Beyoncé
Sep 12, 2011
During the hiatus of super pop group, Destiny's Child, Beyonce Knowles released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love in 2003, which spawned the number-one hits "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and became one of the most successful albums of that year, earning her a then record-tying five Grammy Awards. Following the group's disbandment in 2005, Knowles released her second solo album, B'Day in 2006. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and included the hits "Irreplaceable" and "Beautiful Liar". Her third solo album I Am... Sasha Fierce was released in 2008, and included the anthemic "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". The album earned Knowles six Grammys at the 52nd Grammy Awards, breaking the record for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in one night. In 2011, Knowles released her fourth studio album 4, which became her fourth consecutive solo number-one album on the Billboard 200. This made Knowles the second female artist and third artist overall, to have her first four studio albums debut atop the chart.
4 was released on June 24, 2011. For the record, Knowles allowed herself the artistic freedom to record songs in which she wanted the melody and lyrics to come together naturally. She mixed the 1970s R&B, the 1990s rock 'n' roll as well as her hip hop character and used a lot of horns to create a new and broader sound with musical changes, bridges, vibrata, live instrumentation, and classic songwriting. Knowles' main objective was to bring back the emotion, live instruments and soul music, which according to her, were missing out of the music industry. Allowing herself to belt out some ballads featured on the track-listing of 4 which she described as "a labor of love" Knowles further explained that she used a lot of the brassiness and grittiness in her voice that people had heard in her live performances, however, not necessarily on her studio material.
Preceding the album's release, lead single "Run the World (Girls)" was released for digital download worldwide on April 21, 2011. The single was rushed for release after an early demo leaked on April 18, 2011. "Best Thing I Never Had" was released on June 1, 2011, as the album's second single.
During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet, on August 28, 2011, Knowles revealed that she is pregnant with her first child with rapper Jay-Z. MTV reported that Knowles' performance of "Love on Top" and the announcement of her pregnancy at the awards ceremony helped the 2011's MTV Video Music Awards become the most-watched broadcast in MTV history, pulling in 12.4 million viewers. Knowles' announcement of her pregnancy resulted in an increase in sales of her records, particularly 4, which has sold fewer than 700,000 copies since its release. Her new single is "Love On Top" and is impacting radio now.