Beyoncé’s imperious sixth studio album has got everyone talking as it focuses on her marriage, exploring infidelity in powerful visuals and music. It’s also been praised for its celebration of the beauty and strength of black womanhood, featuring influential stars such as Zendaya and Winnie Harlow. But what do the fans think of her latest musical offering? We asked them to review the album. Here’s their verdict.
Ru Johnson, 31, Denver
Rating 4 out of 5: ‘Beyoncé is anything but apologetic’
Even if you’ve been living under a rock, you can’t have missed Beyonce’s new visual album Lemonade. In it – more important than “Becky with the good hair” – is the singer’s incredible vocals. Lemonade opens with Pray You Catch Me, a resigned and melancholy tune, before sailing into Hold Up, with the force of a baseball bat. Musician Jack White helps out on Don’t Hurt Yourself, a tune which serves as a livid warning to a husband who has made mistakes. Another tune of note is Sorry, a misnomer because Beyoncé is anything but apologetic. To hear (and see) blinding authenticity is uncomfortable, relatable and necessary. While fans have clamoured for a glimpse into the life of Beyoncé, Lemonade takes care of that like a bazooka for a house fly. My favourite track is Love Drought.
Sarah Garnham, 21, London
Rating 5 out of 5: ‘She refuses to be pinned down’
Lemonade is stunningly honest, thrillingly varied, and gives listeners a glimpse into the life of one of the planet’s biggest stars. It transcends genre, and each song feels like a masterpiece in itself, there is no room for weak tracks on this album. The hypnotically layered Hold Up is my favourite song, boasting a powerfully cinematic video, which features Beyoncé smashing cars with a baseball bat and dancing under busted fire hydrants. She shows she’s willing to experiment though, as the following track Don’t Hurt Yourself has a rock influence. Daddy Lessons is also different, and in this tune Beyoncé goes back to her Texan roots with a country soundtrack. Although the mix is interesting, this can sometimes to be jarring, and a whole album listen-through can be pretty overwhelming. Beyoncé refuses to be pinned down. Lemonade is Beyoncé’s best album to date, vocally and visually, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Emilia Bona, 22, Edinburgh
Rating 5 out of 5: ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’
Lemonade is never bitter, despite its sharp and stinging approach to infidelity. Instead, Beyoncé’s sixth album offers a frank and brutal exploration of the range of feelings left in the wake of a betrayal. It opens with the haunting and cautious tones of Pray You Catch Me, and then progresses to a powerful expression of anger and hurt in tracks like Don’t Hurt Yourself and Sandcastles. Finally, it reaches redemption and forgiveness in All Night. Far from attacking the “other woman”, Lemonade presents a castigation of the man for his disloyalty and affirms that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Beyoncé ferociously asserts her own power and independence. Such a commanding representation of the scorned woman at the apex of pop culture is to be celebrated, with Beyoncé providing a proud, powerful and poignant embodiment of unapologetic emotion.
William Sage, 27, London
Rating 4 out of 5: ‘Hella swag throughout’
The album opens with minor chords and smokey vocals, followed by lilted honesty before B’s Betty Davis appears in the third track, which features Jack White. Track four is the “FU-right back” anthem, and who the hell is Becky? After anger comes independence, which Beyoncé has always done well. Then, the southern belle rises and the romp continues. In my opinion I would swap tracks six and seven, or lose seven. It’s in the latter song that the vocal rises towards a hopeful tone and we realise she’s gonna take him back. Choral piano ballad follows, and then B’s back and we are once more in the future, with her boys James Blake and Kendrick on production duties. Deep vibes on both. Then it’s Formation, which is the reunion track, and the album ends on a banger: Slay, We Slay. This is a love story. Beyoncé sings incredibly well, Diplo, Blake and Lamar are great producers. It’s a tight narrative with hella swag throughout. She’s shown further artistic growth. Keep on being B, B.
Anton Wiltshire, 21, London
Rating 5 out of 5: ‘It shows the complexities of blackness’
Lemonade should be palatable, in music terms, to many people because it features a range of genres from gospel to country, telling the story of a woman scorned. It also shows the complexities of blackness and womanhood through the poetry of Warsan Shire and gives representation to the black diaspora throughout.
Don’t Hurt Yourself, which features a surprising guest appearance from musician Jack White, includes Beyoncé’s most aggressive vocal as she launches an attack on her lover. The track makes you believe that Beyoncé has turned into the “the dragon breathing fire” and leaves you asking, what has Jay-Z done?
The album is vast in collaboration, featuring actors Quvenzhané Wallis and Amandla Stenberg, tennis star Serena Williams and the actor and singer Zendaya, as well as Beyoncé’s own daughter. These are all black woman who have been publicly shamed in their own ways for their blackness. It also features police brutality victims’ relatives Sybrina Fulton and Lesley McSpadden.
Callum Davies, 23, London
Rating 5 out of 5: ‘It’s emotionally raw and genuinely gripping’
Every moment, every lyric feels necessary – lacking audio-visual filler often found in the albums and videos of Beyoncé’s pop contemporaries. Each song is a distinct chapter in the dramatic story arc of the album, which moves through stages of grief following the discovery of infidelity. The album and film are emotionally raw and genuinely gripping. She rattles off war cries in the Jack White-assisted Don’t Hurt Yourself, a track that is electrifying (underpinned by a Led Zeppelin sample).
In the self-produced bluesy Daddy Lessons, Beyoncé reconnects with her southern roots, the lyrics of which considers the irony of advice from her father, warning her against men like himself. The reality that both the male figures in her life ended up ruining their relationships through infidelity is a recurring theme.
These songs are only the tip of the musical iceberg; with credits from Karen O, James Blake, Diplo and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. Pulling these collaborators from the entire musical spectrum to create a body of work so rich and soulful – and so Beyoncé – is the work of genius.
Hunood Abdi, 28, Wales
Rating 5 out of 5: ‘It brings a spectrum of sound’
Lemonade is easily Beyoncé’s most intimate album yet. In this visual spectacle the 34-year-old singer opens ups about her marital struggles with Jay-Z. While the album has no real bangers, it is not a disappointment and Beyoncé has substituted her typical party anthems with more intimate ballads – embracing topics such as motherhood and race. Beyoncé always brings a varied spectrum of sounds and a squad of featuring artists. Lemonade is no different. Take Hold up, for example, the reggae-themed anthem brags of samples. In total 15 songwriters collaborated for this album and remarkably it comes together like a dream.
