Beyonce held a preview listening party for her upcoming album,
4, at the NYC offices of Sony Music on Wednesday afternoon (May 11).
About a dozen of her super fans watched the “Run The World (Girls)” video in a conference room before the 29-year-old global superstar came in and surprised everyone, shaking hands and hugging every single person in the room. (One of her fansites BeyonceWorld even flew in from Australia!)
“When editing the DVD [for Beyonce: I Am... World Tour], I noticed that the tone of my voice is different live [than my recording one],” Beyonce told JustJared.com. “So I used that live performance tone throughout the record.”
B then sat down, grabbed a bottle of Pellegrino sparkling water, and played five new tracks for the room.
“I wanted to do something refreshing and different,” Beyonce told JustJared.com. “So I mixed genres and drew inspiration from touring, traveling, watching rock bands, and attending festivals… I was like a mad scientist, putting lots of different songs together.”
Click inside for JustJared.com’s preview of “4″…
Beyonce ‘4′ Album Preview - JustJared.com Exclusive
SONG #1 ———- Part of the song, tentatively titled “Till The End of Time,” has already leaked on YouTube. “The bass line was inspired by [Nigerian musician and composer] Fela Kuti,” Beyonce shared with JustJared.com. “It’s my nephew Julez’s favorite song.” (JJ Tidbit: Jay-Z produced the Broadway musical Fela! about the late Nigerian singer.)
Here are some sample lyrics: “I wanna love you so (hit me)/ I will be the one to kiss you at night… Come on take my hand/ I won’t let you go/ I’ll be your friend/ I will love you so… Turn your rain into sun… Say you’ll never let me go.”
SONG #2 ———- This mid-tempo song has lots of drums much like “Run The World.” “Babyface wrote the song,” Beyonce told JustJared.com. The track is about karma and revenge and kicks off with, “What goes around comes back around.” Some key phrases from the song include, “Best thing I’ve ever had” and “Best thing you’ve never had.” The best line in the song goes, “You showed your ass, baby I saw the real you.” The song closes with, “Sucks to be you right now.”
SONG #3 ———- This ballad is moody and dark. It’s a song that will really sit with you, rather than be an instant smash hit. One fan asked Beyonce if she was crying at the beginning of the song because it sounded like she was. “Almost,” she responded. “I was on the verge.”
Jeff Bhasker penned this song, Beyonce confirmed. “It’s one of my favorite songs [off of the album],” she said.
Some sample lyrics: “I told you how you hurt me/ I’m crying and deserted but you don’t care/ Nobody told me this is love/ You’re immune to all my pain/ This is love but that’s okay… But I care/ I know you don’t care too much/ But I still care.”
SONG #4 ———- This track starts off the lyrics “killing me softly” and samples Boyz II Men’s “Uhh Ahh.” Beyonce uses the countdown and sings between each decremental number, “10, 9, 8…”
“Boyz II Men were the first ones to put Destiny’s Child on tour,” Beyonce told JustJared.com. “They showed us how to treat an opening act and I will never forget that. That was 15 years ago! Wow, 15 years! (laughs) I’m old.”
Some sample lyrics: “Dedicated to the one I love… diamonds in that chain… Riding that pony.. showing him how you ride… If you leave me, you’re out of your mind. London, speed it up. Houston, rock it.”
What did Jay-Z think of this song? “He liked it,” Beyonce told JustJared.com. “I don’t think he was dissecting it, just thinking of what he could do to it as a rapper.”
SONG #5 ———- Beyonce had the lights turned down for this beautiful ballad. Here’s how the song starts: “If I ain’t got nothing, I got you/ If I ain’t got something, I don’t give a damn/Because I got…”
“I don’t know much about algebra but one plus one is two,” she croons. “He ain’t got nothing but love. Darling, you got enough for the both of us. Make love when my days look low, pull me in close.”
“RUN THE WORLD (GIRLS)” VIDEO ———- It’s everything we hoped it would be - amazing! (Watch the 60-second “Run The World” teaser.)
The video starts and ends with Beyonce riding her horse, except there’s fire involved in the closing scene. A lion walks into one of the dance numbers and Beyonce has two giant hyenas on leashes in another scene.
The room went crazy during two parts of the song. The first was when Beyonce sings “eff you” and gives the middle finger (albeit pixelated with a censor). The second was when Beyonce is on her knees, bent backwards, and writhing around in the sand. It’s reminiscent of the sand dance sequence in her “Baby Boy” video
The dance sequences were choreographed by her longtime friend Frank Gatson with help from Sheryl Murakami and Mozambican kwaito dance group Tofo Tofo. Beyonce had scoured the Internet and discovered Tofo Tofo on YouTube. The funny thing is they had no idea who Beyonce was when she reached out to them! (Tofo Tofo gets down with Beyonce in a few of the dance numbers.)
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Beyonce had walked into the room after her fans watched the “Run the World” video, so after the album preview, she had the video played again. “I’ve never watched it with a group of people before, so I’m excited,” she said. So the fans got to see the video not once, but twice!
After the album preview and video screening, Beyonce thanked everyone in the room for coming and said she had to go rehearse for her next “thing.” She has so many “things” coming up, we’re all so excited!
Maybe baby can wait, but the Internet sure can't.
