For over a decade, Beyoncé has been coined “The Queen” because of her many talents; singing, dancing, modeling, and acting. With class and poise, she graces our presence with upbeat tunes and toe-tapping jams. However, after the birth of her daughter with Jay-Z, she’s been off the music scene for a while. But, on December 12, The Queen truly showed the public what it REALLY means to drop an album. With fourteen songs and seventeen videos, the album had no leaks, no announcements and still sold 600,000 copies the first week alone on iTunes. It’s safe to say that Beyoncé has given the music industry and the public a breath of fresh air.
Pretty Hurts: By far the best song on the album, in my opinion, and also the first track. With a catchy beat, Beyoncé shows off her killer vocals, and gives young women a strong message in the chorus: “Pretty hurts, we shine the light on whatever’s worse (pretty hurts)/ Perfection is a disease of a nation, pretty hurts, pretty hurts/ Pretty hurts, we shine the light on whatever’s worse/ You’re tryna fix something but you can’t fix what you can’t see/ It’s the soul that needs the surgery.” As far as the video goes, the content is absolutely inspiring. The setting is a beauty pageant, showing Beyoncé’s insecurities, which her fans will no doubt relate to.
Haunted: This is one of Beyoncé’s most bizarre songs on the record. The song starts off as a ballad, like most of her songs on the album, but then starts to get a faster tempo. Now, I might’ve done a double take because I swear I thought I was watching a Madonna video. With the style of an old movie star in a mansion filled with creepy creatures throughout the music video, she keeps the listeners intrigued with not only the content of the video, but also with the gradual heavy beat. The speech she gives in the middle, gives almost a mystical, Gaga-esque feel. It’d be perfect to listen to if you’re driving through a dark tunnel on Halloween, if you would ever do something weird like that.
Drunk In Love: Beyoncé fans might be familiar with a song similar to this, as “Crazy In Love” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z came out ten years before. The lyrics itself shows a change in their relationship as the years go on which makes it interesting for the lyrics, and the warm melody gives it a dreamy feel. The video is sexy but adorable in the same sense. It’s appealing in the sense that Beyoncé is seeming utterly playful on a beach, in black and white, but when Jay-Z comes out, with wine (um, reference to the song anyone?) it’s like you’re truly a seeing a couple, with undeniable chemistry, “drunk in love.”
Blow: Not only is Beyoncé the queen of entertainment, but she’s also getting close to being the queen of the different music she makes. In “Blow,” the video is taking place in a roller rink, and naturally, the song has a 1970’s feel. The beat makes you want to get up and literally grab someone to dance; that is, if you’re into disco like my mom…
No Angel: For most people — like me — we think Beyoncé is absolutely perfect. With her career, relationship, family, etc, we all think she has a life we would all want. But in the chorus, she sings with a breathy feel; “No I’m not an angel either, but at least I’m trying/ I know I drive you crazy but would you rather that I be a machine.” The video gives us an insight on Houston hip-hop and the culture surrounding it too. It was a matter of time, because Queen Bey talks about it in a heep of her tunes!
Partition: In a lot of this album, we see a lot of two distinct sounds in her songs, and “Partition” is a prime example. We almost see in the music video that she shows off her much more glamorous alter ego, coined “Yonce.” With this sassy track, you’re going to be singing the confident and catchy chorus; “Take all of me/ I just wanna be the girl you like, girl you like/ The kind of girl you like, girl you like/ Take all of me.”
Jealous: With a song title like this, it makes you wonder what in the world could this be about. If you guessed the video was about a relationship, you are indeed correct! However, although the video topic might be expected, the lyrics and vocals are absolutely top notch Queen Bey; Beyonce showcases some of her most impressive vocals on the album, singing, I take one look in the mirror and I say to myself/ Baby girl you can’t survive like this.”
Rocket: For a sensual song, there indubitably has to be voluptuous video, where she without a doubt succeeds. The slow motion video features Beyoncé getting very steamy, and it’s actually appropriate for soulful, jazzy song.
Mine: In the beginning, Beyoncé starts off singing a ballad, but then towards the hook, the beat gets faster and that’s when Drake, one of my favorites, comes in. They harmonize on the second hook and it sounds flawless. The only thing that bothers me about this song is that it’s a little too long and repetitive at times; just because you’re the queen, doesn’t mean you have to make each song five or six minutes long. Let’s hurry it up, B.
XO: Besides “Drunk In Love”, this is Beyoncé’s second single, and to be honest, I didn’t like this at first, but the more I listened to it, it started to grow on me. The video revolves around Beyoncé in a carnival scene, acting as if she’s living life to the fullest and enjoying every person, ride, and thing she encounters. Nevertheless, her chorus is almost like it’s screaming ‘carpe diem’ to a certain significant other, “We don’t have forever/ Ooh, baby daylight’s wasting (wasting, wasting, wasting)/ You better kiss me (kiss me)/ Before our time has run out.”
***Flawless: I get that in all of Beyoncé’s songs, she’s trying to give a bit of her life experiences, but for me, when EdMcMahon has a recording in the beginning and end of when little Beyoncé and her girl group go on Star Search, it kills the track. Also, in the middle of the track, Beyoncé puts a feminist speech by Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which is quite inspirational, but totally kills the beat. This is the kinda song where you wanna blast right after you break up where you with your boyfriend and want to feel fierce. Sadly to say, you’re gonna want to skip the beginning, middle, and end. The video is disappointing too; cliché black and white style with a headbanger party rock scene. Typical.
Superpower: Get ready for this track, folks, because she teams up with sentimental R&B singer, Frank Ocean, and makes you weak in the knees. She gets deep in the lyrics, once again, when she sings: “And when I’m standing in this mirror, after all these years/ What I’m viewing is a little different from what your eyes show you.” The music video takes a stance on rebellion in what seems like New York, in the world of Beyoncé.
Heaven: If there’s one ballad on the album that serenades you, it’s this track. The lyrics talk about lost love, in which she sings, “”I fought for you/ The hardest, it made me the strongest.” If I would go to her concert, there’s no doubt in my mind where she would make this a memorable moment for her fans. With the video where you’re memorized by the visuals in a church, tattoo parlor, and gorgeous outside scenery, the dramatic beat seems to soak up the visuals much more than usual.
Blue: In this closing track, Beyoncé describes the love of her daughter, naturally, named Blue Ivy. The sweet melody melts in with the heartfelt second verse that says , “Each day I feel so blessed to be looking at you/ Cause when you open your eyes, I feel alive.” Although I know the Queen is a private person, I was disappointed that the video had absolutely nothing to do with the song. She seems to be in a third world country with colorful sites all around and children running everywhere. It was pretty, but didn’t do the job for me.
Yonce: Now, I expected a lot for this video, because I know that “Yonce” is somewhat of Beyoncé’s alter ego. With a close look of her “grillz” with fresh red lips and fresh dance moves, she doesn’t seem to disappoint. Although the track is a bit repetitive with the line “Yoncé all on his mouth like liquor,” which she repeats eight times, it’s a classic song by Miss Knowles.
Grown Woman: Next to “Pretty Hurts,” this is my favorite video on the album. The viewers get an exclusive look at old clips of Beyoncé’s home videos of her singing and dancing as a child, then teenager. Not to mention the song gives women a chance to celebrate, with a chorus like, “I’m a grown woman/ I can do whatever I want…/ I can be bad if I want/ I can do wrong if I want/ I can live fast if I want.” To be honest, this song is on repeat on my phone right now and I can’t help but tap my toe to dance type beat and the African feel in the middle of the song.
Credits: The title, of course, is self explanatory. With the same format as the album cover, Beyoncé puts all her songs in order, shows all the people featured in her songs, and recognizes the directors. With class and grace, Beyoncé has done it once again. All hail the queen.
