For someone being dragged for being a greedy capitalist, she is very slow at restocking her website

Under no circumstances should that abomination of Pretty Hurts be compared to the intricate vocal production of I Was Here, let alone from a lyrical perspective.

I'd suggest having an ear examination.

1 hour ago, Kristie Kuwa said:

Do u think we'll ever get a "highkey"-era from Bey again?

Everything has been so lowkey this decade. We get a bit of excitement 6-8 weeks prior to an album release with a single (BMS, Texas, DONK), maybe a fashion spread (in the case of Rennie + CC), the tracklist, the album and that's it.

Im craving a BIG era from her like Mayhem in the sense that Gaga was inescapable during the Mayhem run. She did interviews, she performed everywhere, she had MVs, she did all the big gigs, etc..

Bey used to serve that too at one point in her life and has refrained from doing that this decade. And while I understand the motivation and reasons, I cant deny that the fan in me truly craves a "vintage" and thus "highkey" era from Bey. And i wonder if we'll ever be lucky enough to get that again, or whether that ship has sailed forever.

Jaded as the Hive understandably is with her antics, I actually think the "BIG" era you mention is still a possibility. I just think it's her ace card for when her career starts to cool commercially.

Bey is in this unprecedented territory where she's skilfully managed to stretch out her cool and contemporary relevance for over 3 decades and avoided the nostalgia act trap so many greats settle into.

The pro is that she's arguably more "relevant" to pop culture than ever; the drawback (for us, as fans) is that she can do whatever she wants as a result and still be successful.

I've long had a hunch, though, that the second there's even a hint of a dip in her commercial clout, she'll play ball again.

And guess what? It will be super effective. Because marketing 101 for a premium product like Bey is: the less you give, the more they want. Her momentarily swooping down to play ball for an era or two will essentially hit harder because of how long it wasn't the case.

It wouldn't even need to be old-school Bey's "all-out" promo, either. But more of a premium-act rollout akin to what Adele did for her last two eras. Select award show performances, TV specials in key markets (or one all-reaching streamer special), a super-curated array of sit-down interviews (where nothing all that deep is disclosed beyond what she wants us to know), a week-long talk show performance takeover, and finally doing what we've long wanted: better use/flooding of social media.

I'm sure this would be supplemented with whatever visual "thing" she cooks up for the era, too.

Note how little of that actually requires her coming out of the house for long stretches or even travelling beyond LA?

Again, IMO, she's doing all her shenanigans now because she can. Let there even be the hint of another 4, speak less The Gift, EIL, and she'll reignite the promo run asap, albeit curated and on her own terms.

I

18 minutes ago, Cbreezy said:

Jaded as the Hive understandably is with her antics, I actually think the "BIG" era you mention is still a possibility. I just think it's her ace card for when her career starts to cool commercially.

Bey is in this unprecedented territory where she's skilfully managed to stretch out her cool and contemporary relevance for over 3 decades and avoided the nostalgia act trap so many greats settle into.

The pro is that she's arguably more "relevant" to pop culture than ever; the drawback (for us, as fans) is that she can do whatever she wants as a result and still be successful.

I've long had a hunch, though, that the second there's even a hint of a dip in her commercial clout, she'll play ball again.

And guess what? It will be super effective. Because marketing 101 for a premium product like Bey is: the less you give, the more they want. Her momentarily swooping down to play ball for an era or two will essentially hit harder because of how long it wasn't the case.

It wouldn't even need to be old-school Bey's "all-out" promo, either. But more of a premium-act rollout akin to what Adele did for her last two eras. Select award show performances, TV specials in key markets (or one all-reaching streamer special), a super-curated array of sit-down interviews (where nothing all that deep is disclosed beyond what she wants us to know), a week-long talk show performance takeover, and finally doing what we've long wanted: better use/flooding of social media.

I'm sure this would be supplemented with whatever visual "thing" she cooks up for the era, too.

Note how little of that actually requires her coming out of the house for long stretches or even travelling beyond LA?

Again, IMO, she's doing all her shenanigans now because she can. Let there even be the hint of another 4, speak less The Gift, EIL, and she'll reignite the promo run asap, albeit curated and on her own terms.

The hint of another 4?

Yes, Texas was a huge hit, but Cowboy Carter was a 4-scale project for her tbh.

The streaming-era opening weekend boost that sent Jolene and II Most Wanted up the charts was a lovely surprise, but to be frank the GP are cooler on CC as an album than they ever were on 4, which had multiple modest hits with BTINH, LOT, 1+1 and RTW, as well as impactful live performances like Glasto and the VMAs.

Cowboy Carter had the NFL Halftime which was enjoyable but not culture shifting, a tour that was great fun but not cited in the same league as RWT or FWT, and a selection of album tracks that struggled to take hold (save for the intro of Tyrant which went viral in spite of the full track).

Edited September 9Sep 9 by alien superstore

Just now, alien superstore said:

I

The hint of another 4?

Yes, Texas was a huge hit, but Cowboy Carter was a 4-scale project for her tbh.

The streaming-era opening weekend boost that sent Jolene and II Most Wanted up the charts was a lovely surprise, but to be frank the GP are cooler on CC as an album than they ever were on 4, which had multiple modest hits with BTINH, LOT, 1+1 and RTW, as well as impactful live performances like Glasto and the VMAs.

Cowboy Carter had the NFL Halftime which was enjoyable but not culture shifting, a tour that was great fun but not cited in the same league as RWT or FWT, and a selection of album tracks that struggled to take hold (save for the intro of Tyrant which went viral in spite of the full track).

But I agree withe spirit of what you're saying @Cbreezy - if there was any indication that Bey isn't above losing her cool in the sight of underperformance, it was the instagram spamming during OTRII and the subsequent ABC special she made for the Gift (which still made no noise but whatever, she tried)

It is weird as a long time Beyoncé fan that so much of her career isn't readily available to watch anymore. She was always talking of her legacy and becoming an icon... that doesn't happen if people can't YouTube some iconic performances etc...

CC tanked and she couldn't even be arsed to release an actual second single, OTR II was a struggle fest and all she did were insta story spams, same for The Gift and now where at the point where she releases stuff that she doesn't even bother to officially announce (or straight up lies about the stuff that does get announced)

like wake up that lady isn't gonna do **** for her eras anymore, underperformance or not. the most she'll do is restock her merch store to squeeze more money out of us and call it a day

Edited September 9Sep 9 by ScorpiosGroove

Let's be more optimistic about its debut units. A 39k debut would be so good.

31 minutes ago, beyonceparkwood said:

Let's be more optimistic about its debut units. A 39k debut would be so good.

her entering this list is an achievement alone.

36 minutes ago, beyonceparkwood said:

Let's be more optimistic about its debut units. A 39k debut would be so good.

Some female artists:

• Dangerous Woman (10th Anniversary edition) – #21 [30k units]

• The Pinkprint (10th Anniversary edition) – #36 [22k units]

• Born This Way (10th Anniversary edition) – #162 [5k units]

• Oops... I Did It Again (25th Anniversary edition) – N/A [N/A units]

• Stripped (20th Anniversary edition) – N/A [N/A units]

Imagine praising Best S h i t I Ever Had in 2026

Edited September 9Sep 9 by Redporus

In a field of excellence there is always a thorn, WORST song on each album (4-CC)

4 - Best Thing I Never Had

ST - Superpower

LEM - Sorry

TG - Scar

REN - Thique

CC - Spaghetti

13 minutes ago, Redporus said:

CC - Spaghetti

not when Posty's Rags is right there

18 minutes ago, cloudbusting said:

not when Posty's Rags is right there

Come to think of it you have point, lemme change my answer cuz as much as Spaghetti breaks the flow of the album it can be lit when listening to it on its own. On the other hand, Levi's Jeans is something that I don't listen to at all.

Edited September 9Sep 9 by Redporus

1 hour ago, Redporus said:

In a field of excellence there is always a thorn, WORST song on each album (4-CC)

4 - Best Thing I Never Had

ST - Superpower

LEM - Sorry

TG - Scar

REN - Thique

CC - Spaghetti

Superpower is gorgeous, her lower register really shines in this song. She also sounds great with Frank harmonizing together.

1 hour ago, Redporus said:

In a field of excellence there is always a thorn, WORST song on each album (4-CC)

4 - Best Thing I Never Had

ST - Superpower

LEM - Sorry

TG - Scar

REN - Thique

CC - Spaghetti

A ranking? Oh its been a while, hasnt it?

4 - Start Over

ST - Jealous (hate me all you want, I just never felt anything for it)

LEM - Daddy Lesson (its worn out imho)

TG - Scar

REN - Church Girl (meh)

CC - Riiverdance (meh)

13 minutes ago, Kristie Kuwa said:

A ranking? Oh its been a while, hasnt it?

4 - Start Over

ST - Jealous (hate me all you want, I just never felt anything for it)

LEM - Daddy Lesson (its worn out imho)

TG - Scar

REN - Church Girl (meh)

CC - Riiverdance (meh)

Gurl we are listing the worst song on each album….

Start Over???

Jealous???

Daddy Lessons????

While I love Church Girl…..I can see why yall despise it

Riverdance????

Edited September 9Sep 9 by Redporus

20 minutes ago, Kalmanta said:

Superpower is gorgeous, her lower register really shines in this song. She also sounds great with Frank harmonizing together.

While I appreciate this point, the only thing great about Superpower is the Music Video, one of the best in her catalogue actually.

5 minutes ago, Redporus said:

While I appreciate this point, the only thing great about Superpower is the Music Video, one of the best in her catalogue actually.

But it's just a remake of Run the World. And they do the same exact thing at the end where they run towards the cops and proceed to do nothing but stand there. It's insane for someone who said she doesn't like doing the same thing twice LOL

39k and not even an Instagram post from her own account, whew

We do all the work for her ofcourse she wouldn't want to lift a finger

39k will be the first week sales for act iii if she keep it up.

2 minutes ago, Devin said:

39k will be the first week sales for act iii if she keep it up.

I genuinely think it'll do better than ACTI and ACTII

23 minutes ago, Devin said:

39k will be the first week sales for act iii if she keep it up.

39k will be the views after 1 month, when she releases the visuals on YouTube.

33 minutes ago, Carbohydrates said:

But it's just a remake of Run the World. And they do the same exact thing at the end where they run towards the cops and proceed to do nothing but stand there. It's insane for someone who said she doesn't like doing the same thing twice LOL

Yooow why are you reminding me of this looool. The way how in both videos, I really wanted them to fight and got blue balled both times.

Her contract with Columbia is about to end again.

2001: She signs a six-album solo contract with Columbia Records, with a target release of her debut in 2002.

2002: Debut gets delayed to 2003 because execs said she "had no hits."

2003: Dangerously in Love released to commercial success

2008: Parkwood Entertainment was founded.

2011: Fires Mathew; Parkwood becomes a management company for Beyoncé. Also, in 2011, she took full production control of her projects going forward, so Columbia wouldn't need to provide her with funding -- which allowed her freedom to decide when she wants to release.

2013: Beyoncé moves her publishing from Sony/ATV to Warner/Chappell

2016: Lemonade becomes her final album under the original contract. She also negotiated and bought her masters for all her solo work. She re-ups for three more solo albums for distribution.

2020: Beyoncé moves her publishing back to Sony/ATV.

2026/2027: Act III is the final album in her second contract with Columbia.... So what's next?