Beyoncé's self-titled visual album was released in December 2013 without prior promotion. Beyoncé released the project digitally on the iTunes Store on December 13, 2013, surprising listeners and much of the music industry.
The album contained 14 songs and 17 accompanying music videos. Beyoncé described the format as an immersive presentation in which the music and visuals were intended to be experienced together. The release strategy departed from the conventional model of announcing an album months in advance and promoting individual singles first.
Songs on the album included “Drunk in Love,” featuring Jay-Z, “Partition,” “Flawless,” and “Pretty Hurts.” The project debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Beyoncé the first woman to have her first five studio albums debut at number one in the United States.
It is sometimes called the “visual album” or the “visual Beyoncé album,” but its official title is simply Beyoncé. Lemonade, released in 2016, also used an album-film format but followed a different release cycle.