I Am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce Knowles

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*01, If I Were A Boy (4.09), 2*
*02, Halo (4.25), 3*
*03, Disappear (4.29), 2*
*04, Broken-Hearted Girl (4.38), 2*
*05, Ave Maria (3.42), 1*
*06, Satellites (3.07), 1*

Fortunately for Beyonce, her album ends up being released before Ciara -- another of her R&B 'rivals' -- who has plans for her next album to be a three disc fantasy ride. What Beyonce has done with her third solo effort ...
...been likely to hear, 'If I Were a Boy'. Whilst is is likely to take a while for you to understand the song, and the video helps, it did not take long to get bored of the unique track. In fact, the live performances I have heard of the track have been better than the studio version that seems to be restricting Beyonce's vocals. This girl can sing, and is not just an image.

'Boy' has only been held off the top of the UK charts by the ... more

Who is Beyoncé Knowles?

Still in her twenties, its difficult to comprehend just how much Beyonce Knowles has achieved in her career that has spanned from her ambition as a little girl from Texas to become one of the best. The rise to fame came in the late 1990's as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, the female power group that has gone on to sell over 50 million records. After the success of Beyonce's solo effort, the group wrapped up their time together with a fairwell album and the understanding that they may one day again reunite (ala Spice Girls). Beyonce has found herself as the most marketable of the Destiny's Child girls, with both her 2003 release 'Dangerously in Love' and follow-up 2006 album 'B'Day' topping the US Billboard. Although the latter album sold around 3 million less copies, this can be associated to the decline in music sales, as B'Day was generally more of a critical success than 'Dangerously'.

How was 'I Am... Sasha Fierce' received?'

Although the third instalment of Beyonce's solo career shall not be released until late November 2008, the album has already been sampled by many within the music industry. Entertainment Weekly has scored the album reasonably, commenting on how there is still no discovery into Beyonce's life -- with her lyrics remaining tight lipped. The Guardian however has been more critical, referring to tracks as inspiration for drag queens -- a reference to Rihanna in the review also reminds us how Beyonce Knowles is now an older version of her Umbrella counterpart. Having said this, 'I Am...' has still been one of the years most heavily anticipated albums and its release seems to now have snuck up on everyone. Sales should not be a problem that will bother Beyonce, however even the voice of Mariah Carey let many down with her 2008 album. DISC 1

• 01, If I Were A Boy (4.09), 2*
• 02, Halo (4.25), 3*
• 03, Disappear (4.29), 2*
• 04, Broken-Hearted Girl (4.38), 2*
• 05, Ave Maria (3.42), 1*
• 06, Satellites (3.07), 1*

Fortunately for Beyonce, her album ends up being released before Ciara -- another of her R&B 'rivals' -- who has plans for her next album to be a three disc fantasy ride. What Beyonce has done with her third solo effort is to package it as two separate discs, with the first disc being her and the secondary disc being 'Sasha Fierce'. Kicking off the album is the single you have been likely to hear, 'If I Were a Boy'. Whilst is is likely to take a while for you to understand the song, and the video helps, it did not take long to get bored of the unique track. In fact, the live performances I have heard of the track have been better than the studio version that seems to be restricting Beyonce's vocals. This girl can sing, and is not just an image. 'Boy' has only been held off the top of the UK charts by the triumphant X-Factor charity single, and by peaking charts all across the world (even knocking Britney Spears off the top) it shows that there are still people that get Beyonce and find her relevant to the market. 'Halo' sounds like another one of those tracks that shows off how Beyonce has not moved with the market, but rather made the market follow her trends. Another grower, 'Halo' is rumoured to be the next track to be released from the album -- I do however doubt Beyonce's reliance on tracks from what is essentially is the ballad album of the 'I Am... Sasha Fierce' package.

'Disappear', whilst flows along nicely, can certainly get lost as background music and is a lesson of getting used to the plucking strings and shaking rattles sound that you should grow familar with throughout the rest of the disc. 'Broken-Hearted Girl' shows that Beyonce does not seem to know how to do slow music without sounding weak, and when you think about it the closest she has ever came to creating a successful ballad was 'Irreplaceable'. Lets face it, that song cannot fall into that catagorey and came hugely popular on its hook alone. If you thought things were getting tough already, 'Ave Maria' makes you feel the album has gone more chasing around daisy fields on 'The Sound of Music'. And the icing on the cake is 'Satellites', that is likely to be one of the most beautiful tracks you have ever heard or a terrible excuse of a nursery rhyme. I think the verdict on the latter part of disc one is going to be all about opinion.

DISC 2

• 01, Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) (3.12), 1*
• 02, Radio (3.39), 5*
• 03, Diva (3.21), 1*
• 04, Sweet Dreams (3.28), 2*
• 05, Video Phone (3.36), 1*

'Single Ladies' is the in your face Beyonce we are used to hearing, but unfortunately the track sounds like one of the leftovers from her last album. That was two years ago. I believe this track has been released alongside 'If I Were a Boy', and the tracks could not represent two more completely different sides of Beyonce. I can see why an alter ego such as Sasha Fierce has been related to this track, as it is nothing more than a flash in the pan. Then comes along what should undoubtedly be the second single from the album, and my favourite track of the lot. 'Radio'. Whilst it might not be quite the booty-shaking style of 'Crazy in Love', and it's not really either the crazy dancing of 'Deja Vu', you would be hard pressed to find a song that screams 2008 as much as 'Radio'. The track seems to follow the same recipe that Ne-Yo wrote with 'Closer', and Britney copied with 'Womanizer'. The track is a lot of fun, and a must for the clubs.

'Diva' then ruins the taste of that perfectly cooked recipe, "Diva is the female version of the hustler." The track seems to repeatedly run the same message, that quite frankly you're not going to care about unless you're, a) a diva, or b) a hustler. Disaster. I also find it difficult to enjoy 'Sweet Dreams' when I heard it leaked on to the internet about six months ago and wrote it off as being simply a demo track. Despite the track already being past its sell-by date, it's still the second best track on the second disc. Probably the third overall. 'Video Phone' kills the album dead, and it's absolutely no fun -- but at least it continues Beyonce's trend of odd track titles.

What do I think?

2008 is going to go down as a year for disappointing albums, with Beyonce now joining Mariah Carey, Nelly and Usher as the artists that left everyone wondering what exactly has happened to their favourite singers. On the plus side, T.I. did release an album that was at the very peak of his career. And Rihanna re-released her 'Good Girl Gone Bad' with like.. two extra tracks. I find it hard to say anything positive about an album that is almost as bad as her sisters (Solange) and is probably on par with her former-band mate Michelle Williams.

Whilst I do like very few things about the album, including the decision to release it on two separate discs, I still get excited by the thought of Beyonce hitting the stage to perform some of these tracks. Beyonce is a performer, and always will be. And her relationship with Jay-Z that she continues to never speak of is in no danger of being replaced by the upcoming star couple of Chris Brown and Rihanna. There is going to be a deluxe version released with a few extra tracks, but for now my eyes are going to fix on Kanye West. Lets hope someone can close the year off with one ground-breaking release... 

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