GQ: Rihanna lacks Beyoncé's power + Lemonade higher stakes
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The most successful insta-release so far is Beyoncé’s Lemonade, an audio-visual spectacular so skilfully conceived that it practically *dictated its own rave reviews. Pop’s most presidential star staged an of-the-moment cultural pageant and positioned herself in the centre. She’s achieved the ultimate aim of any pop star by making herself *indispensable and unignorable. But Lemonade’s knockout blow isn’t replicable for artists without Beyoncé’s imperial star power. For most, the insta-release is a licence to play for lower stakes. Rihanna’s Anti had the stoned nonchalance of a mixtape.
