Time to toast to Beyonce’s “Lemonade” — the superstar dropped a 12-track album exclusively to Tidal in the middle of an HBO presentation on Saturday.
Teased for only a week before it aired, the network revealed nothing about the content of the hour-long special. In the first frame, it was billed as a “visual album” — a concept Beyonce fans know well from the innovative surprise release of her self-titled fifth album in 2013.
The new record features guest appearances from singers Jack White, The Weeknd, James Blake and rapper Kendrick Lamar. Tidal’s formal announcement refers to the work as a “conceptual project based on every woman’s journey of self-knowledge and healing.”
The corresponding TV event was a stream-of-consciousness series of shorts — strong, stunning visuals from prolific music video directors like Jonas Akerlund and Queen Bey herself accompany each song.
The album is heavy on themes of cheating and betrayal, and unusually candid about the singer’s complicated relationship with her father and former manager, Matthew Knowles.
Each video (one rousing jam “Sorry” features a cameo from a twerking Serena Williams) was introduced with themes, among them Intuition, Apathy, Emptiness, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Resurrection and Hope.
Read the full track list:
1. PRAY YOU CATCH ME
2. HOLD UP
3. DON’T HURT YOURSELF
4. SORRY
5. 6 INCH
6. DADDY LESSONS
7. LOVE DROUGHT
8. SANDCASTLES
9. FORWARD
10. FREEDOM
11. ALL NIGHT
12. FORMATION
Beyonce posted a video on Instagram last Saturday with the mysterious caption of “#LEMONADE 4.23 9PM ET | HBO,” going even further on YouTube by teasing a “world premiere event” on April 23.
Beyonce is embarking on a world tour starting April 27 in Miami, and recently debuted the music video for her song “Formation” in February, just days before she took the stage at halftime of the Super Bowl.