Beyoncé, "4"
2013 is shaping up to be the year of Queen Bey. She has already announced a pseudo Destiny's Child reunion and dropped their single, "Nuclear." On February 3, she is performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and I would be surprised if a few days before she didn't drop the first single off of her upcoming fifth studio album. She will also be releasing a documentary on HBO in February, and in May she voices, what else, a queen in the animated movie, Epic. With this renewed focus on Mrs. Jigga and the mother of Blue Ivy, it made me go back and revisit her best album, "4."
For about a year, I was pretty obsessed with the album. Whenever I was at a loss for something to listen to, "4" was what I always landed on. I listened to it so much that even Ian, my boyfriend, had almost all of the lyrics memorized. I picked it back up recently and it is still just as fantastic as I remember it to be.
Beyoncé let the world know that she was back with the hype single, a pro women anthem called "Run the World (Girls)." It was a single before the actual single dropped. This is something that artists have been doing more and more recently, as kind of a dry run of their upcoming material. It was a great single that was accompanied by a video that was a visual achievement. For some reason, the single never caught on at radio. The subsequent singles "1+1" and "Best Thing I Never Had" didn't really make much impact on radio either. This really shocked me, since "Best Thing I Never Had" is quintessential Beyoncé. It is like a more mature follow up to "Irreplaceable."
That is the best thing about "4." The material is mature and showed her growth. In interviews given before the release of the album, B would say that she wanted to record songs that she could see herself singing twenty years from now, and I think she totally succeeded. It wouldn't be unthinkable that a 50-year-old B would be singing these songs. Even a song called, "Party" isn't a loud, bass thumping, Ke$ha style jam, it is a low key, mid-tempo rocker about drinking and having a good time.
"4" also contains what I think is Bey's greatest single, "Countdown." It is a celebration of her decade long relationship with husband Jay-Z and also a celebration of long term relationships in general.
"4" wasn't a failure. It debuted at number 1, selling 310,000 copes and making it Beyoncé's fourth consecutive number one album. I just feel like it never really got the recognition it deserved. If you are a fan and haven't heard it, or haven't listened to it in a while, I encourage you to get it back out and give it another spin. If you aren't already, I guarantee it will get you hyped for what will be not only a spectacular halftime show, but a spectacular 2013 for your girl. Also, if you haven't, check out these videos, all from "4."
No comments:
Post a Comment