4 is the fourth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on June 24, 2011, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Recorded from March 2010 to May 2011, the album was produced by Beyoncé alongside Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Kanye West, Kaskade, Brent Kutzle, and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Switch, and The-Dream, among others. The album features a single lead guest appearance, from André 3000 of Outkast. Following a career hiatus that reignited her creativity, Beyoncé conceived 4 as a record rooted in traditional rhythm and blues that stood apart from contemporary popular music.
4 was Beyoncé's first album after she ended her working relationship with her father and manager Mathew Knowles. She conceived 4 as an intimate album that departed from the commercially oriented music of her past releases. Her collaborations with songwriters and record producers The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, and Shea Taylor resulted in a more subdued tone that incorporates vocal styles and influences from 1970s and 1980s funk, hip-hop, and soul music. The lyrics address monogamy, female empowerment, and self-reflection, reflecting Beyoncé's effort to convey a more mature message and assert artistic credibility.
Beyoncé promoted 4 in mid-2011 through television and festival performances, including a headlining set at the Glastonbury Festival. The album received generally positive reviews by music critics; several publications included it on their year-end lists. In the United States, it became Beyoncé's first album to spend multiple weeks atop the Billboard 200 and has been certified quadruple platinum. The album also peaked at number one in Argentina, Croatia, Ireland, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Five of its singles reached the Billboard Hot 100: "Run the World (Girls)", "Best Thing I Never Had", "Party", "Love On Top", and "Countdown". At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards (2013), "Love On Top" won Best Traditional R&B Performance.
Contents
Background and development
Following the release of her third album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008) and the ensuing world tour, Beyoncé took a career hiatus in 2010 "to live life [and] to be inspired by things again". During her hiatus, she "killed" Sasha Fierce, the aggressive stage alter-ego used in I Am... Sasha Fierce, as she felt she could now merge her two personalities. She severed professional ties with her father and manager Mathew Knowles, who had guided her career since the 1990s with Destiny's Child, noting that the decision made her feel vulnerable.
It was a time where [sic] everyone was doing pop/dance music, and R&B and soul were getting lost. It was popular and fun, but it wasn’t my thing. It was not where I was going with my music career at that time. I was yearning for something deeper with more musicality. That’s when I put out "1+1" and "Love On Top."
In an interview for Complex, Beyoncé expressed dissatisfaction with contemporary radio. She intended 4 to help change that status, commenting, "Figuring out a way to get R&B back on the radio is challenging ... With 4, I tried to mix R&B from the '70s and the '90s with rock 'n' roll and a lot of horns to create something new and exciting. I wanted musical changes, bridges, vibrata, live instrumentation and classic songwriting." On her website she wrote, "The album is definitely an evolution. It's bolder than the music on my previous albums because I'm bolder. The more mature I become and the more life experiences I have, the more I have to talk about. I really focused on songs being classics, songs that would last, songs that I could sing when I'm 40 and when I'm 60." Beyoncé also sought to make more artistic music, rather than purely commercially oriented songs.
Although much of 4's inspiration came from "touring, traveling, watching rock bands and attending festivals", the album's early musical direction was influenced by Nigerian Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti, whose passion for music motivated Beyoncé. She worked with the band from Fela!, the Broadway musical based on Kuti's life. DJ Swivel, one of 4's engineers, later described how Kuti's use of percussion and horns influenced the track "End of Time". In 2015, The-Dream revealed that he and Beyoncé had composed a whole album based on Kuti's music, although it was scrapped in favor of creating 4, explaining how "End of Time" became so heavily influenced.
Recording and production
Three months into her hiatus, in March 2010, Beyoncé began recording at her husband Jay-Z's Roc the Mic Studios in New York City. One song—"Party"—was recorded because she wanted to see what working relationship would develop with engineer DJ Swivel. Kanye West assisted the production of "Party" after Beyoncé was impressed by his work on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). André 3000, the only featured artist on 4, contributed a rap verse to the song, which he recorded in Georgia.
Six weeks later, in May 2010, she asked Swivel to work on the entire project. Concerning his working relationship with Beyoncé, he commented, "There was no 'We're doing this today.' It was a very kind of open project, where whatever she felt like recording at that time was what we'd work on. It was based on how she felt, her mood, and also her listening to the demos that writers would give us." With Swivel, she experimented with horns, drums, guitars and percussion instruments. Mostly inspired by the Fela! sessions, Swivel began to formulate beats using their own recordings and those from Fela! The project was moved to KMA Studios for a week and a half because Roc the Mic was not large enough. There, they began recording "I Care", "Best Thing I Never Had" and "Rather Die Young", and completed "Party". They recorded the songs "Schoolin' Life", "1+1" and "Start Over" at Jungle City Studios in New York.
MSR Studios was the final New York City-based studio used, and where most of 4 was recorded—only "Party" and "I Was Here" were recorded entirely at other studios. At MSR, Beyoncé emphasized the use of live instruments on songs such as "I Care" and "End of Time". Consequently, most of the instruments, including drums, keyboards, guitar and bass work, were recorded there and were performed by Jeff Bhasker and Shea Taylor. Beyoncé asked Frank Ocean to write and record "I Miss You" at MSR, saying to Complex, "[Jay-Z] had a CD playing in the car one Sunday when we were driving to Brooklyn. I noticed his tone, his arrangements, and his storytelling. I immediately reached out to him—literally the next morning. I asked him to fly to New York and work on my record."
After listening to each song, Beyoncé often requested the addition of specific instruments, leaving her production team to make the sounds cohesive. Her vocals were recorded through an Avalon Design 737 preamp and compressed in a 1176 Peak Limiter with a 4:1 ratio. After recording the lead vocals for a track, Swivel cut them in different ways and he and Beyoncé picked the best, before recording the backing vocals. Beyoncé composed her own vocal arrangements and harmonies for each song. Her microphones were carefully placed to achieve a blend of sounds with a clear quality. Swivel spoke of her work ethic in an interview for Sound on Sound:
Music and lyrics
The final version of 4 comprises twelve tracks on the standard edition and eighteen on the deluxe edition—three of which are remixes of "Run the World (Girls)". Critics viewed 4 as a major departure from Beyoncé's previous catalog, with a distinctive more subdued sound. The album consists mostly of mid-tempo R&B songs, with 1970s funk, 1980s pop and 1990s soul influences. The second half is more eclectic, exploring a variety of genres including hard rock, reggae and adult contemporary. The Guardian wrote that the album's divergence from the "layering [of] Euro-synths on pop-step woomphs" set it apart from the music of Beyoncé's contemporaries.
The balladry of the first half of 4 combines diverse vocal styles with the use of live instrumentation. "1+1" demonstrates Beyoncé's vocal-flexing over "magnificent guitar bombast" and a soft backing beat, while "Start Over", a mid-tempo R&B ballad, uses a futuristic rhythm with electric elements and synthesizers. "I Miss You", with its "layers of atmospheric keyboards", ambient synthesizers and tinny 808 drums was sung in a half-whisper to convey intense emotion. "I Was Here", an understated pop-R&B ballad with indie rock inflections, primarily concerns self-reflection and features dramatic vocals.
On other songs, Beyoncé explores womanhood. "Best Thing I Never Had", 4's fourth track, has been described as a moment of self-realization and a "female call to arms". With vocals that allude to a "wounded bird turned resilient lioness", the song is built on a "winkly piano riff and beefy bass drums". "Dance for You" conveys a more sexual tone through breathy vocals and blaring electric guitars. It forgoes Beyoncé's typical empowerment themes in favor of sensual imagery and comfort with one's partner. "Run the World (Girls)", a female empowerment anthem reminiscent of Beyoncé's more contemporary work on I Am... Sasha Fierce, uses an energetic sample of Major Lazer's "Pon de Floor". The song incorporates "layered melodics", most prominently a military marching drumbeat, while Beyoncé's near-chanted delivery encompasses her full vocal range.
The tracks "Countdown" and "End of Time" were distinguished by their musical and lyrical experimentalism. "Countdown" was described as "everywhere on the genre map", although predominantly dancehall-led with a "bristling brass arrangement". Its chorus describes a relationship by counting backwards from ten, using a sample from Boyz II Men's "Uhh Ahh". "End of Time"'s pulsating, brass sound—reminiscent of a marching-band—was heavily influenced by Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti. Kuti's use of horns and percussion instruments was recreated and combined with elements of electronic music and synthesizers. "Lay Up Under Me" is also built on retro horns, featuring upbeat vocals, a sound Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork associated with Michael Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall.
Release and promotion
In an interview for Billboard, Beyoncé stated that despite having another concept for the album, she was ultimately influenced by her fans to name the album 4. She described the number four as "special" to her because her birthday, Jay-Z's birthday, several other family and friends' birthdays, and her wedding anniversary fall on the fourth day of their respective months. The cover of the standard edition was revealed on Beyoncé's website on May 18, 2011. Shot on the rooftop of the Hôtel Meurice in Paris, Beyoncé is looking into the distance with her arms raised over her head, wearing smokey eye makeup, thick gold cuffs and a fox-fur stole by cult French designer Alexandre Vauthier, embellished with Swarovski crystals by the Lesage embroidery house. The cover of the deluxe edition was shown on June 16, in which Beyoncé is dressed in a tight-fitting blue-purple dress by French designer Maxime Simoens, holding her hands in her hair. For its artwork, she opted for clothing made by lesser-known designers. The promotional and interior-package images for 4 were shot at the same time.
On May 18, 2011, 4's United States release date was confirmed as June 28. On June 7, the album was leaked online in full; Beyoncé's legal representatives issued warnings to infringing websites and leaked tracks were soon removed from such sites. On June 9, Beyoncé responded to the leak through Facebook, commenting, "My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans. When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs." Following this, reports circulated that Columbia Records executives hoped to protect their investment amid fears that the album might be a commercial failure. Rumors suggested that the label asked Beyoncé to make changes to the record and reunite Destiny's Child, claims Columbia denied. In August 2013, NME reported that Sony Music was suing a 47-year-old man from Gothenburg for US$233,000 concerning the leak of 4. A deluxe version of the album was released simultaneously with the standard edition in several countries; in the United States, it was available exclusively through Target stores.
Beyoncé made several appearances on television and in live shows to promote 4. She performed "Run the World (Girls)" for the first time on May 17, 2011, on Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular at the United Center in Chicago. She also performed the song at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. On May 25, "1+1" was made available for download through the iTunes Store in the United States. The same day, "1+1" was performed at the American Idol final; she introduced it as her favorite song. In June, she performed at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice, Zénith de Lille, and the Galaxie in Amnéville. On June 26, Beyoncé was the closing act at the Glastonbury Festival 2011 in the United Kingdom. She was the first solo female artist to headline the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival in more than twenty years. A pre-taped performance of "Best Thing I Never Had" and "End of Time" at the Glastonbury Festival was broadcast during the 2011 BET Awards. The following day, Beyoncé's exclusive hour-long interview with Piers Morgan in London was broadcast on Piers Morgan Tonight. She also appeared on the finale of France's X Factor to perform "Run the World" and "Best Thing I Never Had". An MTV television special, Beyoncé: Year of 4, premiered on June 30, documenting Beyoncé's life during 4's production.
Critical reception
4 received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 36 reviews. Michael Cragg of The Observer called it Beyoncé's "most accomplished album yet". Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson believed 4 succeeds vocally as an album of mostly intimate and slow-tempo ballads. Mikael Wood of Spin magazine applauded its ballads, mid-tempo songs, and evocations of late 1970s and early 1980s pop-soul. In his review for Rolling Stone, Jody Rosen wrote that Beyoncé eschews contemporary production styles for a more personal and idiosyncratic album. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed it as a good showcase for Beyoncé as a torch singer, because she convincingly sings about heartbreak and the strong emotional effect of love. Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal found it easygoing, retro-informed, and engaging because it shows "one of the world's biggest stars exploring her talent in ways few could've predicted". AllMusic's Andy Kellman said that the quality of Beyoncé's singing and the songwriting compensate for the assorted arrangement of the songs. Uncut viewed it is an exceptional album in spite of occasionally trite lyrics.
In a less enthusiastic review, Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly said the first half of 4 is marred by boring ballads and the songwriting in general are not on-par with Beyoncé's vocal talent. In his review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis was ambivalent toward the album's 1980s influence and argued that, despite well written songs, it is not very consequential. Time magazine's Claire Suddath said the songs lack lyrical substance, even though they are performed well. Greg Kot, writing in the Chicago Tribune, called 4 inconsistent, short, and unfinished. NME magazine's Hamish MacBain felt Beyoncé did not progress from her past work and that "even the OK bits here" sounded "uninspired". Tom Hull was more critical and gave the album a "C", lamenting the second half of songs' "overkill production" and believing the first half's ballads show that, while "every soul diva of her generation has dreamed of singing like Aretha Franklin ... only Beyoncé has had the ego to think she's done it."
Accolades
4 was included on various publication's year-end lists. It was ranked as the best album of the year by The New Yorker, and came in the runner-up spot on lists produced by Spin and Amazon. The album was ranked within the top ten by MSN, where it came in at number three, The Guardian and MTV, which placed it at number four, and the Chicago Sun-Times, which placed it at number six. The BBC ranked it at number seven, while The New York Times listed it as the 10th best album of the year. The album was placed at number 13 by Consequence of Sound, number 18 by Stereogum, number 25 by Rolling Stone, number 39 by Spin, number 10 by Club Fonograma, number 34 by Pretty Much Amazing, and number 27 by Pitchfork. 4 was included in NPR's Top 50 Favorite Albums of 2011, and was ranked at number 26 in the Pazz & Jop's critics poll.
Rob Sheffield ranked the album at number 37 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list "Women Who Rock: 50 Greatest Albums of All Time". On 2010s-decade-end lists, 4 was named the greatest R&B album by Rated R&B and the second-greatest pop album by Uproxx. Pitchfork ranked 4 at number 31 on their list of the 200 best albums of the 2010s decade, and BrooklynVegan placed it 29th on their ranking of the best R&B/rap albums of the same period. The album was included on Consequence of Sound's list "The 10 Best Summer Albums of All Time". In 2025, Paste named the project the 138th best album of the 21st century so far.
4 won R&B Album of the Year at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. It received nominations at the 2011 American Music Awards, the 2011 Soul Train Music Awards, the 38th People's Choice Awards, the 43rd NAACP Image Awards and the 2012 Grammis. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, "Love On Top" won the Best Traditional R&B Performance Award.
Commercial performance
4 peaked at number one on the albums charts of Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, where it spent two weeks atop the UK Albums Chart. Across other markets, it peaked at number two in Australia, France, the Netherlands, and Poland; and number three in Canada and New Zealand. The album has been certified double platinum in Australia, Canada, and Sweden; triple platinum in Brazil, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; and quadruple platinum in Denmark. As of November 2016, 4 had sold 5 million copies worldwide. In February 2018, 4 made Beyoncé the first female artist to have three albums each surpass one billion streams on Spotify.
In the United States, 4 debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 310,000 copies. This gave Beyoncé her fourth consecutive solo number-one debut. She became the second female artist, after Britney Spears, to have her first four studio albums debut atop the Billboard 200. According to Keith Caulfield of Billboard, 4 had a modest opening week compared to Beyoncé's previous albums because it was not released during the holiday season and its singles were less commercially successful. 4 became Beyoncé's first album to top the Billboard 200 albums chart for more than one week, spending two weeks at the number-one position. The album had sold 1.5 million copies in the United States by December 2015, and it was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 2022.
Track listing
Notes
^[a] signifies a co-producer
^[b] signifies an additional producer
^[c] signifies a vocal producer
^[d]signifies a remixer
"I Care" features background vocals by Billy Kraven
"Party" features background vocals by Kanye West and Consequence
"Rather Die Young" features background vocals by Luke Steele and Billy Kraven
"I Was Here" features background vocals by Ryan Tedder
CD deluxe edition contains an exclusive version of the music video for "Run the World (Girls)".
"Party" contains a sample of "La Di Da Di" as performed by Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew featuring MC Ricky D. and written by Douglas Davis and Ricky Walters.
"Countdown" contains a sample of "Uhh Ahh" as performed by Boyz II Men and written by Michael Bivins, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris.
"End of Time" contains an uncredited sample of "BTSTU" as performed and written by Jai Paul.
"Run the World (Girls)" contains a sample "Pon de Floor" as performed by Major Lazer and written by Afrojack, Vybz Kartel, Diplo and Switch.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of 4.