14 DAY TRIAL // The fifth studio album by hugely popular singer Beyonce came out very quietly just minutes before midnight on Friday, December 13, exclusively on iTunes. With this very unusual move, Beyonce has gone off the beaten path and put out a complete “visual album” that also features Jay Z, Drake, Frank Ocean and even her daughter Blue Ivy.
This is the fifth studio album released by Beyonce, and the first since 2011's “4” came out. “Beyonce” album contains 14 songs among which there is “Drunk in Love,” a collaboration with husband Jay Z, “Mine” featuring Drake, “Superpower” with Frank Ocean and “Blue” with daughter Blue Ivy.
The interesting fact is that every song on the album has also been given a video that can also be viewed and purchased on iTunes. When buying the entire album, you'll also be given 3 additional videos, ranking up to a total of 17 clips which will take the viewer on an international trip to places like New York, Paris, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro.
That's a lot of fresh material all at once, which begs the question: why all the secrecy? Most artists choose to announce release dates months in advance and try to generate as much hype as possible. But Beyonce's camp have called this an “unguarded artistic statement” and labeled the new release as “a visual album.”
Beyonce explains why she chose to do a visual album: “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 that's one of the reasons why I wanted to do a visual album.”
Here is the complete tracklist:
1. Pretty Hurts 2. Haunted 3. Drunk in Love (feat. Jay Z) 4. Blow 5. No Angel 6. Partition 7. Jealous 8. Rocket 9. Mine (feat. Drake) 10. XO 11. ***Flawless (feat. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche) 12. Superpower (feat. Frank Ocean) 13. Heaven 14. Blue (feat. Blue Ivy) Three extra videos: + Ghost + Yoncé + Grown Woman