What was the title of Beyoncé’s surprise 2013 solo album?

Beyoncé’s surprise 2013 solo album was titled Beyoncé.

The self-titled album was released on December 13, 2013, without the usual advance promotional campaign. It appeared digitally on the iTunes Store and was accompanied by a music video for every song, leading Beyoncé to describe the project as a visual album.

The release changed expectations for major pop albums. Its sudden arrival generated intense global attention, while the connected videos gave the record a unified audiovisual structure. Songs such as “Drunk in Love,” “Partition,” and “Flawless” became especially prominent.

The album is sometimes confused with Beyoncé’s debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, which came out in 2003. Beyoncé was her fifth solo studio album and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2015.