By Eric Donnelly, News Correspondent
As the clock struck midnight on Dec. 13, 2013, the stars aligned as an unforeseen and unprecedented event began to rattle the globe, surpassing anything previously measured by the Richter scale. The world was gifted with a moment of transcendence as Beyoncé reminded us all why she is irreplaceable by silently releasing her fifth studio album, “Beyoncé,” exclusively through iTunes with zero promotion.
Beyoncé descended down from the heavens in order to breathe life back into the music industry with the release of her groundbreaking visual album. “I know when you were little girls you dreamt of being in my world … respect that, bow down bitches” the “Naughty Girl” songstress forcefully declares over an enticing beat in one of the album’s most powerful songs, “***Flawless.” Beyoncé came and changed the game while cleaning up the mess with leftover copies of “ARTPOP,” “Prism” and “Britney Jean.”
The album, which comes jam-packed with 14 songs and 17 videos – an accompanying music video for each song with three additional videos – was meant to demonstrate her artistic vision as a whole. The immaculate fashioning of the album only furthers the success of the courageous claims she professes against the confines of female image and sexuality within society. Beyoncé’s feminism is at the forefront of the album as her maturity through the years into motherhood is clearly demonstrated. The album is properly self-titled as it manifests a deeper personal tenderness, specifically in the song “Heaven,” where she vaguely calls upon the miscarriage she suffered before the birth of her two-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, who oddly enough has a feature on the album.
There was no need for an answer to “Why Don’t You Love Me?” since the release of “Beyoncé” was astoundingly successful. In the first three hours it sold over 80,000 copies, 617,000 in its first week, and 1.3 million in its initial three weeks, according to Billboard. Her “Telephone” counterpart, Lady Gaga, recently released her album “ARTPOP” with a $25 million campaign. While the quality of “ARTPOP” is comparable to, and arguably surpasses, Beyoncé’s, it is considered a flop as it only sold 258,000 units in the first week. Katy Perry also demonstrated weak first week sales by selling 270,000 copies of “Prism,” the follow-up album to her highly successful “Teenage Dream.” Low album sales also impacted Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus in 2013. Despite this, “Beyoncé” remained the number one selling female album of 2013.
The overarching themes of feminism and love paired with heavy sexual undertones closely align this album with Beyonce’s sophomore “B’Day (Deluxe Edition),” while the mature sound is closest to her fourth album “4.” Beyoncé’s exhibition of female power through “Irreplaceable,” “Ring The Alarm” and “Upgrade U” from “B’Day” is mirrored on “Beyoncé” in “Pretty Hurts,” “Yoncé (Video)” and “***Flawless,” which features a verse from Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “Drunk in Love,” featuring her hubby Jay-Z, “Superpower (feat. Frank Ocean),” and “XO” are reminiscent of “4.”
The main aspect the album lacks, that each prior album contained, is the one iconic hook that has turned Beyoncé into a cultural magnet that each prior album has contained. There is no “Crazy In Love,” there is no “Irreplaceable,” there is no “Single Ladies,” and there is no “Run The World (Girls).” Much of the material would not be distinguishable if it were not for the music videos to bring them to life. The songs “Blow,” “Partition,” and especially “Rocket” are unforgettable because they are so descriptively sexual that they allow the listener to experience one of Beyoncé’s orgasms. It is mind-blowing.
Perhaps the iconography is that Sasha Fierce has stepped aside and her other alter ego, Yoncé, has surfaced. “The radio say speed it up, I just go slower,” she dictates in the video for “Yoncé.” Her past material bespeaks her prowess of slow music. Unfortunately, on this album there is nothing in the realm of “If I Were A Boy,” “Broken-Hearted Girl,” “Dance For You” or “Halo.” Beyoncé has used this album to solidify herself as an artist and to assert her position on the pop music throne.
