Sharmonica Carter
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles better known as “Queen Bey” took the world by surprise when she released her new debut album entitled “Beyonce.” The album includes 14 songs and 14 videos and an additional three videos, including the hit singles “Drunk in Love” featuring Jay-Z and “Flawless (Bow Down)”, featuring Chimanda Ngozi Adichie.
The visual album, as she calls it, was released on iTunes without any marketing or promotion in December. Knowles’ self titled album sold 80,000 units in the first three hours and 878,773 thousand in the first three days. Major retailer, Target, decided not to sell Beyoncés album because it was released online first. However, this has not prevented the album from becoming a commercial success. According to Billboard.com, the album has sold over a million copies since its release.
During a series of mini documentaries detailing its background on her YouTube channel, Beyoncé tells a little history behind the album.
“The glue that ties this record together is honesty. I started out when I was 9 with the group of Destiny’s Child. And our first album came out when I was 15. I was a child but now I’m in my 30’s, and those children who grew up listening to me have grown up,” said Knowles in the documentary.
The Houston, Texas native continued, “I always felt like it was my responsibility to be aware of the kids and their parents and all these generations. I felt like it stifled me. I felt like… in a sense, I could not express everything. I’ve done so many things in my life, in my career, that at this point I feel like I’ve earned the right to be me and express any and every side of myself.”
The album is very different from anything Knowles has done in the past because of its sexual themes and a rare glimpses of a deep-seated attitude that compliments her usual confidence. Beyoncé also takes listeners on a journey through her mind and soul with her honest thoughts and ideas about a myriad of topics. It is her first album to ever come with a Parental Advisory Warning.
Previously, Beyoncé released her album entitled “4” which was also a best seller that featured #1 hits “Into You” and “Best Thing I Never Had”.
Despite her popularity, some Jackson State University students are not fans of the Grammy Award Winning superstar, but respect what she has accomplished.
Quintin Love, a junior Mass Communications major said, “I don’t really listen to Beyoncé like that but she’s nice to look at. I can assume that she has come far in her career because she can pull numbers like that in a music environment where everybody downloads for free. That means her fan base is really strong.
He added: “It’s more than music when you think about it. It’s popular. I see the “Drunk in Love” song everywhere. Instagram, Facebook. It had to be word of mouth because she dropped it out of nowhere. Jay-Z put out his album but he had a lot of promotion but Beyoncé did almost the same numbers with no promotion.”
Traci Tolliver, a freshman criminal justice major from New Orleans, La. said, “I like the album. I think the way she put out the album made her stand out in the music industry. The way she was able to just drop her album and her videos is impressive.”
Other students enjoyed the album, but were caught off guard by her new direction.
Marisha Standifer, a freshman computer science major from Memphis, Tenn. said, “The song “Drunk in Love” is not her kind of music. It’s out of her place. If you listen to “Dangerously in Love”, it’s a big difference.”
Torrie Williams, a freshman biology/pre-vet major from Jackson, Miss. agrees.
“More people can relate to some of her older music than what she put out on this album because it seems weird.”
Mark Braboy contributed to this story.
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