Beyonce surprise! Today, Friday the 13th, arrives a surprise new album from R&B pop star Beyonce. It wasn’t on any schedule. But here is is, a well kept secret. There’s no album art to speak of– just a plain black cover. The album is called “Beyonce” but Sony is calling it “The Visual album” because in addition to 14 new tracks there are 17 videos. Among the guest artists are Drake, Frank Ocean, and of course, Jay Z. Plus the couple’s baby, Blue Ivy, makes an appearance.
The songs seem to feature Beyonce’s voice for a change, and they also sound like they were actually composed instead of sampled. All the credits aren’t available yet. “Pretty Hurts,” “Heaven,” and “Blow” already sound promising. This is the second surprise iTunes album– that kid, whathisname, has one coming out as well. Beyonce beat him to it.
The album is available until December 20 as a collection, then turns into just 14 singles on iTunes. I’ve no doubt a CD will emerge due to “popular demand” at some point. Watch Beyonce liven up the moribund Christmas charts starting right now! Hats off to Sony’s Rob Stringer for pulling a good ‘fast one’!