After much speculation, Beyoncé has finally unveiled her new “visual album”, ‘LEMONADE’, which made its debut over the weekend, in an hour-long HBO special which aired in the US on Saturday night.
However, while the most famous woman in the world releasing a new album might seem like the sort of thing that would be headline news, you’d be forgiven for not realising it exists, as was originally made an exclusive on music streaming service, Tidal.
This follows on from Rihanna and Kanye West, who both made their latest offerings ‘ANTI’ and ‘The Life Of Pablo’ exclusive to Tidal before releasing them to other platforms like iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music.
Over the weekend, Bey fans who didn’t fancy forking out for Tidal were no doubt relieved to read reports that the album, and its accompanying 60-minute short film, would be coming to iTunes on Sunday night.
The New York Times claimed that ‘LEMONADE’ would be going on sale at midnight on Sunday, and while we were initially disappointed to learn this wasn't the case, the album was made available for purchase on UK iTunes on Monday morning.
So you can relax, Beyhive.
‘LEMONADE’ was trailed by lead single, ‘Formation’ - also a Tidal exclusive - which caused a stir with its release back in February, for its empowering pro-Black Lives Matter music video, as well as the ensuing performance at the Super Bowl, which alluded to the Black Panthers and human rights activist Malcolm X.
Her new album continues this message, shining a light on issues that face the black community, but has also got people talking for its repeated references to infidelity, prompting speculation that husband Jay Z had been unfaithful.
The title of the album stems from a speech given by Jay Z’s grandmother, Hattie White, at her 90th birthday, featured in the short film, where she says: “I had my ups and downs, but I always found the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”
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