Leave it to Beyonce to know, inherently, that mystique is the most powerful form of marketing there is. Released without any prior warning or announcement in December 2013, Beyonce totally reshaped the way labels thought about album releases, causing an avalanche of surprise releases in its wake.
It’s the most outright fun Beyonce has sounded in years, finding her using her voice in playful new ways without sacrificing the perfectionist streak and regal posture that’s made her an icon.īeyonce was the game-changer – not just for Beyonce, but for the entire music industry. Of course, when it’s her time to shine, everything is set at supernova level – she pushes her voice into a brash, rhythmic flow on Heated, turns the would-be ballad All Up in Your Mind into a techno pounder, and slinks her way through the ballroom tribute Pure/Honey while boasting about her billion-dollar net worth. On songs like Alien Superstar and Virgo’s Groove, a sublime, feathery disco heater, it feels like she’s using her voice as an instrument first and foremost, adding texture and brightness as well as lyrics. Beyonce understands that unspoken rule: Renaissance is her dance record and, true to the history of disco and house, the beats are often the stars here.
This is the kind of album you can only make when you’re on top of the world – utilising a heady combination of funk, R&B and hip-hop, tracks like Upgrade U, Deja Vu and Green Light are some of Beyonce’s most surefire floor-fillers: muscular, ingratiating party songs that still go hard today.Īny great dancefloor diva knows that, sometimes, you have to let the beat take centre stage. Punchy and banger-heavy, Beyonce’s second solo album finds a star luxuriating in the enormous success of her debut and sitting comfortably on her new perch as one of the most celebrated stars on the planet. Centring on Beyonce’s alter ego, the titular Sasha Fierce, feels like a misstep – in large part because it’s Beyonce, not anyone else, who’s captured our attention for decades on end.ī’Day is a celebration befitting its title. But beyond those hits, there’s little on I Am… Sasha Fierce that inspires return listens. Halo has entered into the canon of wedding song staples, while Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) spawned, as one man once said, one of the best videos of all time. I Am… Sasha Fierce is, perhaps, the most culturally impactful Beyonce album on this list, save 2013’s self-titled record. But is it up to the standard of her past six records? Here’s a ranking of all of her solo studio albums to see how it stacks up. Cook and indie-R&B singer Syd, Renaissance is one of Beyonce’s most euphoric records, filled with ecstatic sex jams ( Cuff It), cocky flex tracks ( I’m That Girl) and even a six-minute disco jam ( Virgo’s Groove).
Led by the ebullient single Break My Soul, Renaissance is Beyonce’s full-throated embrace of club music, a glittering ode to disco and house that celebrates the black trailblazers who pioneered those genres.įeaturing contributions from legendary diva Grace Jones, experimental British producer A.G. It’s been six long years, but Beyonce has finally returned with Renaissance, her first solo album since 2016.