Beyoncé releases ‘Grown Woman’ on streaming on 10th anniversary of self-titled album
Beyoncé has commemorated the 10th anniversary of her self-titled album by releasing the bonus track, ‘Grown Woman’, to streaming platforms.
The track was released to streaming platforms yesterday (December 13), which marked ten years after the release of Beyoncé’s groundbreaking album. Conceived as a visual album, ‘Beyoncé’ was surprise-released on December 13, 2013 with an accompanying music video for each of its 14 tracks. However, ‘Grown Woman’ also attached to the album as a “bonus video”, despite not being included on its official tracklist.
The video, directed by Jake Nava, was eventually uploaded to YouTube in November 2014 to mark the one-year anniversary of ‘Beyoncé’. It featured archival footage of the popstar performing and rehearsing in her childhood home, with her mouth edited to sing the lyrics of the song.
Watch the video for ‘Grown Woman’ below and stream it on Apple Music:
‘Grown Woman’ had its first large-scale public preview in a 2013 Pepsi commercial which was released months after Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show that year. The one-minute advertisement was a retrospective look into her career, depicting her outfits from her Destiny’s Child years to her current appearance.
Accompanying the track’s release on streaming platforms is a new video the singer released on her Instagram page. The montage compiles cuts from the music videos of ‘Beyoncé’ and behind-the-scenes footage from the era, against a new voiceover. “I still get scared before every album release,” she admitted. “I’m constantly searching for the deeper purpose with my art. Thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies.”
Later in the clip, she alludes to the album’s notably unconventional release, where the album was released exclusively to iTunes in the early hours of December 13, 2013 without prior announcement or promotion. She narrates: “I don’t want anybody to give the message of when my album is coming out. I just want this to come out when it’s ready, and from me to my fans.”
At its conclusion, she says: “This album is the anti-perfection. Happy 10th anniversary.” Watch the video here.
Upon its release, NME awarded ‘Beyoncé’ four stars. In a glowing review, Al Horner praised Beyoncé’s artistic maturity, writing: “Instead the low-key, moody production throws the spotlight on the words and the images brought to play by Beyonce as serious album artist, encompassing bulimia, post-natal depression, the fears and insecurities of marriage and motherhood, and lots and lots of sex.”
Beyoncé most recently released Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, a movie which documented her record-breaking ‘Renaissance’ tour. Taylor Swift attended its London premiere in late November, mirroring how Beyoncé attended the premiere of Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour concert film in October.
In Swift’s interview with TIME magazine after being named their Person of the Year, she commented on comparisons made between their tours, stating: “Clearly it’s very lucrative for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when those two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion.”
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Eli Ordonez
NME
