On June 24, 2011, Beyoncé released her fourth studio album "4". This album began her transition from an icon to one of the legends of the music industry. Following the release of the highly successful "I am...Sasha fierce", bey took a career hiatus in 2010 "to live life and to be inspired by things again". During this hiatus, she "killed" her alter ego "Sasha fierce" because she felt that she has grown and can let people see who she really is. The same year, she also parted ways with her longtime manager, her father mathew knowles. She said that this decision made her feel vulnerable but she wasn't going to let fear stop her. In an interview for complex, Beyoncé said that she felt dissatisfied with contemporary radio. She wanted 4 to change that status. 4 placed sonic experimentation front and centre. It had a myriad of collaborators like kanye west. The dream, babyface, Andre 3000 to achieve that. The result was a stunning album pepped with highs and lows of a relationship. The album felt like a sneak peek directly into the real world of bey. The ballads were less polished and felt more raw and filled with emotion. Even a romantic wedding song like "Love on top" was never portrayed as a glossy glowing love song but rather acknowledged the struggles of a relationship.
Like rolling stones mentioned in their review of 4 - "Beyoncé is such a force of nature that it’s easy to overlook her trump card: She’s a bit of a weirdo. Her weirdness is musical – it’s in the idiosyncratic way she syncopates her vocals, the odd melodies she floats over rugged beats, her sui generis mix of rap bravado, gospel sanctimony and old-fashioned showbiz razzle-dazzle."
4 was the first bey album to not have a no.1 hit. With this album, she outgrew the need of "hit singles". Looking back at it now, this album marked a reinvention in her career. It was the last time she ever played by the industry rules. This album leaked a month before its release and after this, bey strayed away from a traditional release and chose to do a surprise release with her next album and well...the rest is history.
Questions :-
A) Where would you rank 4 in Beyoncé's discography?
B) Do you feel that there would've been a change in the trajectory of bey's career without this album?
C) How do you think Beyoncé's career would've played out if she never parted ways with Mathew Knowles?
D)What's your favourite and least fav song of this album?
**Posting this now because it's already midnight in austr
... keep reading on reddit ➡I’m curious, since many artists thrive off of quick little buzz singles rather than putting out quality albums. They take the quantitative instead of qualitative approach to music to generate temporary buzz.
I personally would like to see Britney turn either Blackout or In the Zone into a full length music video, the concept!!!
Additionally, I think Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette would create a masterful film about heartbreak and angst (Lemonade??)
Abel is incredibly massive right now but i think he’s time he leaps into the next realm that only few artists can reach. It’s time.
On the eve of her scheduled guest appearance at the SuperBowl 50 halftime show, Beyoncé released one of the most important songs of the 2010s. Mirroring the industry-shaking digital drop of her self-titled album in 2013, Formation was released on Youtube and Tidal (as a free download) without prior announcement. The song and its provocative music video, which centered on black Southern culture and race dynamics in America, garnered almost equal amount of praise and uproar upon release. But the reception to the song paled in comparison to that of its high-production performance at the halftime show, which included symbolisms of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Panther Party. The song, video, and performance spawned countless thinkpieces on race relations, police brutality, feminism, capitalism, and identity politics. For Beyoncé, the release has become a turning point in her image; she simultaneously become one of the most glorified AND hated personalities in America.
Formation was universally lauded by critics, notably receiving the Best New Track acclaim from Pitchfork. It placed at or near the top of most music year-end and decade-end lists, swept its six nominations at the MTV VMAs including Video of The Year, and was nominated for Best Music Video, Record of The Year and Song of the Year, at the 2017 Grammys, where it was infamously snubbed at the latter 2 awards.
In the five years upon its release, Formation has undeniably became a cultural fixture --- an anthem for black expression, resistance, and empowerment.
Discussion
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What do you think of the song's lyrics, sound, and message? How did they age?
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Where would you place Formation on Bey's discography?
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From the 102929011 thinkpieces and backlash Formation got, what particularly resonated with you / you agreed with?
Before she was Queen Bey, Beyonce was the lead singer of Destiny's Child with something to prove. Fans were curious how she would hold her own as a solo artist. All doubts were shattered with the release of her debut album, Dangerously in Love. The album was released to generally positive reviews from critics, debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and went on to win 5 Grammy awards.
The album also spurred two US Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles–"Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy", which spent eight and nine weeks atop the charts respectively, as well as two top 5 singles–"Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl". While the album was a huge hit and proved she was a solo artist to be reckoned with, Beyoncé would return to Destiny's Child and record one final album as a group before disbanding.
Track List (standard):
- Crazy in Love (Ft. JAY-Z)
- Naughty Girl Lyrics
- Baby Boy (Ft. Sean Paul)
- Hip Hop Star (Ft. Big Boi & Sleepy Brown)
- Be With You
- Me, Myself and I
- Yes
- Signs (Ft. Missy Elliott)
- Speechless
- That's How You Like It (Ft. JAY-Z)
- The Closer I Get to You (Duet) by Luther Vandross (Ft. Beyoncé)
- Dangerously In Love 2
- Beyoncé Interlude
- Gift from Virgo
- Daddy
Were you a fan during this era?
What are you favorite tracks off the album?
How would you characterize DIL's legacy?
I like laying on my couch, putting in my headphones, and closing my eyes to submerse myself in the moment. What do you do?
I have a youtube channel where i do first reactions to albums I haven’t heard before. I’ve only heard Lemonade and Beyoncé which one do i do next ?
Wort wort wort
It must be Disney’s way to kiss BLM’s behind and a lot of bleeding heart with a built in guilt for what their ancestors did and should be long forgotten will watch it and whip themselves as a punishment. Come on people this is getting ridiculous. Why do we need yet another Lion King?!
I’m songwriter Diane Warren. I’ve written songs for incredible artists throughout my career. Now I am releasing my own features album Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1 (via BMG) with an all-star line-up of talent. The first single is “Times Like This” performed by the amazing Darius Rucker. Ask me anything!!
Proof: https://i.redd.it/951mx193ea061.jpg
These 3 power houses have deprived fans and the general public (solo) music for almost 4 years. It’s getting to the point where I slowly believe that when these albums finally come out, they won’t do that great sales wise. Yeah they’ll be successful, but will it outsell the album they released previously? Doubt it. Taylor is at their level but she keeps feeding the people within 1-2 years.
Adele- I think her fall off will hit the hardest. I still don’t understand how 25 was such a massive powerhouse despite Hello being the only song people listened to or even knew. Maybe her fan base is solid enough to get her those numbers again, I don’t know. Doubt it. The music industry is drastically different than it was in 2015. Unless she has TikTok challenge music, rap features or slight R&B influence; I’m not expecting her to sell 17 million copies.
Rihanna- Now people can say she’s busy selling makeup all they want, but that’s not the case. Since she’s one of my favorite artists right now, I keep up with Rihanna. She’s been hoarding music for the past 4 years. All these songs getting registered in BMI, a bunch of different artists have spoken about being working with her and sending music to her camp. Plus Rihanna herself has posted studio sessions multiple times on IG. Don’t know why she’s waiting. If she doesn’t have time or energy to give us a full era, just do a surprise release. But the more and more she delays it and trolls fans about it via IG comments, the less people will care.
Beyoncé- Her situation is different. She’s been active, but the numbers for her last 2 projects don’t really hold up to her standards. So that has me thinking if her next solo album will have similar numbers. Because at the end of the day, star power is star power. No matter if it’s a soundtrack or a collab album. Her name is still attached to it.
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