B'Day

B'Day is the second studio album by American recording artist Beyonce. It was released to coincide with her twenty-fifth birthday on September 4, 2006, by Columbia Records in collaboration with Music World Music and Sony Urban Music. The record was originally planned as a 2004 follow-up to Beyonce's debut studio album Dangerously in Love (2003), although it was delayed to accommodate the recording of Destiny's Child's final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004) and her starring role in the film Dreamgirls (2006).

On the most arresting moments of her second solo album including the anguished, Sixties-tinged ballad "Resentment" and the punk-R&B single "Ring the Alarm" Beyonce sings with enough frantic, quavering intensity to make you believe she really is crazy in love.

The usual roster of A-list producers shape the soul sisters' slick new efforts. Too slick, perhaps, reckons Peter Robinson.

For all their grumbling about Internet piracy cutting into their bottom lines, record companies sure have used the blogger phenomenon to their advantage.

Beyonce racks up her second No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with "B'Day," bypassing her best one-week sum by more than 220,000 copies. The Columbia set moved a whopping 541,000 units in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the best sales number since Tool's "10,000 Days," sold 564,000 in May.

Beyonce's 'B'Day' album was a turning point in more ways than one. Here's why Bey's 2006 full-length was a huge moment.

At least one tactic or event preceding the release of Beyonce's second solo album inspired a bemused three-syllable exclamation from anyone who was paying attention. The lead single, the late-'70s-funk-inspired "Deja Vu," had the audacity to not be as monstrous as "Crazy in Love" -- its stay at the top of the charts was relatively brief, so clearly there was evidence of some drop-off there.

On her second solo album, the former Destiny's Child singer mostly eschews balladry, melisma, and clean pop, instead delivering a tight, energetic set heavy on upbeat numbers and funk affectations.

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Listen to Beyonce's full B'Day album on YouTube.