Beyoncé fans had been wondering for about a week: Just what is “Lemonade”?
They got their answer on Saturday night, when HBO aired the “world premiere event” — and Beyoncé’s surprise new album of the same name was released on Tidal during the documentary’s broadcast.
The album includes guest appearances by Jack White, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and James Blake. The track listing is below:
1. PRAY YOU CATCH ME
2. HOLD UP
3. DON’T HURT YOURSELF (FEAT. JACK WHITE)
4. SORRY
5. 6 INCH (FEAT. THE WEEKND)
6. DADDY LESSONS
7. LOVE DROUGHT
8. SANDCASTLES
9. FORWARD (FEAT. JAMES BLAKE)
10. FREEDOM (FEAT. KENDRICK LAMAR)
11. ALL NIGHT
12. FORMATION
A firestorm of hype had been building since last weekend, when Beyoncé posted two videos on her Instagram account. The first one was a clip of a cornrowed Beyoncé resting her head on the hood of a car saying, “What am I gonna do love, what am I going to do?”
The second was a trailer for “Lemonade,” containing random scenes and voiceovers of Beyoncé saying things like, “The past and the present merge to meet us here,” “What are you hiding?” “Why can’t you see me?” and “You’re the love of my life.” Both the first clip and the trailer were also posted on YouTube.
Members of the Beyhive knew that for months there had been chatter about “Project Lemonade,” with some speculating that it would coincide with her highly anticipated sixth album.
In February, the Twitter account “The Beyhive Team” tweeted “EXCLUSIVE: Album movie, alternate “Formation” video edit, and an album that will overwhelm you just listening to it! Just wait on it!”
Before Saturday, there had also been lots of reading of the (lemon) tea leaves of Beyoncé’s social media, which included several pictures with lemons.