Update: The New York Times reports that unlike Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo, Beyoncé will make her album available on streaming services beyond Tidal. She is reportedly giving the streaming service, of which she is a part owner, a 24-hour exclusive window. Lemonade will be available on iTunes at midnight.
This post was originally published on April 23.
After a week filled with hype and speculation, Lemonade dropped during Saturday night's hour-long special. Lemonade became available exclusively on Tidal before the end of the HBO special. Fans can watch it for free on HBO for one day: Sunday, April 24.
The album and the special are the latest moves in Beyoncé’s strategic approach to creating and releasing her new material and controlling both the medium and the message. For this project, she worked with a slew of directors: Kahlil Joseph, Melina Matsoukas, Todd Tourso, Dikayl Rimmasch, Jonas Åkerlund, and Mark Romanek all have credits on the visual album, along with Beyoncé herself.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
In a statement, streaming service Tidal characterized Lemonade as "a conceptual project based on every woman’s journey of self-knowledge and healing." It has left many wondering if Knowles is healing from is a damaged relationship with husband, Jay Z.
The album is 12 songs long, each with a corresponding short film. It contains guest appearances by Jack White (“Don’t Hurt Yourself”), The Weeknd (“6 Inch”), James Blake (“Forward”), and Kendrick Lamar (“Freedom”); as well as a samples from Led Zeppelin ("Don't Hurt Yourself"), Yeah Yeah Yeahs ("Hold Up"), Father John Misty ("Hold Up"), and Animal Collective ("6 Inch").
Rolling Stone reports that Blaze, Diplo, Mike Will Made It, and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig are all co-producers on the album.
Knowles' previously announced Formation World Tour starts on April 27 in Miami.