Beyoncé’s 2016 album built around a film was titled Lemonade.
Lemonade was released on April 23, 2016, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. It was accompanied by a one-hour HBO film that combined music, poetry, imagery, and documentary-style sequences. The album moves through emotional stages including intuition, denial, anger, apathy, accountability, hope, and redemption.
Its songs include “Formation,” “Sorry,” “Hold Up,” “Freedom,” and “All Night.” The project draws on R&B, rock, country, blues, reggae, and hip-hop, making it broader in style than a conventional genre release. It also incorporates poetry by Warsan Shire.
Lemonade received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2017 Grammy Awards. It won Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Film. The title is sometimes linked to a proverb about making lemonade from lemons, but the project’s meaning also draws on family history, Black identity, relationships, and resilience.