Lemonade was Beyoncé’s album released in 2016 as part of a film and music project.
The sixth studio album arrived on April 23, 2016, following the premiere of its accompanying hour-long film on HBO. The project combines music, poetry, visual imagery, and themes involving betrayal, grief, ancestry, Black womanhood, reconciliation, and healing. Its songs include “Formation,” “Sorry,” “Hold Up,” and “Freedom.”
Lemonade was first made available through Tidal and later received wider digital and physical distribution. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and earned widespread critical acclaim. The album’s visual structure helped reinforce Beyoncé’s reputation for treating albums as connected artistic statements rather than only collections of singles.
Lemonade is distinct from Beyoncé’s self-titled 2013 album, which also used an accompanying set of music videos. Both projects are visual albums, but their titles, release years, and concepts are different.