On December 13, 2013, Beyonce did something no artist has ever done before. Hard to believe right? She released her self-titled 5th album strictly to Itunes without any prior promotion whatsoever. No interviews. No single releases. No album leak 3 weeks before its release date. Nothing. Simply posting a 15-second video on her Instagram, Beyonce revealed shorts clips of her 14 new songs AND 17 music videos that can be found on her new album. Not only has an artist never had the guts to release their album without any prior promotion, but no one has ever released a music video for every single song on their album…and then some.
I must admit I adore Beyonce and after the frenzy of this album release I think we should all give some credit and hail Queen Bey; some of the songs on her newest album, however, are hit or miss for me. The songs Mine, Drunk in Love, and XO are some of my favorites featuring a more hip Bey as she incorporated rhythms and beats from the hip-hop and R&B genres today. There also is Beyonce uniqueness that these songs carry, with her careful lyrics and sultry voice, it’s hard not to fall in love with Jay-Z in Drunk in love, or sing with your eyes closed and hands in the air with Drake. I mean, either choice is fine. Yet, some records didn’t do it for me as much. Haunted and Jealous are two very different musical sides of Beyonce that we haven’t seen before, and the flow and message of the songs didn’t hit me as powerfully as I wanted them to.
But of course, the most innovative aspect of this story is the visual album that Beyonce compacted for her listeners. Every song has a video to complement it, along with 3 bonus videos also accompanied by new tracks. First impression? I was completely overwhelmed by the artistic and symbolic elements that Beyonce brought to each video, some filled with dancers twirling in long, chiffon dresses against a black background, and others with Victoria Secret models flaunting gold grills. Her visual album was a product of her ability to “see the music,” for Beyonce “it’s more than just what [she] hears,” according to the New York Daily News. Her inclusion of these visualizations of music for every song,  isn’t so groundbreaking in my eyes, but more simply about an artist (with a lot of money) going against what has been the norm for decades, and creating music how she sees fit.
Although I think Beyonce, has had better songs on past albums, I think that her delivery and her work ethic are far beyond any musical artist out there. A part of what makes an artist stand out is their fearlessness when it comes to their work, and I think we all could learn a thing or two about being fearless from the Queen Bey.
30 Second Clips of 3 Music Videos:
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