Beyoncé’s 2016 album built around a film and themes of personal transformation is Lemonade.
Lemonade was released on April 23, 2016, after its accompanying hour-long film premiered on HBO. The album combines pop, R&B, rock, hip-hop, blues, and country influences, creating a deliberately wide-ranging portrait of identity, relationships, anger, grief, reconciliation, and Black womanhood.
Its songs include “Formation,” “Sorry,” “Hold Up,” “Freedom,” and “All Night.” The project was widely discussed for its visual storytelling and for the way it drew on poetry, Southern imagery, and African American history.
Lemonade debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and received nine Grammy nominations. It won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2017 Grammys. It is sometimes described as only a music album, but its film component is essential to the project’s original presentation and title concept.