Beyoncé’s self-titled album won Album of the Year at the 2014 Soul Train Music Awards.
Beyoncé was released without advance promotional announcements on December 13, 2013. The album was accompanied by a video for every song, leading Beyoncé and her team to describe it as a visual album. Its surprise release through the iTunes Store helped make the project a major event in digital music distribution.
The album includes “Pretty Hurts,” “Drunk in Love,” “Partition,” “Flawless,” and “XO.” Jay-Z appears on “Drunk in Love,” while the project also includes contributions from artists and producers such as Frank Ocean, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and The-Dream.
At the 2014 Soul Train Music Awards, the album won Album of the Year. It also received strong critical recognition and earned Beyoncé several Grammy Awards. Its release strategy influenced how major artists later launched albums with little or no traditional advertising.