Beyoncé (album) - Wikipedia. BeyoncéStudio album by BeyoncéReleased. December 1. 3, 2. Recorded. 20. 12–1. Studio. Genre. Length.

"XO" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her fifth studio album, Beyoncé (2013). Columbia Records released the song as the lead contemporary hit radio single.

Cast/crew information, ratings, comments, summary, and other related information. Mashable is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Directed by Vivi Friedman. With Rachael Leigh Cook, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Max Thieriot. A mother and wife stricken with memory loss allows a dysfunctional.

Label. Producer. Beyoncé chronology. Beyoncé studio album chronology. Singles from Beyoncé"XO"Released: December 1. Drunk in Love"Released: December 1.

Partition"Released: February 2. Pretty Hurts"Released: June 1. Beyoncé is the fifth studio album by American singer Beyoncé, released on December 1. Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Developed as a "visual album", Beyoncé's songs are accompanied by non- linear short films that illustrate the musical concepts conceived during production.

Its dark, intimate subject material includes feminist themes of sex, monogamous love, and relationship issues, inspired by Beyoncé's desire to assert her full creative freedom. The album's initial recording began in New York, where Beyoncé invited producers and songwriters to live with her for a month. During extensive touring the following year, the album changed as she conceived of creating a visual accompaniment to its songs and resumed recording sessions with electronic producer and rock musician Boots. Their collaboration led to more sonically experimental material, which combined contemporary R& B with electronic and soul music. Throughout this period, the album's songs and videos were composed in strict secrecy as Beyoncé devised an unexpected release. Watch As Cool As I Am Online Free HD. Beyoncé was released digitally to the i. Tunes Store without prior announcement or promotion.

It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 2. Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number- one album in the country. The record sold 6. US, and 8. 28,7. 73 copies worldwide in its first three days of availability, becoming the fastest- selling album in the history of the i.

Tunes Store up to that point.[1] It was reissued in November 2. It received acclaim from critics, who praised its production, exploration of sexuality, and Beyoncé's vocals. Beyoncé has sold 5 million copies worldwide. Background[edit]Following the release of 2. Beyoncé gave birth to her first child, Blue Ivy, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City in January 2.

Just four months after labor, she pursued a three- night residency at Revel Atlantic City's Ovation Hall, entitled Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live.[3][nb 1] The choice to hold concerts so soon was purposeful; Beyoncé intended to demonstrate to mothers that they need not halt their careers despite having had children.[5] Most of the summer following the residency was spent in The Hamptons, New York, where she took time out from the public to spend time with her daughter and to begin sessions for her next album.[6] She resumed work in early 2. The Star- Spangled Banner" at President Obama's second inauguration and headlining the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show where there was expectation she would debut new music, although these rumors never materialized.[7] She also released a self- directed autobiographical documentary in February entitled Life Is But a Dream.[6]The demo "Bow Down / I Been On" was the first recording released from Beyoncé.[nb 2] Its controversial refrain and unorthodox, experimental production was noted as a significant departure from Beyoncé's existing catalogue.[9]Problems playing this file? See media help. In March 2.

Bow Down/I Been On" was released onto Beyoncé's Soundcloud account.[9] "Bow Down", produced by Hit- Boy, was written after Beyoncé woke up one morning with a chant stuck in her head, feeling angry and defensive.[8][1. Watch Jason Lives: Friday The 13Th Part VI Online Idigitaltimes. This was melded with a Timbaland- produced second half, "I Been On", that makes prominent use of a pitch- distorted vocal as a homage to the Houston hip hop scene.[1. Michael Cragg of The Guardian described the song as "brilliantly odd", commending its loud, abrasive production,[9] while Pitchfork's Lindsay Zoladz noted the song's assertiveness and believed it served as an introduction of what was to come.[1. Bow Down/I Been On" was perceived as a significant departure from Beyoncé's existing catalogue, particularly for its aggressive nature.[9][1. The song's atmosphere and its controversial "Bow down, bitches" refrain drew a mixed reaction from those who questioned whether the lyric was aimed at women or merely a moment of braggadocio.[8][1. Beyoncé clarified after the album's release, where elements of "Bow Down" appear on the track "Flawless", that the song and its refrain were intended as a statement of female empowerment.[8]Neither Beyoncé or her representatives commented on the release of "Bow Down/I Been On", and many journalists questioned the nature of its release in the context of the release of her upcoming album.[1.

Further confusion was created when portions of other tracks, "Grown Woman" and "Standing on the Sun", were used for television advertising campaigns, with a similar lack of explanation as to their purpose.[1. Through much of 2. Beyoncé had scrapped fifty songs in favor of starting again. In July 2. 01. 3, a spokesperson for Beyoncé denied speculation that her album had been delayed, stating there was no official release date to begin with and that when a date is set, it would be announced via an official press release.[1. There was considerable confusion among music journalists and fans as Beyoncé engaged in extensive touring, while not discussing the album or its release.[7][1.

Recording[edit]Recording sessions began in the summer of 2. The Hamptons, New York, where Beyoncé and her husband Jay- Z were living.[6][1. She invited producers and songwriters to accompany them, including Sia,[1. Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and The- Dream.[6] Beyoncé described the atmosphere as unconventional, saying, "we had dinners with the producers every day, like a family.. Weekends off. You could go and jump in the pool and ride bikes.. She would spend the majority of her day with her newborn daughter, taking some hours out to record music.

The album's opening track "Pretty Hurts", co- written by Sia, was completed during these sessions.[1. The project was suspended until 2. New York City's Jungle City and Oven studios where most of the album was recorded.[1. In an interview for Vogue in January 2. Jason Gay described Beyoncé's attention to detail as "obsessive" when observing her studio, noting the vision boards she created for inspiration, which contained potential song titles, old album covers and pictures of performances.[6]The first part of "Haunted"—known as "Ghost"[nb 4]— was one of the earliest compositions of Beyoncé and Boots.[1.

Beyoncé raps a stream of consciousness with robotic vocal inflections[1. English electronic musician Aphex Twin.[1. Problems playing this file?

See media help. In mid- 2. Boots, signed a publishing deal with Jay- Z's Roc Nation. In an interview for Pitchfork after the album's release, Boots was coy when answering questions about how Beyoncé discovered his demo or of his work previous to the project, only confirming his signing. In June 2. 01. 3, they met in person for the first time and Boots presented Beyoncé with material he felt would resonate with her. However, Beyoncé was more interested in his experimental material, and he reluctantly played her his song "Haunted" on his cellphone. She refused to ignore its potential. At a later meeting, he played her a stream of consciousness rap called "Ghost", which he wrote after an exasperating meeting with a potential record label.

Boots began by composing a melody that reminded him of a hypnotic state, then layering guitar arpeggios to resemble the work of English electronic musician Aphex Twin. Subsequently, "Ghost" became the first half of "Haunted"; he later described Beyoncé as the "only visionary in the room" for her ability to find potential in scraps of songs.

Following these sessions, Boots would go on to work on eighty percent of Beyoncé.[1. While recording in New York City, the previously released "Bow Down" was incorporated into a track that became "Flawless".[2.