As the poster child for fourth wave feminism, recent years have seen Beyonce’s brand built on the right balance of inner strength and overt sexuality.
Proving that the term ‘bad b*tch‘ isn’t all that derogatory when used to praise her endless list of achievements, her last LP ‘4’ saw her ditch the fire and pizzazz that was 2006’s ‘B’Day’ and fully embrace a romantic vulnerability we hadn’t heard since ‘Gift From Virgo’.
Now, in a conversation with ‘Vogue’, she has revealed that her new album will be both sensual and empowering.
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“There’s still an obsessiveness about detail in Beyoncé’s artistic life. In her studio are elaborate “vision boards” to stimulate her creative process—photographs, writings, reminders of past achievements. There’s the cover of her 2003 album Dangerously in Love. There are photos of her Grammy performances with Prince and Tina Turner. Song concepts. Potential titles. “There’s so much stuff up there,” she says. “It kind of feels right now like A Beautiful Mind.”
“Beyoncé says her new music “is a lot more sensual . . . empowering.” It celebrates being a wife and a mother, reflecting the obvious changes in her life. “Right now, after giving birth, I really understand the power of my body,” she says. “I just feel my body means something completely different. I feel a lot more confident about it. Even being heavier, thinner, whatever. I feel a lot more like a woman. More feminine, more sensual. And no shame.”
With discernible talent to back it up, B stands as one of the only ‘Pop girls’ able to serve ‘Pin-Up’ and ‘Power’ at the same without ever seeming confused or disingenuous.
What excites us the most though, is how the balance of the two will translate to sonically and-on a superficial tip- visually.
For, if her decision to sex it up for ‘GQ‘ is anything to go by, we wouldn’t be surprised if her new videos were used as tools to recapture her straight male audience. An audience, the likes of ‘Baby Boy’, ‘Naughty Girl‘ and ‘Video Phone‘ made all too easy to secure.
See what we mean?