Beyoncé up and dropped a new record on the world last night, with absolutely zero fanfare or advance notice. In fact, according to Billboard, only about a dozen people at Sony Records were even aware the album even existed, let alone that its release was so imminent.
This is Beyoncé’s fifth studio record, her last being 2011’s 4. Guests on the new tracks include Jay Z, Drake, Frank Ocean, and even Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.
The 14-song, self-titled LP is available exclusively on iTunes right now, and comes packaged with 17 accompanying videos. The record is only available as a whole; singles won’t be available until Dec. 20. Physical copies are being rushed into production, and should be available in stores before Christmas.
Beyoncé is, of course, expected to top the Billboard charts this week. Between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. EST last night, the record sold over 80,000 copies. Before this, Garth Brooks' Blame It All On My Roots: Five Decades Of Influences was expected to top the charts with sales of between 150,000 and 160,000 copies.