Her name is everywhere, from magazine covers to highway billboards to television commercials. Although her album was released without any promo, it's no surprise that Beyoncè is taking over the world with her inspiring, soulful music. The R&B/pop star's innovative 5th studio album titled "Beyoncè" proved that the number 1 spot on the charts belongs to her.

     Beyoncè surprised her fans and the rest of the world with her new self-titled visual album on December 13, 2013. Unlike any other of her previous recordings, "Beyoncè" presents music videos (recorded in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Sydney) that go along with all 14 tracks, including three additional clips. With this album, the star exposes a side of her previously unknown to her fans, producing empowering songs with themes such as feminism, sexuality and family. Well-known rappers, Jay-Z, Drake, and Frank Ocean, are featured on 3 tracks, as well as her 3 year old daughter.

       This CD is by far Beyoncé’s most experimental album, including the alternative R&B genre in addition to electronic and soul elements. Her seductive and powerful vocals compliment the music very well as the singer's silky voice goes along with the melody of the songs. Funky drum beats and grooves accompany almost every song, creating the perfect rhythm for tapping your foot along with the track. Beyoncé’s creativity really shines through with the addition of audio snippets of beauty pageants in “Ghost/Haunted” and “Pretty Hurts” and camera flashes in “Partition.” 

     “Drunk In Love,” “XO,” “Partition/ Yoncé,”  and “***Flawless” are easily the album’s most recognizable tracks with their infectious choruses. “Drunk In Love” is an alluring and provocative piece, beginning with a Middle Eastern-esque melody and transitioning to Jay-Z’s notable rap verse. "***Flawless ft. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" makes everyone sing "I woke up like this" during the chorus and listening to Adichie's influential feminist speech about how society perceives women towards the end. The first song on the album, "Pretty Hurts,” and the second song ,“Ghost/Haunted,” are by far the most beautiful. Beyoncè’s empowering tone in “Pretty Hurts” as she sings about the beauty standards women are expected to follow (Blonder hair/flat chest/ Vogue says “Thinner is better”) and then reassures listeners that “Perfection is a disease of the nation” is what really makes the song unlike any other self-confidence boosting song on the charts. “Ghost/Haunted” is a song that will surely give listeners goosebumps. This half-sung half-spoken piece has a haunting melody that supports the hair-raising, deep vocals that sing about the working class. Beyoncé chants that people in the world “work 9 to 5 just to stay alive” to an electronic beat.
      "Beyoncè" debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making the icon the first woman in the music industry to have all 5 of her critically acclaimed albums take the top spot in the first week. It's clear that Beyoncè rules the industry, and she won’t be stepping down from the throne anytime soon.