Beyonce

    Leave it to Beyonce to do the impossible. In 2013 Beyonce dropped a secret visual album, filled with 14 songs and 17 videos, breaking the record on iTunes for most albums sold in a debut week with an astonishing 828,773 copies. It’s no wonder why people call her the Queen. Beyonce is absolutely flawless in her videos, really showing a range of her artistry and creativity. Not only did she shoot in beautiful locations, but she also had beautiful costumes and make-up, all fitting in perfectly with each individual video. 

 Of course, being the wonderful mother and wife she is, her husband Jay-Z as well as her baby girl, got to be in a couple of videos. I personally think it’s really cool that they both made features because it makes the songs and videos that much more personal. These are two of the most important people in her life and they’re a part of her, so the fact that they were in it, shows that the album is personal. What would an album be if it didn’t reveal some kind of truth about the person releasing it? 

    One of my favorite songs and video was “Pretty Hurts.” Not only did it have wonderful and meaningful lyrics, but it also showed great emotion through the video. While I normally don’t like when people portray Beauty pageants negatively, because some people genuinely like doing them, I did think that the video was tastefully done. I liked how she showed the unglamorous side of getting beautiful, like waxing lips and obsessing over every little thing you eat. It was real, and the fact that Beyonce was the one singing about how being pretty hurts, that makes an incredible statement. Beyonce doesn’t have a thigh gap, nor does she have a models body. She looks like a woman and she owns it. That fact alone sets a great example to anyone with self image issues. 

    Another one of my favorites was “Haunted,” that literally stayed in my head for about a week after I first heard it. This is also, by far, my favorite video out of the entire album. This video is so unlike anything Beyonce’s ever put out before, and it was just wonderful. It was artsy, it was weird, and it was sexy, which happens to be my favorite combination. I would also like to know who her costume and make-up people are, because she looked kind of amazing with her 20s style hair, powdered face, blue eye shadow, red lips, and very fashionable pant suit. Her set was also quite amazing, with a haunted mansion full of very odd people experiencing very odd lives in every room. If this video doesn’t win some kind of award, I think I might possibly die. It was honestly that good.

    Another video I really liked was Flawless. It starts off with almost a personal attack on the audience, letting everyone know that she’s not just someone’s wife, she’s an independent person who, as we all know, is very successful. There’s also like this intermission in the song, in which a very intelligent sounding women talks about how women aren’t allowed to be sexual creatures as men are allowed to be, and how women are taught never to surpass their husbands in ambitions. This is followed by the definition of feminism which is of course “the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” The song then transitions into an empowering anthem in which everyone is flawless, no matter what. It’s the way you wake up, the way you are throughout the day, and the way you go to bed, flawless.

    This was by far the most innovative album of the year, surely paving the road for more visual albums in the future. I think Beyonce discovered a new found art that allows every day people to actually understand the emotions and feelings behind each and every song, instead of just one or two. It’s almost as if Beyonce is taking the world back to the time in which albums were meant to be listened to as albums, not as singles, and to be honest, I like that.