Beyoncé released her self-titled album as a surprise in December 2013.
The album arrived on December 13, 2013, without a traditional advance promotional campaign. It was released digitally through the iTunes Store and included fourteen songs and seventeen music videos.
Beyoncé described the project as a visual album because the music and videos were designed to arrive together. The release strategy became highly influential, changing expectations for how major artists could introduce albums to the public.
The album included “Drunk in Love,” “Partition,” and “Flawless.” It was Beyoncé’s fifth studio album and followed 4, which had been released in 2011. The self-titled record is often called the “visual album” to distinguish it from her later projects.