Beyonce continues '4' promo in France!

Beyonce is hot on the promo trail for her fourth studio album, '4' which will be released next week. She is currently on the European leg of the tour, and performed her first concert in Nice, France over the weekend to help push the album. Peep some of the footage from the concert below and let me know what you think!

Crazy In Love

Run The World

Single Ladies

Medley (Bootylicious, Bug A Boo, Telephone)

End of Time

Sweet Dreams

1+1

Beyonce's '4' Leaks!

Yes, Queen B's '4' has leaked. I was one of the first to take a listen to the 'early release' of her new album but I decided to take my time and come up with a few solid points before blogging about it. The album has been receiving positive reviews from critics and fans alike. Beyonce seems to have left the club bangers behind on this album. Instead, she lets her voice do all the work and shines on many of the albums mid-tempos. 

I'm impressed with the change in sound, the album's complete production credits haven't been released as of yet but we do know she enlisted a few different producers to work on the album. I'm particularly liking the spacey electronic elements on 'I Care', 'I Miss You' and 'I Was Here', definitely a different sound for her but it works. 

Overall, Beyonce presents good quality music with an impeccable vocal performance on each track. That being said, I don't think this album will be flying to the top of the charts with a single anytime soon. Ultimately, I think this album will sit well with fans who respect and know her true talent as a performer.

My favourites: 

I Care

I Miss You

Start Over

I Was Here

What do you think of the album?

Beyonce preps '4'!

Yes Queen B is making her return, and so am I so there's no better post to start off with than the release of Beyonce's fourth studio album '4'. The album has been recorded over the past year and was lead by the single, 'Run The World (Girls). Bey gave two stellar performances of the single at the Billboard Music Awards and on the finale of The Oprah Show (see performances below).

The track samples Major Lazor's 'Pon De Floor', and was written by The-Dream among others. It sees her following the dance trends that have pretty much dominated the charts for a good two years now. The video was directed by Francis Lawrence and is definitely one of the best videos of the year. The video, along with a few high profile performances of the single ultimately saved it from falling completely off the charts.

Beyonce's team quickly realized 'Girls' wasn't taking off as they had thought they would, they quickly moved on to a follow up single. I think there was a bit of confusion as to what would serve as the project's next single. Bey went on to perform 'her favourite song from the album', '1+1' (The-Dream) on American Idol before releasing 'The Best Thing I Never Had' (Symbolyc One/Babyface) as the project's official second single. The performance on American Idol reinforced Bey's place in the industry as one of today's top female vocalists. Jay-Z filmed footage of her rehearsal backstage which quickly went viral after it was posted on his website. Bey is now filming the video for her second single which should premiere within the next few weeks.

The album is set for release on 24 June, but with no Top 10 single in sight just yet, we're all very interested to see what her first week sales will look like. I think we'll be seeing between 400-500k copies.

Anyway, take a look at all the promo material from her upcoming project and let me know your thoughts!