Beyoncé’s 2016 visual album released without advance announcement was Lemonade.
Lemonade premiered on HBO on April 23, 2016, alongside the release of its music. The project combines songs, poetry, spoken narration, and imagery into a film structured around emotional stages, including intuition, denial, anger, and redemption.
The album draws on R&B, rock, country, blues, and hip-hop. It includes collaborations with artists such as Jack White, Kendrick Lamar, James Blake, and The Weeknd. “Formation,” released before the album, became one of its defining songs.
Lemonade received widespread critical acclaim and earned nine Grammy nominations. It is sometimes confused with Beyoncé’s self-titled 2013 visual album, which also appeared with little traditional promotion, but Lemonade is the project associated with the 2016 HBO premiere and its accompanying film.