[RudeBoy™]

Warning: This is not shade. unload your weapons, take the sticks out your a$$ and answer truthfully.



It has been five months since the explosive release of Beyonce's self-titled fifth studio album which caused a massive stir once it hit iTunes. Upon it's release the album became the fastest selling release in iTunes history, received critical acclaim from her peers and music critics as well as managed produce a hit single "Drunk In Love."

However, in the past two months or so the album has lost a majority of it's steam. It's nearly fallen out of the top 40 on Mediatraffic, has been pushing around (IDK the exact numbers) 10k per week in the US for a few weeks now and hasn't managed to secure a hit since "Drunk In Love." "XO," "Partition" and "Pretty Hurts" have underperformed, mostly due to lack of promotion. Outside of the states things are no better.

So my question is this, do you think her all-inclusive surprise release was worth it or would she have been better off going about the release in a more typical manner. Perhaps, saving the official music videos for the singles until they were released but including different visuals for them?

And as a fan, are you annoyed with the way she has been handling the album since it's release?

[Sonny]

Not really, the hype was gone way too fast.

[bey0nce]

Yes definitely it was worth it, as a fan I am more concerned about the lack of promo appearances and performances (as I like to see my fave in interviews or giving live performances)

Despite it's lack of longevity, it's still outsold the majority of her peers (so far), the release was a groundbreaking moment in pop culture and will be remembered for years to come, and as far as the GP are concerned the album was a huge success (which it was) as they was frequently reminded of it's record breaking.

So of course I wish the album could sell more, but the release was still definitely worth it, regardless of the great sales but rather for the sheer impact it had worldwide and the overjoy of emotions every Bey fan felt that day

Also, there's no evidence suggesting a traditional release would have resulted in a better era sales wise, but it would most likely resulted in a (bigger) hit

[OhRly?]

"XO," "Partition" and "Pretty Hurts" have underperformed, mostly due to lack of promotion.

This bothers me a little bit, because I feel that Beyoncé doesn't care about singles anymore. It's just album and touring, and that's fine. However, songs that could smash with a little bit of promotion are underperforming or flopping because she simply doesnt care.

[collin]

Yes, for a number of reasons.
(1) She wouldn't have had the same attention / sales without it.
(2) She started a trend and did something original.
(3) People are actually going to listen to her album.
(4) She had the perfect album to do it with.

[RomanNavy]

All the videos are out already.

There is nothing to promote anymore.
The sales were so front-loaded we ALL knew it was going to die down anytime.

[EdgeOfAddiction]

The release strategy was a great one but continuous, strategic promo would have elongated the shelf life of the album. But for what it was, the album did well.

[youkneekorn]

If she was doing promo, Beyoncé would still be selling well. That's the truth.

[collin]

XO was blocked and poorly promoted, Partition was only pushed to specific formats.
Pretty Hurts has also not been promoted, and it's sent to radio in like 2-3 weeks... so.

[PULSE.]

nearly fallen out of the top 40 on Mediatraffic

There is NO SUCH thing as a WORLD CHART.

[Hector]

For an artist of her stature, it was revolutionary.

The problem is that now the hype has sort of dissipated, even with strong urban airplay. She needs a major performance somewhere, at least the VMAs.

[RudeBoy™]

Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction

The release strategy was a great one but continuous, strategic promo would have elongated the shelf life of the album. But for what it was, the album did well.

I agree.

[Lights and Waves]

It'll go down in history. Seethe.

[Poisonous]

The debut numbers would've been lower had she announced it before hand. But even though it came out of nowhere, I think it would be selling around the same numbers or less..

[suneclipse121]

It was the best thing she could've done at this point in her career,

Forget about the sales. That album had a huge IMPACT.

[Jacobdaniel]

Beyonce wasn't aiming for a long era, though. All she wanted to do was release something that people would look at as an ALBUM rather than a string of hit singles. She accomplished HER goal with the Beyoncé.

[PULSE.]

Originally posted by Poisonous

The debut numbers would've been lower had she announced it before hand. But even though it came out of nowhere, I think it would be selling around the same numbers or less..

And how do you know that?

[DvnR]

Of course. It's treading on double platinum in just over 6 months, had a huge smash and a moderate hit, multiple memorable songs, and will probably bring back at least a couple Grammys if not being the big winner along with Adele next year. Did huge touring numbers, and it brought her back to her throne after a lackluster 4 era. It did everything it was supposed to.

[Reaper]

Definitely worth it. This was the main reason why it sold so much initially because now it fails to produce a hit or sustain album sales in the long run

[bey0nce]

Anyway, I think this is the perfect way to sum up the album and the release and the point of her career and why she did it like this (Part 1 also, but I prefer this one)