Without 4, there would be no Beyoncé, no Lemonade. She could've continued to play it safe and coast, but this was the crossroads where she finally picked a direction and went for it, shedding that comfortable cocoon of her past. After listening to Dangerously In Love and I Am.Sasha Fierce, it's especially clear that 4 was her butterfly moment. My favorite part of this pre-show tradition is always when I get to 4. The night before I attended Beyoncé's Formation World Tour stop in New York a few weeks ago, I began my usual Bey concert ritual, playing all of her albums in order, beginning with Dangerously In Love. At the time, it felt like the most intimate Bey had ever gotten with us and it gives me goosebumps every listen.) (That last track, in particular, was much-maligned, but I don't care. It also gave us the honest "I Miss You," the I'm-Head-Over-Heels banger "Countdown," and the Diane Warren-penned "I Was Here," about wanting to be remembered after you're gone. But 4 gave us "1+1," the ballad dedicated to her husband that still, years later, brings her to tears in concerts. "Single Ladies," her ode to single-dom, was released months after she married her long-term boyfriend, Jay Z, and she was still mostly avoiding talking about their marriage in public. Remember: Before 4, Beyoncé had been notoriously private, keeping her actual life at a cool, safe distance from her art. Finally, she was giving us a fresh sound - and getting personal. In 2011, she was officially emerging from the cocoon of Destiny's Child, her father/manager, and her cut-and-dry, made-for-radio anthems.
I mean, I love "Get Me Bodied" as much as the next girl, but even as an Independent Woman, the I'm-An-Independent-Woman songs were beginning to feel expected. The first time I listened to 4, I remember feeling relieved that Bey had left the pop-diva formula of her first few albums behind her. The Washington Post called it her "fourth-best album, as in her worst." NME wrote that with 4, Bey was "dangerously in love.with boring ballads," and E ntertainment Weekly's review proclaimed that "even star students get the occasional B."īut I remember the release five years ago a bit differently. In 2011, Beyoncé's 4 resulted in her lowest first-week sales to date.
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