! Beyonce - I Am Sasha Fierce - (Deluxe Edition) - 2008 ( com) torrent

* 1 Conception
o 1.1 Background
o 1.2 Sasha Fierce
* 2 Music
* 3 Promotion and release
o 3.1 Beyonce On Tour
* 4 Reception
o 4.1 Critical response
o 4.2 Commercial performance
* 5 Track listing
o 5.1 Standard edition
o 5.2 Deluxe edition
* 6 Personnel
* 7 Chart history
* 8 Release history
* 9 References
* 10 External links

[edit] Conception

[edit] Background

Beyonce Knowles worked on the album for nearly a year, longer than she had spent on her previous solo albums and records with former group Destiny's Child. She revealed that she had co-written and co-produced over seventy songs.[4] In a statement released on Knowles' official website, she wrote:

I am in a different place right now and I wanted people to see the many sides of me. The music is upbeat for the dance, fun side and it is reflective, passionate and serious for the personal side. I have taken risks here. I am not afraid and my music will explain it all. There is no label or tag on my sound. It's me and I am so excited to share it with the world on November 18.[5]

Knowles' father-manager, Mathew, explained the two-disc album, saying, "Beyoncé was adamant—and she has complete creative control—about dividing her songs. She felt she couldn't mix the songs together. She's in a much different space now than she was one year ago. She's married and in a really good place and this album reflects that."[6] Sessions with producers Timbaland-protégé Danjahandz and The Neptunes were also said to take place, but their records did not make the final cut.[7]

[edit] Sasha Fierce

The album formally introduces Knowles' alter-ego Sasha Fierce. Knowles said that Sasha was "born" during the making of her 2003 hit single "Crazy in Love". In an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, Knowles noted that her alter-ego is "strictly for the stage". The magazine has described it as "the singer's sensual, aggressive alter ego".[8]

Knowles wears a "roboglove" in public to compliment Sasha Fierce. It was Knowles' concept, and New York-based jeweler Lorraine Schwartz made the titanium glove. It consists of several pieces, including a ring, a glove, and a separate component that covers Knowles' upper arm. The glove first appeared in the video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". Knowles later wore it on the red carpet during the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, on her performance at the Saturday Night Live show, on the cover of Gotham magazine,[9] and in the music video for "Diva".

[edit] Music

In a Billboard magazine interview, Knowles described the two sides of the album: "... One side has songs that are more mainstream and another has my more traditional R&B songs for my fans who've been there the whole time. Some of it sounds like Barbra Streisand, Karen Carpenter and the Beatles around the 1970s."[10] Knowles explained at The Oprah Winfrey Show that the difference between I Am... Sasha Fierce and the Knowles' earlier solo albums is that it includes more ballads.

[edit] Promotion and release

The first singles "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were initially targeted to radio on October 7, 2008;[11] however, they were premiered on the following day on selected radio stations in the United States.[12][13] On the same day, a video was released by Knowles' record label Columbia, featuring footage on the making of the music videos to "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", and the photo shoot for the two singles and the album.[14]

A deluxe edition of the album, which contains bonus tracks, was released simultaneously with the standard version.[15] Mathew Knowles held a listening party for the album in New York on October 22, 2008.[16] Prior to the album's earliest release date, the entire album was premiered on November 11, 2008 on Knowles' MySpace account.[17]

To correspond with the double album release, Columbia Records produced a website for Sasha Fierce.[18] It asks to call and try to describe Sasha. It also states her "true identity" will be released at a later date. Knowles will also release a Spanish version of the album titled "Yo Soy… Sasha Feroz", along with a DVD of videos for each song on the album, much like her B'Day Anthology Video Album.[19] The DVD was originally set for a March 2nd 2009 release date in the UK according to the HMV website, but has been since moved back to a later date.

[edit] Beyonce On Tour

Main article: I Am... Tour

In early October 2008, Billboard magazine announced that Knowles was allotting space in her schedule for a world tour in 2009. It was later confirmed by father and manager, Matthew Knowles, that she will conduct a 110-date tour beginning on March 26, 2009 in Edmonton, Canada and for now will end on June 8, 2009, but is expected to finish on a later date. So far Knowles has only announced dates across Europe and very few in North America, although more North American dates are expected in the near future. Also the tour will add dates in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and even South America. It has also been heard that when she officially releases her full North American leg dates, it will include a week-long stint in Las Vegas [15][18].

[edit] Reception

[edit] Critical response

The album has received generally positive to sometimes mixed reviews.[20] Mariel Concepcion of Billboard magazine writes, "Beyoncé devoted half of the tracks on this double-disc set to her feisty alter ego Sasha Fierce ... But, it's the classic, more timeless R&B songs on the portion of the album that seem like a much-welcomed stretch for the singer."[21] Comparing the songs on the "Sasha Fierce" disc to B'Day, "less fun, less impulsive, and yes, less fierce", said Allmusic.[22] Vibe magazine's Amy Linden ponders on the album's double-sided personality, favoring Knowles over her alter-ego: "Ironically, it's the more tame (and nameless) persona that's the most intriguing, commanding and sexual. ... Beyonce sounds relaxed, confident and, if for no other reason than the fact that you can't hear her trying, hits the mark. Maybe someone should let her therapist and label know that letting Sasha shine too bright dims Beyoncé's light".[23] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine noted the slow songs in the album as having "thoroughly memorable tunes", although he dismissed its lyrics, claiming they are "full of bland self-affirmation and saggy lines". Hoard, instead, complimented Knowles' presentation of her alter ego, writing: "But the "Sasha" disc boasts Beyoncé's most adventurous music yet ... Another plus: The girl who blew up going all melismatic has never sung with more restraint than she does on Sasha."[24] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly magazine said the album offers "two compelling sides" of Knowles, describing the first disc as "romantic, vulnerable, soft" and the other as "aggressive, sexual, and, well, fierce". She adds, "The collection might have been better served had she edited it down to one disc, rather than belabor what ultimately seems like a marketing gimmick. And while fans will surely speculate, there's little in the lyrics that feels more revealing than previous emotional fire-starters such as 2006's "Ring the Alarm".[25]

I Am… Sasha Fierce is ranked number two on Entertainment Weekly magazine's list of the 10 Best Albums of 2008.[26]

[edit] Commercial performance

I Am… Sasha Fierce first appeared on Japan's International Album chart, where the album had its earliest release. The album debuted at number one on the chart, becoming Knowles' third consecutive number-one solo album debut in the country.[27] Overall in Japan, it charted at number three.

The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, moving 482,000 units in its first week, giving Knowles her third consecutive number one debut album.[28] In over two months of release, the album sold more than two million copies. It received two-time platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, the highest-certified album in the first audit of 2009.[29]

In the United Kingdom, I Am... Sasha Fierce debuted at number ten, becoming Knowles' lowest-charting album. However, the album's first week sales in the United Kingdom for I Am... Sasha Fierce has sold more than B'Day's first week sales in 2006: I Am... Sasha Fierce sold 38,609 copies in its first week compared to 35,012 copies for B'Day. Following Knowles' performance at the 2008 X Factor finale with winner Alexandra Burke, the 2006 B'Day single "Listen" ascended to number eight, while "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" also moved up, all of which helped the album to reach number nine on the UK Albums Chart.[30] The album had sold 102,536 copies in this week alone, becoming Knowles' second highest weekly sale ever, behind Dangerously In Love's debut of 113,000. The album has now been certified platinum by the BPI. The album charted at number 1 on the UK R&B Album Chart and stayed at the top spot for 8 consecutive weeks before being knocked off the sport by Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad. A week later the album reached number one again and has stayed there since totaling in 11 weeks at the top of the UK R&B Album Chart.[31]

In other European markets, such as Ireland, I Am... Sasha Fierce debuted at number three, making it Knowles second top three album in Ireland. After the lead singles "If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" gained popularity on the Irish singles charts, and the announcement of additional dates to Knowles' European leg of her I Am... Tour, the album rose to top the Irish album charts, making I Am... Sasha Fierce Knowles' second number one album in Ireland, after Dangerously In Love.