Beyoncé became the first visual album released without advance announcement. The self-titled fifth studio album appeared on the iTunes Store on December 13, 2013, arriving unexpectedly with fourteen songs and seventeen accompanying videos.
The release changed the way major pop albums could be launched. Instead of a conventional promotional buildup with a lead single, artwork reveals, and pre-release interviews, Beyoncé presented the complete project at once. The album’s songs include “Pretty Hurts,” “Drunk in Love,” “Flawless,” and “Partition.”
A visual album combines recorded music with a connected set of music videos or films. Beyoncé’s release is often confused with Lemonade, which also has a major visual component, but Lemonade came later, in 2016, and premiered through HBO. The surprise strategy became highly influential across the music industry.