While the lucky few have been getting the Mrs Carter Tour experience, the rest of Beyonce’s fans have been waiting with bated breath for a new album, and she has suprised the whole world by dropping her album on iTunes, UNANNOUNCED.
Twitter users woke up this morning to a buzz about the new release, a self-titled “Visual Album“, created with both songs and videos for the songs to create a more holistic experience.
Columbia Records tweeted on Friday, “#Beyonce The Visual Album. 14 songs 17 videos available now on iTunesMusic”.
The album is a more personal look into Bey’s life, with a song featuring Jay Z called “Drunk In Love” and another track and video name “Blue”, which features princess Blue Ivy. The album has 14 songs and 18 videos and ends with a digital booklet (see the slideshow here).
Beyonce released a brilliantly made video statement this morning where she explained her thinking behind the new release:
“I see music, as 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. And I think its 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 and 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 they hype. Theres so much that gets between the music and the artist and the fans. I felt like, I don’t want anybody to give 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. I told my team, I wanna 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 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 ten-second clip but actually be able to see the whole vision of the album. It was important that we made this a movie, that 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. And that’s why it’s out today.”he 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.”
If you weren’t a serious Beyonce stan before now, this is the body of work that might just turn you.
Track List:
1. Pretty Hurts
2. Haunted
3. Drunk In Love (ft. Jay Z)
4. Blow
5. No Angel
6. Partition
7. Jealous
8. Rocket
9. Mine (ft. Drake)
10. XO
11. Flawless (ft. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche)
12. Superpower (ft. Frank Ocean)
13. Heaven
14. Blue (ft. Blue Ivy Carter)
Pretty Hurts (Video)
Ghost (Video)
Haunted (Video)
Blow (Video)
No Angel (Video)
Yonce (Video)
Partition (Video)
Jealous (Video)
Rocket (Video)
Mine (ft. Drake) [Video]
XO (Video)
Flawless (ft. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche) [Video]
Superpower (ft. Frank Ocean) [Video]
Heaven (Video)
Blue (ft. Blue Ivy Carter) [Video]
Grown Woman (Bonus Video)
Credits (Video)