as one song on Audio, and two separate videos on Visual.
  • "Flawless" is stylized as "***Flawless"
  • "Flawless" contains two parts – "Bow Down" and "Flawless". "Bow Down" was initially part of a previously recorded song entitled "Bow Down/I Been On".
  • "Grown Woman" is presented after the credits on DVD, while it is presented before the credits in digital format.
  • "Grown Woman" is written by Mosley, Kelly Sheehan, Knowles, Nash, Chris Godbey, Harmon, Darryl Pearson, and Garland Mosley. It is produced by Timbaland, with co-production by Harmon.

Sample credits[15][233]

  • "Partition" contains an interpolation of the French-dubbed version of the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, performed by Hajiba Fahmy.
  • "Flawless" contains portions of the speech "We should all be feminists", written and delivered by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
  • "Heaven" contains portions of "The Lord's Prayer" in Spanish, performed by Melissa Vargas.
  • "Flawless (Remix)" contains a sample of "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" by OutKast.
  • "Drunk in Love (Remix)" contains a sample of Kanye West's "Flashing Lights", vocals provided by Connie Mitchell.
  • "Ring Off" contains portions of a speech delivered by Tina Knowles at the 2014 Texas Women's Empowerment Foundation Leadership Luncheon.

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Beyoncé's official website.[15]

Performers and musicians

  • Beyoncé – lead vocals, background vocals
  • Jay-Z – lead vocals (track 3)
  • Drake – vocals (track 9)
  • Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – spoken word voices (track 11)
  • Frank Ocean – lead vocals (track 12)
  • Blue Ivy Carter – additional vocals (track 14)
  • Boots – background vocals (tracks 2, 3, 7, 12), piano (track 14), drums (track 14), guitar (track 14), keyboards (track 14)
  • Pharrell Williams – background vocals (track 4)
  • Timbaland – background vocals (track 4)
  • Justin Timberlake – background vocals (tracks 6, 8)
  • Terius "The Dream" Nash – background vocals (tracks 6, 10), additional piano (track 10)
  • Ryan Tedder – background vocals (track 10)
  • Kelly Rowland – background vocals (track 12)
  • Michelle Williams – background vocals (track 12)
  • Sampha – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Sia – background vocals (track 1)
  • Stefan Skarbek – background vocals (track 12)
  • Kwane Wyatt – additional background vocals (track 2)
  • Hajiba Fahmy – spoken word voices performed by (track 6)
  • Melissa Vargas – "The Lord's Prayer" reciting (track 13)
  • Katty Rodriguez – horns (track 4)
  • Adison Evans – horns (track 4)
  • Crystal Torres – horns (track 4)
  • Mike Scott – guitar (track 8)
  • Dwayne Wright – bass (track 8)
  • Margot – violin played by, violin arrangement (tracks 12, 14)
  • Steven Wolf – live drums (track 14)

Technical

  • Beyoncé – executive production, music production (tracks 1–8, 10–11, 13–14), vocal production
  • Ammo – music production (track 1)
  • Boots – music production (tracks 2, 13–14), additional production (tracks 3, 5–7, 11–12), recording (tracks 2, 13, 14), instruments (tracks 2, 3, 7, 11, 13), additional arranging (track 11)
  • Noel "Detail" Fisher – music production (tracks 3, 7)
  • Pharrell Williams – production (tracks 4, 12)
  • Caroline Polachek – music production (track 5), recording (track 5), synths and drum machine (track 5)
  • Timbaland – music production (tracks 6, 8), additional production (track 3), co-production (track 4)
  • Jerome Harmon – music production (track 6), additional production (track 3), co-production (tracks 4, 8)
  • Justin Timberlake – music production (track 6), background vocals (tracks 6, 8)
  • Key Wane – music production (track 6), intro keys and intro music programming (track 9)
  • Noah "40" Shebib – music production (track 9), recording (track 9)
  • Terius "The Dream" Nash – music production (track 10)
  • Ryan Tedder – music production (track 10), recording (track 10), music programming and other instruments (track 10)
  • Hit-Boy – music production (track 11), additional music production (tracks 7, 10), additional drum machine (track 2)
  • Rey Reel – co-production (track 11)
  • Brian Soko – additional production (track 3)
  • Mike Dean – additional music production (track 6)
  • Andre Proctor – additional music production (track 7)
  • Majid Jordan – additional music production (track 9)
  • Sidney "Omen" Brown – additional music production (track 9), additional drum machine (track 9)
  • Stuart White – recording (all tracks), mixing (tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 13), digital editing and musical arrangement (tracks 4, 12), additional mixing (track 5), mix engineering (track 7)
  • Chris Godbey – recording (tracks 4, 6, 8), mixing (track 8)
  • Bart Schoudel – recording (tracks 4, 6)
  • Andrew Coleman – recording (tracks 4, 12), digital editing and musical arrangement (tracks 4, 12)
  • Ann Mincieli – recording (track 6)
  • Noel Cadastre – recording (track 9)
  • Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young – recording (track 11)
  • James Krausse – recording (track 12), mix engineering (tracks 2, 3, 7, 11, 13), assistant mix engineering (track 4), assistant engineering (track 14), mastering (track 1)
  • Mike Larson – recording (track 12)
  • Elliot Scheiner – Surround sound mix (all tracks)
  • Rob Cohen – recording (track 13)
  • Jonathan Lee – recording (track 14)
  • Ramon Rivas – second engineering (tracks 1, 2, 4–11, 13, 14), assistant engineering (tracks 3, 12)
  • Rob Suchecki – second engineering (tracks 1, 7, 11)
  • Hajiba Fahmy – spoken word voice recording (track 6)
  • Derek Dixie – additional synth sounds (tracks 1, 3, 6), additional SFX (track 1), mix consultation (tracks 2–4, 6, 7, 11), horn arrangements (track 4)
  • Niles Hollowell-Dhar – additional synth sounds (track 6)
  • Tony Maserati – mixing (tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 11–14)
  • Andrew Scheps – mixing (tracks 5, 10)
  • Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing (track 9)
  • Justin Hergett – mix engineering (tracks 2, 4, 7, 11) assistant mix engineering (tracks 3, 5, 6, 12), assistant engineering (tracks 10, 13, 14)
  • Tyler Scott – assistant mix engineering (track 2), assistant engineering (track 11)
  • Matt Weber – assistant engineering (tracks 4, 6, 8, 12)
  • Jon Castelli – assistant engineering (track 12)
  • Christian Humphreys – assistant engineering (track 13)
  • Paul Pavao – assistant mix engineering (track 4)
  • Edward Valldejuli – assistant mix engineering (track 4)
  • Chris Tabron – mix engineering (track 6), assistant mix engineering (track 12)
  • Matt Wiggers – assistant mix engineering (track 6)
  • Chris Cannon – assistant mix engineering (track 8)
  • Carlos Perezdeanda – second engineering assistant (track 7)
  • Tom Coyne – mastering (tracks 2–14)
  • Aya Merrill – mastering (tracks 2–14)

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[207] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[324] Diamond 160,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[325] 3× Platinum 240,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[326] Platinum 20,000‡
France (SNEP)[328] Gold 95,000[327]
Germany (BVMI)[329] Gold 100,000‡
Ireland (IRMA)[330] Gold 7,500^
Italy (FIMI)[331] Gold 25,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[332] Gold 30,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[209] Platinum 15,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[333] 3× Platinum 60,000‡
South Korea — 3,333[334]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[335] Gold 20,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[336] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[337] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[338] 2× Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[339] 5× Platinum 5,000,000‡
Summaries
Worldwide — 8,000,000[340]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for Beyoncé
Region Date Edition Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various December 13, 2013 Standard Digital download
[22][341]
December 20, 2013 CD and DVD [342][343][344]
United States March 18, 2014 CD and Blu-ray
  • Parkwood
  • Columbia
[345]
July 15, 2014 Vinyl LP and DVD [346]
Various November 24, 2014 Audio Only CD
  • Parkwood
  • Columbia
  • Sony
 [347][348][349]
Platinum
[350]
More Only Digital download [105]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Although the original announcement for Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live was of three nights (May 25—27),[8] a fourth night (May 28) was added due to demand.[9]
  2. ^ "Bow Down/I Been On" does not feature on Beyoncé, only its first part—"Bow Down"—exists as part of the track "Flawless".[13] "I Been On" was officially released as a standalone bonus track on 2019's Homecoming: The Live Album.
  3. ^ Using pitched-down vocals (often known as screwed vocals) is a signature of Southern hip hop, specifically the Houston hip hop scene where it originates. Joseph Patel of MTV wrote about its creator DJ Screw and how "members of his south Houston crew, the Screwed Up Click, say that Screw was playing around with his turntables in 1991 and serendipitously discovered that dramatically reducing the pitch of a record yielded a mellow, heavy sound that resonated with the slowed-down pace of H-Town."[17]
  4. ^ "Haunted" is a two-part song which is sometimes known as "Ghost/Haunted". The audio disc combines both parts and refers to it collectively as "Haunted", while the visual disc recognizes them as different videos.[15]
  5. ^ Although "Standing on the Sun" and "Grown Woman" were removed from the audio track listing, "Grown Woman" was added as a bonus video on the DVD.[15] "Grown Woman" was officially released on December 13, 2023 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this album.[31]
  6. ^ Chris DeVille, writing in Stereogum five months after Beyoncé's release argues that alternative R&B reached its saturation point in early 2014. He identifies Beyoncé as an artist whose recent output experimented with alternative sounds within the R&B genre, thus making her music more accessible to typical fans of underground music despite her being one of "R&B's foremost superstars".[42]
  7. ^ The highly-publicized incident—sometimes dubbed "Kanyegate"—refers to West's interruption of Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for the Best Female Video award at the 2009 VMAs. West took the microphone from Swift in protest of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008) not winning, declaring it "one of the best videos of all time".[172]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Beyoncé review: Beyonce's new album is an unashamed celebration of very physical virtues". The Independent. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2018. Musically, it's the same kind of electro R&B with which radio is already awash.
  2. ^ Gonzalez, Alex (January 18, 2023). "Beyoncé's Surprise Drop Changed The Industry. Now It's A 'Familiar' Process". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  3. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (November 26, 2015). "Adele's new album 25 is No.1 on iTunes in almost every country in the world". The Independent. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "Digital-Music-Report-2014.pdf" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "From 'Pulling a Beyonce' to 'On Fleek,' Slang Terms That Invaded 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  6. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  7. ^ Bernstein, Nina (January 9, 2012). "After Beyoncé Gives Birth, Patients Protest Celebrity Security at Lenox Hill Hospital". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  8. ^ a b McKinley, James C. Jr. (March 19, 2012). "Beyoncé to Resume Performing in May". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  9. ^ Bryson Taylor, Derrick (May 7, 2012). "Beyoncé Adds Fourth Memorial Weekend Comeback Show". Essence. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  10. ^ Ratliff, Ben (May 26, 2012). "Beyoncé: Coming Back and Catching Up, Then Conquering". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Gay, Jason (February 11, 2013). "Beyoncé Knowles: The Queen B". Vogue. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Cragg, Michael (April 8, 2013). "The secret diary of a disappointed Beyoncé fan". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Kornhaber, Spencer (June 26, 2014). "Beyoncé's 'Flawless': The Full Story". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  14. ^ a b c d Cragg, Michael (March 18, 2013). "New music: Beyoncé – Bow Down/I Been On". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Beyoncé Album Credits". Parkwood Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c d Zoladz, Lindsay (March 18, 2014). "Beyoncé: 'Bow Down/I Been On'". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  17. ^ Patel, Joseph. "Chopped & Screwed: A History". MTV. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  18. ^ Tate, Amethyst (April 12, 2014). "Beyoncé Explains 'Bow Down': 'It Was The Beyoncé That Was Angry'". International Business Times. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  19. ^ a b Montgomery, James (July 26, 2013). "What's Going on With Beyoncé's Album?". MTV. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  20. ^ Makarechi, Kia (July 24, 2013). "Beyonce's Album Delays Are Nothing But Rumors, Singer's Rep Says". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  21. ^ Tingen, Paul (September 23, 2016). "Mix Masters: Beyonce". Audio Technology. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  22. ^ a b c "BEYONCÉ Available Worldwide Now" (Press release). Parkwood Entertainment, Columbia Records. PR Newswire. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Heinzerling, Zachary (Director) (December 30, 2013). "Self Titled" Part 4. Liberation (Short film, documentary). Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  24. ^ a b c Greene, Jason (January 21, 2014). "Beyoncé's Muse". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g Mistry, Anupa (December 16, 2013). "Beyonce Outdoes Herself (and Everyone Else) With the Humanizing, Superhuman 'Beyonce'". Spin. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kot, Greg (December 14, 2014). "'Beyonce' album review: More than the delivery is a surprise". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hampp, Andrew; Ramirez, Erika (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce, Beyonce: Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  28. ^ a b c Heinzerling, Zachary (Director) (December 17, 2013). 'Self Titled' Part 2. Imperfection (Short film, documentary). Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  29. ^ "Who Is Yoncé? Beyonce Explains The Birth of Her New Alter Ego [Video]". Chicago Defender. December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  30. ^ a b Hicklin, Alan (April 4, 2014). "Beyoncé Liberated". Out. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  31. ^ "Beyoncé Finally Shared 'Grown Woman' On Streaming Platforms". December 13, 2023. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  32. ^ a b c Hampp, Andrew (December 13, 2013). "How Beyonce's 'Beyonce' Stayed Secret Until the Day of Release, Its First Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  33. ^ a b Heinzerling, Zachary (director) (December 25, 2013). 'Self Titled' Part 3. Run 'N Gun (Short film, documentary). Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  34. ^ Zafar, Aylin (December 14, 2013). "How The Sexiest Video On Beyoncé's New Album Came Together". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  35. ^ "Beyoncé Feat. Drake: Mine". IMDb. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  36. ^ a b c Dobbins, Amanda (December 18, 2013). "Beyoncé's Creative Director Todd Tourso on Her New Album and Keeping Secrets". Vulture. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  37. ^ a b Heinzerling, Zachary (director) (December 13, 2013). 'Self Titled' Part 1. The Visual Album (Short film, documentary). Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  38. ^ Hampp, Andrew (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce, Beyonce: Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  39. ^ Hill, Nick (December 22, 2013). "Beyoncé Talks Personal New Album And Secretive Video Shoots". Contact Music. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Kelly, Chris (December 17, 2013). "Beyoncé". Fact. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  41. ^ a b c d Battan, Carrie (January 6, 2013). "Beyoncé: Beyoncé". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  42. ^ DeVille, Chris (April 30, 2014). "Indie Rock's R&B Movement Reaches Its Saturation Point". Stereogum. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  43. ^ a b c d Mackay, Emily (December 16, 2013). "Beyonce – 'Beyonce'". NME. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  44. ^ Gill, Andy (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé review: Beyonce's new album is an unashamed celebration of very physical virtues". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  45. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Pareles, Jon (December 13, 2013). "A December Surprise, Without Whispers (or Leaks)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g Sheffield, Rob (December 14, 2013). "Beyoncé". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g h McCormick, Neil (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé, album review: 'the most X-rated pop album since Madonna's Erotica'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  48. ^ a b Rytlewski, Evan (December 16, 2013). "Beyoncé's surprise album is her most substantial and also her most human". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g Catucci, Nick (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  50. ^ a b c d Empire, Kitty (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé: Beyoncé – review". The Observer. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  51. ^ a b Heinzerling, Zachary (director) (January 3, 2014). 'Self Titled' Part 5. Honesty (Short film, documentary). Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  52. ^ Lynch, Joe (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce's Surprise Album: A Track-by-Track Breakdown". Fuse. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  53. ^ "Beyoncé – Drunk in Love". DJ Booth. December 17, 2013. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  54. ^ Rosen, Jody (December 16, 2013). "Jody Rosen on Beyoncé: Close to a Masterpiece". Vulture. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  55. ^ Sherburne, Philip (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce's 'Beyonce': Our Impulsive Reviews". Spin. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  56. ^ a b c Wood, Mikael (December 14, 2013). "Album review: 'Beyonce' is full of surprises". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  57. ^ a b c d White, Caitlin (January 7, 2014). "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". The 405. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  58. ^ Gimmers, Mof (December 14, 2013). "Reviews: Beyoncé, Beyoncé". The Quietus. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  59. ^ a b McDonald, Soraya (December 28, 2013). "Finally free of Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé is a 'Grown Woman'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  60. ^ a b Diver, Mike (January 9, 2014). "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". Clash. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  61. ^ Phull, Hardeep (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce's sexy new album: Track by track". New York Post. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  62. ^ Halliday, Josh (January 1, 2014). "Nasa criticises Beyoncé over Challenger sample". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  63. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (December 17, 2013). "Beyoncé: 'XO'". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  64. ^ Lynch, Joe (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce's Surprise Album: A Track-by-Track Breakdown". Fuse. The Madison Square Garden Company. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  65. ^ a b Weber, Lindsay (November 24, 2014). "That New Platinum-Edition Beyoncé EP Is Streaming on Spotify". Vulture. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  66. ^ a b White, Caitlin (November 20, 2014). "Beyoncé Goes Full On Hip-Hop For '7/11' And Channels Break Up Vibes On 'Ring Off'—Listen". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  67. ^ Ramirez, Erika (November 19, 2014). "Snippets of Beyonce's '7/11' & 'Ring Off' Leak". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  68. ^ Kreps, Daniel (November 21, 2014). "Hear Beyonce's Spinning, Frenetic New Club Banger '7/11'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  69. ^ "Beyonce parties on '7/11,' gets personal with 'Ring Off'". Los Angeles Times. November 21, 2014. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  70. ^ Phull, Hardeep (November 24, 2014). "Beyonce's box-set features new, half-baked disappointments". New York Post. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  71. ^ Stutz, Colin (November 20, 2014). "Listen to Beyoncé's Two New Tracks, '7/11' & 'Ring Off'". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  72. ^ "Album Review: Beyoncé: Platinum Edition -- Vulture". Vulture. November 25, 2014. Archived from the original on November 28, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  73. ^ Ryan, Patrick (November 24, 2014). "'Beyonce' album, new songs sashay onto Spotify". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  74. ^ Jason Lipshutz; Andrew Hampp (December 11, 2013). "Beyonce Unexpectedly Releases New Self-Titled 'Visual Album' on iTunes". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  75. ^ "How Beyonce's 'Beyonce' Stayed Secret Until the Day of Release, Its First Singles | Billboard". Billboard. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  76. ^ a b Flanagan, Andrew (September 30, 2014). "Exclusive: The Harvard Business School Report on Beyonce". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  77. ^ "An Exclusive Q&A With Columbia Chairman Rob Stringer". Hits Daily Double. December 9, 2013. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  78. ^ Alexander, Ella (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé Makes Music History". Vogue. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  79. ^ "Beyonce puts surprise album on iTunes". BBC News. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  80. ^ Makarechi, Kia. "Beyoncé Explains The Birth Of 'Yoncé' And Breaking 'The Fourth Wall'". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  81. ^ a b Christman, Ed (December 20, 2013). "Amazon Not Stocking New Beyonce CD Following iTunes Exclusive". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  82. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 16, 2013). "Target not selling Beyonce's new album". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  83. ^ "Beyoncé screens visual album in New York". Rap-Up. December 21, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  84. ^ Ryan, Patrick. "Beyonce talks bravery, surprise release at screening". USA Today. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  85. ^ Coleman, Miriam (December 14, 2013). "Beyonce Gives 'XO' Its Live Debut". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  86. ^ Vardon, Elena (December 17, 2013). "Concert Review: Beyoncé sizzled yet again with all her personas in a triumphant Toronto return". National Post. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  87. ^ Argyropulo-Palmer, Caroline (January 26, 2014). "Mr and Mrs Carter open the Grammys". The Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  88. ^ "Brit Awards 2014: David Bowie wins best British male award". BBC News. BBC. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  89. ^ Blake, Emily (February 19, 2014). "Watch Beyonce Silence The Brit Awards For First Performance Of 'XO'". MTV News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  90. ^ Hogan, Michael (February 19, 2014). "Brit Awards 2014: Live". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  91. ^ Bourne, Dianne (February 25, 2014). "Review: Beyonce @ Phones 4u Arena". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  92. ^ Gauthier, Robert (June 14, 2014). "LAFF 2014: 'Beyoncé' visual album comes to life at screening". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  93. ^ a b "Jay Z and Beyoncé unveil mock-film trailer for Run tour". The Guardian. May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  94. ^ "Jay Z and Beyoncé extend 'On The Run' tour to Europe". NME. June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  95. ^ Bobb, Maurice (June 30, 2014). "Jay Z Drops A 'Partition' Verse While Beyonce Does A Pole Dance at 2014 BET Awards". MTV. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  96. ^ a b Halperin, Shirley (August 25, 2014). "How Beyonce & Jay Z's Triumphant VMA-Ending Moment Came to Be". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  97. ^ "Beyonce Just Released A Very Personal Short Film On Feminism, Body Image, And Life". Elle. December 12, 2014. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  98. ^ "Beyonce marks anniversary of self-titled album release with 'Yours And Mine' short film". NME. December 12, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  99. ^ Sisario, Ben (November 4, 2014). "Beyoncé to Release a New Album, a Version of Her Old Album". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  100. ^ Ramirez, Erika (November 3, 2014). "A New Beyonce Album? 5 Reasons It's Happening & 5 Reasons It's Not". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  101. ^ Smoot, Donnavan (February 22, 2024). "Beyoncé Makes History with 'Texas Hold 'Em,' but TikTok Is Talking About Her Unreleased Track 'Donk'". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  102. ^ Hampp, Andrew (November 6, 2014). "Leaked 'Beyonce' Track List Was 'Completely Made Up,' Says Parkwood GM (Exclusive)". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  103. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (November 4, 2014). "Beyonce Releasing 'Platinum Edition' of Self-Titled Album". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  104. ^ "Beyoncé Returns to HBO for 'X10' Concert Series". Rap–Up. June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  105. ^ a b "BEYONCÉ (More Only) – EP by Beyoncé". November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  106. ^ "Rejoice and Stream Beyonce's Self-Titled 'Platinum Edition' on Spotify". Spin. Spin Media. November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  107. ^ "Beyonce' XO – Radio Date – Italy". Sony. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  108. ^ "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  109. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  110. ^ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  111. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  112. ^ a b "Beyoncé – Hot 100 chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  113. ^ "Beyonce's 618K Coup". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  114. ^ Trust, Gary (February 5, 2014). "Katy Perry Tops Hot 100, Beyonce Bounds to No. 2". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 7, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  115. ^ "Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z – Drunk in Love". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  116. ^ "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. February 8, 2014. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  117. ^ "American single certifications – Beyoncé". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  118. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014.
  119. ^ Trust, Gary (May 5, 2014). "Chart Highlights: Beyonce Scores 20th Dance Club Songs No. 1 With 'Partition'". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  120. ^ "Beyoncé Exclusive: Watch the Official Video for 'Pretty Hurts'". Time. April 24, 2014. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  121. ^ "Available For Airplay". FMQB. Archived from the original on June 9, 2014.
  122. ^ Lane, Daniel (June 23, 2014). "This Week's New Releases 23-06-2014". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  123. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  124. ^ "Beyoncé '7/11' Impacting Urban Radio Now / Beyoncé 'Ring Off' Going For UAC Airplay Now". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  125. ^ "Beyonce by Beyonce reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  126. ^ a b "Reviews for Beyoncé by Beyoncé". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  127. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  128. ^ Cragg, Michael (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé: Beyoncé – first look review". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  129. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (December 14, 2013). "First review of Beyoncé video album". The Times. London. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  130. ^ "Beyoncé: Lemonade". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  131. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 2, 2015). "Beyoncé/D'Angelo". Medium. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  132. ^ Amidon, David (January 9, 2014). "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  133. ^ a b Robinson, Peter (January 1, 2014). "Beyoncé has reinvented how to release an album. Over to you, Adele". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  134. ^ Wete, Brad (December 19, 2013). "15 Best Albums of 2013: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  135. ^ Guerra, Joey (December 24, 2013). "Beyoncé dominates on best album of the year list". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  136. ^ Lewis, Randy (December 30, 2013). "Beyoncé and Kanye West lead Times top albums of 2013 list". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  137. ^ Shepherd, Julianne (December 17, 2013). "SPIN's 20 Best R&B Albums of 2013". Spin. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  138. ^ "Billboard's Top 20 Best Albums of the 2010s (So Far)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  139. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin; Talbot, Chris (December 16, 2013). "AP Writers' Top 10 2013 Albums Include Beyoncé, Kanye West". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  140. ^ Newman, Melinda (December 27, 2013). "Top 10 Albums of 2013: From Beyoncé to Bowie". HitFix. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  141. ^ Montgomery, James (December 17, 2013). "Best Albums of 2013: Does Beyoncé Bow Down To Yeezus?". MTV. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  142. ^ "CLUB FONOGRAMA'S BEST ALBUMS OF 2013 – OUTSIDERS". Club Fonograma. December 28, 2013. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  143. ^ Copsey, Robert (December 17, 2013). "Digital Spy's top albums of 2013 (15–1)". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  144. ^ Dietz, Jason (December 19, 2013). "Best Albums of 2013". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  145. ^ "The Village Voice's 41st Pazz & Jop Music Critics Poll: The Last Word on the Year in Music". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  146. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 24, 2014). "The 2013 Dean's List". The Barnes & Noble Review. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  147. ^ Dietz, Jason (December 2, 2014). "Best of 2014: Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  148. ^ "The 50 Albums of 2014". Consequence of Sound. December 12, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  149. ^ "Favorite 50 Music Releases of 2014". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  150. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far 2010–2014". Pitchfork. August 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  151. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far 2010–2014". Fact. November 3, 2014. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  152. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  153. ^ "'Lemonade' by Beyoncé is named the AP's album of the decade". Associated Press. December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  154. ^ "The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s". Stereogum. November 4, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  155. ^ "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks". Billboard. November 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  156. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". Rolling Stone. December 3, 2019. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  157. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 2010s". Consequence of Sound. November 4, 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  158. ^ "NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s". NME. November 30, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  159. ^ "All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked". Uproxx. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  160. ^ "2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade". Tiny Mix Tapes. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  161. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". Paste. October 9, 2019. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  162. ^ "Die besten Alben 2010–2019: Platz 100 bis 51". Spex. December 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  163. ^ "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years". Spin. May 11, 2015. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  164. ^ "Q Magazine – The Greatest Albums of the Last 30 Years… 476 Modern Classics". Q. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  165. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  166. ^ "The 100 best albums of the 21st century". The Guardian. September 13, 2019. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  167. ^ "The '1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die' 2016 Edition is Here!". 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. October 6, 2016. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  168. ^ "Top 75 Albums of the Last 15 Years". Consequence. September 19, 2022. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  169. ^ "Beyoncé, Radiohead and Carole King highlight Apple Music 100 Best Album entries 40-31". USA Today. May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  170. ^ "The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time". Paste. June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  171. ^ "Final Nominations List – 57th Grammy Awards" (PDF). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  172. ^ Crosley, Hillary (September 14, 2009). "Kanye West Apologizes To Taylor Swift For VMA Rant". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on April 1, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  173. ^ Warner, Denise (February 8, 2015). "Grammys 2015: Kanye Almost Protests Beck's Album of the Year Win". Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  174. ^ Kaufman, Gil (February 9, 2015). "Kanye West Let Album of the Year Winner Finish, But Then He Went Off on Him". MTV. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  175. ^ Stedman, Alex (February 26, 2015). "Kanye West Apologizes to Beck for Grammys Outburst". Variety. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  176. ^ Varandani, Suman (August 25, 2014). "MTV VMA 2014 Complete Winners List: Beyonce Wins Big And Other Memorable Moments". International Business Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  177. ^ "Nominations for World's Best Album". World Music Awards. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014.
  178. ^ "Best Album of the Year". MTV Japan. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014.
  179. ^ "Justin Timberlake, Eminem & Beyoncé Among Billboard Music Awards Finalists". Rap-Up. April 9, 2014. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  180. ^ "Lil Wayne Makes Surprise Appearance, Drake Wins Big at mtvU Woodie Awards". MTV News. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  181. ^ Strecker, Erin (October 13, 2014). "Chris Brown & Beyonce Lead Soul Train Award Nominations". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  182. ^ "2014 American Music Awards Nominations Announced". American Music Award. October 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  183. ^ Petroluongo, Silvio (December 13, 2013). "Beyoncé's Surprise Album Trending Towards No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  184. ^ a b Petroluongo, Silvio (December 14, 2013). "Beyonce Bound for No. 1 As Sales Soar Past 400,000". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  185. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 15, 2013). "'Beyonce' Sales Grow to 550k-Plus, Set for No. 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  186. ^ a b c Ramsay, Jennifer. "BEYONCÉ Shatters iTunes Store Records With 828,773 Albums Sold in Just Three Days". Apple. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  187. ^ a b c d Caulfield, Keith (December 17, 2013). "It's Official: Beyoncé Makes History With Fifth No. 1 Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  188. ^ "Beyonce Leads for Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  189. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (December 26, 2013). "Beyoncé Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  190. ^ Grein, Paul (December 27, 2013). "Chart Watch: Beyoncé Takes Female Record". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  191. ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 2, 2014). "Beyoncé Leads for Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  192. ^ Grein, Paul (January 2, 2014). "The Top 10 Albums and Songs of 2013". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  193. ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 8, 2014). "'Frozen' Soundtrack Storms to Top of Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  194. ^ Caulfield, Keith (September 3, 2014). "VMA-Related Music Sales Up 41%, 'Beyonce' Rises By 181%". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  195. ^ Claufield, Keith (December 31, 2014). "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  196. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Beyoncé albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  197. ^ Makarechi, Kia (December 18, 2013). "Beyoncé's Album Sales Cross 1 Million in iTunes". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  198. ^ Jones, Alan (December 16, 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Lily Allen track returns to No.1 on 47k sales". Music Week. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  199. ^ a b Lane, Daniel (December 15, 2013). "Beyoncé gatecrashes Top 5 after just 48 hours on sale!". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  200. ^ Rigby, Sam (January 12, 2014). "Ellie Goulding keeps UK album No.1 with 'Halcyon'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  201. ^ a b Jones, Louls (November 13, 2016). "According to Nielsen SoundScan, A Breakdown of Beyonce's US & Worldwide Album Sales". Huffpost. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  202. ^ Cross, Alan (December 18, 2013). "Weekly Music Sales Report: 18 December 2013". A Journal of Musical Things. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  203. ^ Hamard, Jonathan (December 17, 2013). "Beyoncé : les chiffres des ventes françaises de son nouvel album" (in French). Charts in France. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  204. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  205. ^ Cashmere, Paul (December 23, 2013). "Michael Buble Sales Beat Pink and Beyoncé". noise11.com. Noise Network. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  206. ^ Fitzsimons, Scott (January 4, 2014). "Beyoncé Bounces to First Australian #1". The Music AU. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  207. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  208. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Official New Zealand Music Chart. Recorded Music NZ. December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  209. ^ a b "New Zealand album certifications – Beyonce – Beyonce". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  210. ^ "Music subscription revenues help drive growth in most major markets". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  211. ^ "IFPI publishes Recording Industry in Numbers – an essential guide to the global music market". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. April 20, 2015. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  212. ^ Copsey, Rob (March 6, 2015). "Beyonce revealed as most-streamed female artist by women". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  213. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  214. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (June 23, 2022). "15 of the Biggest 21st Century Albums That Never Scored a Hot 100 No. 1 Hit". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  215. ^ Cills, Hazel (December 13, 2013). "'Beyonce' Made the Internet Explode Today". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  216. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce's Surprise Album: 20 Tweets From Mind-Blown Musicians". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  217. ^ a b Knight, Henry. "Why Beyoncé speaks for a generation". BBC. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  218. ^ Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (December 30, 2013). "Music Industry Winners 2013: Beyonce, Streaming, Rap DJs". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  219. ^ "The Curious Case of 'Beyoncé' the Album". Harvard Business School. February 3, 2015. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  220. ^ "Drake Pulls a Beyoncé, Drops Surprise Album If You're Reading This It's Too Late on iTunes". E!. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  221. ^ "Kanye West album release date: Rapper pulling a Beyonce and dropping Swish as a surprise?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  222. ^ "Pulling a Beyonce: What the "surprise release" says about Modern Marketing". Medium. July 12, 2016. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  223. ^ Smith, Da'Shan (April 28, 2023). "Surprise Albums: 16 Drops That Shocked The Music World". uDiscover Music. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  224. ^ Seabrook, Robby III (August 19, 2020). "Here Are the Best Surprise Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". XXL. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  225. ^ Kaufman, Gil (August 26, 2022). "Nicki Minaj Drops Surprise Hits Compilation 'Queen Radio: Volume 1'". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  226. ^ "Miley Cyrus surprise-releases 'Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'". DIY. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  227. ^ Cooper, Leonie (September 9, 2014). "U2 release surprise new album 'Songs Of Innocence'". NME. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  228. ^ "How Frank Ocean's Blonde still resonates, one year on". The Independent. August 19, 2017. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  229. ^ "Eminem Kamikaze surprise album drops on streaming services | Metro News". Metro. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  230. ^ "Grimes Writes About 5 Albums That Changed Her Life". Stereogum. February 3, 2016. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  231. ^ "Industry Sets Friday as Global Record Release Day". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  232. ^ "Beyoncé". Time. April 23, 2014. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  233. ^ Beyoncé (Media notes). Beyoncé. Columbia Records. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  234. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  235. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 40 Urban Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  236. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  237. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  238. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  239. ^ "Brazil Albums : Page 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  240. ^ "Beyoncé – Canadian Albums chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  241. ^ "Sino Chart". sino-chart.com. January 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  242. ^ "TOP 40 STRANIH – TJEDAN 1. 2014". Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  243. ^ "Albums – Top 100" (in Czech). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Czech Republic. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  244. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". danishcharts.dk. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  245. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  246. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  247. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  248. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". charts.de. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  249. ^ "Official Cyta-IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 3/2014)" (in Greek). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece. Archived from the original on February 11, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  250. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". zene.slagerlistak.hu. Association of Hungarian Record Companies. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  251. ^ "Top 100 Album Artist, Week Ending 26 December 2013". chart-track.co.uk. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  252. ^ "Beyoncé – Listen". Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  253. ^ 18, 2014/ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: February 18, 2014" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  254. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". charts.nz. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  255. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  256. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  257. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  258. ^ a b 18, 2014/40/ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  259. ^ "Esenca Bossa De Novo in šestič One Direction". Val 202. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  260. ^ "South African Top 20 Albums Chart". RSG (Recording Industry of South Africa). Archived from the original on March 15, 2014.
  261. ^ "Gaon Album Chart". Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  262. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  263. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  264. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyoncé". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  265. ^ 18, 2014/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  266. ^ 23, 2013/115/ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  267. ^ "Beyoncé – Billboard 200 chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  268. ^ "Beyoncé – Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  269. ^ "Ultratop.be – Beyoncé – Beyoncé (More Only) EP" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  270. ^ "Ultratop.be – Beyoncé – Beyoncé (More Only) EP" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  271. ^ "Charts.nz – Beyoncé – Beyoncé (More Only) EP". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  272. ^ a b "BEYONCE – Official Charts". Official Charts. July 27, 2002. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  273. ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  274. ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  275. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  276. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Albums 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  277. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2013" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  278. ^ De Toledo, Giuliana (March 19, 2014). "Disco de Padre Marcello Rossi foi o mas". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Folha. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  279. ^ "Album-Top 100 2013" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on May 26, 2014.
  280. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2013" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  281. ^ "200 premiers Albums Nouveautés Fusionnées par GfK Consumer Choices France" (PDF) (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  282. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2013". Recorded Music NZ. 2014. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  283. ^ "2013년 총결산 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  284. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2013" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  285. ^ "IFPI Global Music Report 2014" (PDF). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  286. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  287. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Albums 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 16, 2015.[dead link‍]
  288. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2014" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  289. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2014" (in French). Ultratop. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  290. ^ "20 DVDs MAIS VENDIDOS NO BRASIL – Ano 2014". ABPD (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  291. ^ "Top Canadian Albums Year End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  292. ^ "Album Top-100 2014" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  293. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2014" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  294. ^ "Bilan de l'année 2014 – Classement des 200 premiers Albums Nouveaux Fusionnés". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. February 3, 2015. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  295. ^ "FIMI – Classifiche Annuali 2014 'Top of the Music' FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  296. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2014". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  297. ^ "Najchętniej kupowane płyty roku 2014 w Polsce. Sensacja". Gazeta Wyborcza. 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  298. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2014". Hit Parade .ch. 2015. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  299. ^ "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums of 2014". The Official Chats Company. 2015. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  300. ^ "Top 200 Albums Chart Year End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  301. ^ "Digital Albums Year End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  302. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hip Albums Year End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  303. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 6, 2016.[dead link‍]
  304. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2015" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  305. ^ "Album Top-100 2015" (in Danish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Denmark. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  306. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2015". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  307. ^ "Top 200 Albums Chart Year End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  308. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hip Albums Year End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  309. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Albums 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  310. ^ "Album Top-100 2016" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  311. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2016" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  312. ^ a b "W 2016 roku najlepiej sprzedającym się albumem było "Życie po śmierci" O.S.T.R." 2016. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  313. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2016". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  314. ^ "Top 200 Albums Chart Year End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  315. ^ "ARIA End of Year Urban Albums 2017". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  316. ^ "Top 200 Albums Chart Year End 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  317. ^ "R&B Albums – Year-End 2017" Archived January 15, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  318. ^ "ARIA End of Year Urban Albums 2018". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  319. ^ "ARIA Year End Charts 2019". ARIA Charts. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  320. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 14, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  321. ^ "Decennium Charts – Albums 2010–2019" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  322. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  323. ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums by Women : Page 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  324. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Beyonce – Beyonce" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
  325. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Beyonce – Beyonce". Music Canada.
  326. ^ "Danish album certifications – Beyoncé – Beyoncé". IFPI Danmark.
  327. ^ Hamard, Jonathan (December 28, 2014). "Beyoncé remixe "7/11" avec French Montana, Diplo et Skrillex. Ecoutez !". Charts in France. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  328. ^ "French album certifications – Beyonce" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  329. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Beyoncé; 'Beyoncé')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  330. ^ "The Irish Charts - 2013 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association.
  331. ^ "Italian album certifications – Beyoncé – Beyoncé" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 28, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Beyoncé" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  332. ^ "Certificados Musicales Amprofon (in Spanish)". Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2021 – via facebook.
  333. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 20, 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Beyoncé in the search box.
  334. ^ "2013 International Albums Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  335. ^ "Spanish album certifications – Beyoncé – Beyoncé". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España.
  336. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Beyonce" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  337. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Beyoncé')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  338. ^ "British album certifications – Beyonce – Beyonce". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  339. ^ "American album certifications – Beyonce – Beyonce". Recording Industry Association of America.
  340. ^ Kosciusko, Asteria (November 13, 2016). "Beyonce's album sales according to Nielsen Soundscan". Nielsen Soundscan. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  341. ^ "Beyoncé Available Worldwide Now" (Press release). Columbia Records. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  342. ^ "Beyonce (Explicit) (CD/DVD)". Walmart. December 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  343. ^ "Beyoncé's 'Beyoncé' – What You Really Need To Know". HMV. December 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  344. ^ "Beyoncé: Beyoncé (1 CD und 1 DVD)" (in German). Germany: jpc. December 20, 2013. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  345. ^ "BEYONCÉ Blu-ray (Blu-ray + CD)". Blu-ray. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  346. ^ "Beyonce". Amazon. Archived from the original on July 31, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  347. ^ "Beyonce – "BEYONCÉ [audio only]"" (in Dutch). Cosmox.be. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  348. ^ "Beyoncé – Beyonce – CD". Walmart. November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  349. ^ "Beyoncé: Beyoncé (Explicit) (CD)" (in German). Germany: jpc. November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  350. ^ Citations for Beyoncé: Platinum Edition:
[edit]

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyoncé_(album)
10 views |
↧ Download as ZWI file
Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF