Beyonce's new album has been highly anticipated for months, but everyone was caught unawares when Queen Bey released it without warning on iTunes. The diva simply went rogue - she worked on the album in secret and announced it through a video of flashing images on her Instagram account, with the caption, "Surprise!"
The superstar calls the self-titled record a 'visual' album, with 14 songs, and a whopping 17 videos plus one bonus video. Beyonce has certainly been prolific, as every song includes an accompanying photo as well.
To explain what she means by a 'visual' album, she posted a video on Facebook, in which she said: "I see music is more than just what I hear. When I'm connected to something, I immediately see a visual or a series of images that are tied to a feeling or an emotion - a memory from my childhood, thoughts about life, my dreams, or my fantasies. And they're all connected to the music. I think it's one of the reasons why I wanted to do a visual album. I wanted people to hear the songs with the story that's in my head, 'cause it's what makes it mine. That vision in my brain is what I wanted people to experience the first time."
"I feel like right now, people experience music differently. I remember seeing 'Thriller' on TV with my family. It was an event. We all sat around the TV, and I'm now looking back - I'm so lucky I was born around that time. I miss that immersive experience. Now, people only listen to a few seconds of a song on their iPods. They don't really invest in a whole album. It's all about the single and the hype - so much that it gets between the music and the artist and the fans."
"I felt like I don't want anybody to give the message of when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it's ready, and from me to my fans. I told my team I want to shoot a video for every song and put them all out at the same time. Everyone thought I was crazy, but we're actually doing it. It's happening."
"I wanted to make this body of work, and I feel like it's something that's lost in pop music. I wanted people to hear things differently and have a different first impression; not just listen to a 10-second clip, but actually be able to see the whole vision of the album. It was important that we made this a movie, we made this an experience. I wanted everyone to see the whole picture, and to see how personal everything is to me. I will make my best art and just put it out. That's why it's out today."
Her fifth album to date, the release features a bevy of collaborations with other artists, including her husband Jay-Z, her pop sisters from Destiny's Child, Drake, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Frank Ocean, and even baby Blue Ivy. Production credits include Pharell and Timbaland.
A lot of artists in the music business have released albums guerilla style, and in a multitude of ways too. So many musicians have released records independently without record label backing and without promotions of any kind. Some have gone with completely digital releases, while others have even given music away for free.
What makes Beyonce's new album completely unprecedented is its 'visual' aspect. The singer ventured into new territory by releasing videos at the same time as the songs. She is moving without the machine, and the music industry is definitely sitting up and taking notice.
