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On my mind, past my bedtime, no rest in the kingdom,
Alone in my place, my heart is away
All that I can think of is, we should get married.
Lets stop holding back on this and lets get carried away.
BEYONCEs most flawed song is also one of its most lyrically brilliant moments. Mine is a back-and-forth between two lovers who cant figure their relationship out; when one wants to slow it down, the other wants to speed it up, and the songs production follows suit. There is a LOT to digest with this song because its the albums most lyrically intensive track, with monologues by both Beyonce and Drake that are as ambiguous as they are wordy. A lot of the play on words here are cleverly constructed but dont seem to make much sense (stop making a big deal out of the little things, cause I got big deals and I got little things), though even with its wordiness and rare mark-missing the song is still a great transition from sex-kitten grinders to some more relationship earnestness. Drake does his job well here too, and his vocals mesh well with Beyonces silky lower register. Overall the song is effective enough, and will resonate with the listener depending on their affinity for new-age R&B and, honestly, Drake himself (this songs style is pretty much lifted from his own). I do think its easier however for Mine to fail at resonating with listeners than other songs on BEYONCE, even after multiple listens. SCORE: C
Nobody sees what we see
Theyre just hopelessly gazing
Baby take me,
Before they turn the lights out.
XO works as both a love letter to her fans and as a general statement of unconditional love. Either way, its a soaring stadium-ready power anthem that can easily pass for a Coldplay A-side, with overly layered synths and ooooh ohhh background chants that weve come to expect from this kind of sound. XO is the official first pop single from the album which makes sense because it has every making for a foreseeable hit. It does however fall squarely on the safe side of things, and while XOs sound and visual fits this album like a glove, its definitely not the most ambitious or necessary track in the overall experience. Its a feel-good Ryan Tedder power ballad that calls to mind that overpowering emotion that Halo did so well, and Beyonces softly laden vocals are a good fit here. The video is also the albums most candid moment, showing Beyonce having a goddamn blast at Coney Island, meeting fans and, of course, making the children dance. I do love how Beyonce seems to stake out the fun kids around her and forces them into a dance troupe collaboration. Perhaps she learned that from her dad. SCORE: B

We say to girls: You can have ambition, but not too much.
***Flawless is hard to pin down because it comes and goes like a thunderstorm. The interlude is exactly the first half of Bow Down/I Been On, which exhibits Beyonce at her most steam pressed, calling out the women in the world who target her for any multitude of reasons (likely regarding her relationship to Jay-Z, or the way she may unintentionally promote chivalrous ideas about women and marriage; see Upgrade U). I do think the bow down retort is fresh for someone like Bey, considering how careful she always seems to be about treading a line of respect toward other females, but I suppose thats the point. And just like that, the anger transitions into soft spoken editorializing, with brilliant Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie quoting herself about gender inequality. The ideas in this reading are simple but effective. We teach girls to shrink themselves; to make themselves smaller. The fact that this transition plays for more than just a single soundbite really makes it special; its an entire monologue that really contextualizes the angry production and gives it substance. Its not just a fuck you song anymore, its a statement on female insecurity and in-fighting; that battling one another is a distraction against the real task at hand, which is to focus on elevating the female sub-species to an equal (or higher) plane than the populations more fortunate half. Beyonce plays both the problem and the solution in this song; what starts off as a fuck you to the women that doubt her then transforms into a commentary about said fuck you, then leads off into Beyonces assertion that above all the in-fighting, were all still flawless. Whether you want to say that Beyonce plays the problem here or whether the song is just imbalanced is up to how you take it, but personally I think theres some blame-taking here, and its an interesting (and bold) take on an otherwise rigid feminist anthem. SCORE: B-
And I thought the world would move on
I thought the world would revolve
Without us, without us, without us.
This Frank Ocean-assisted ballad definitely takes a page out of his playbook; this new internal monologue brand of R&B is definitely the current genre style and it works really well for Bey. I couldnt quite place this song at first but after a few careful listens I did find myself loving it because of its dual meanings (which, lets face it, happens to be the case for most of BEYONCEs tracks). What can most easily be seen as a love song (or a comment about her Destinys Child bandmates) can also be a statement on black empowerment and unity. I thought the world would revolve around us, she says, perhaps a comment on how black issues may, disappointingly, be issues that dont really affect anyone else. It hints ever-so-slightly at this cultural martyrdom but it hits hard. But together we got plenty power she continues, invoking hope into the melancholy. Yes we can she concludes, a reference to the obvious, and because of that I cant help but feel that Superpower is a significant moment for this album, if not significant for R&B. Yes this trope has been tackled before and in many different ways, but to hear Beyonce give a mature, perhaps realistic take on culture war and empowerment is significant because of how permeable her presence is in pop culture. Its tough love, the most poignant and resonant lyric in the song, really brings this point home. Through all the in-fighting, competition and sabotage that come with being a minority in America, at the end of the day it does come from a place of love. We want whats best for our communities and ourselves, and even though we fall into these traps sometimes, its the moments when we come together that real magic occurs. Its our superpower. SCORE: A

Heaven couldnt wait for you.
Heaven is a shockingly forthcoming love song to Beyonces miscarried first child, and its a heart-wrenching production because its really one simple lyric that carries the song. Heaven couldnt wait for you is such a soul-crushing statement, and hearing her say it over and over with a disposition that eventually cracks in the final third of the song is incredibly heartfelt. Its a tasteful ode and doesnt feel deliberate or forced. I remember tearing up on my first listen because of how barren it sounded; its simply the voice of a mother in grief. You would think itd be difficult to place yourself in that kind of emotional situation but it really isnt, and its because Beyonce feels every word and pause, and exudes it with such intensity and purpose. This really does feel like the closest weve come to Beyonces state of mind, and the way she channels this darkness with that beautiful tone of hers really is a powerful and intimate moment. SCORE: A
You and I together
Come on baby wont you hold on to me, hold on to me Blue.
The placement of Blue as the last track on BEYONCE is significant for a number of reasons, but primarily in that its an antithesis to Pretty Hurts, as well as a successor to Heaven. The fact that it follows Heaven feels overwhelming; where Beyonce mourns the loss of her first child and having to let it go, she feels absolutely glowing in Blue, having found her treasure, assuring her to hold on. She cant spare another loss, and there is so much pure happiness in Blue that really hits me emotionally. The contrast between go on, go home and hold on to me is one of the most powerful song progressions Ive ever listened to, and its such a rewarding narrative that assures us that this tortured artist has found her happy ending. Its a brilliant bookend for this album as it calls back the theme from the opening track; she hopes to be a different mother to Blue than Tina was to her. While she grew up learning that looks and money matter above all, she assures us that Blue is growing up around nothing but love and support. Beyonce feels at her most liberated here; all the troubles she feels shackled to from superficiality to industry woes to jealousies and minority inequality it all somehow feels resolved in Blue. Her baby girl clears her mind from the rest, and sets everything at ease. Its natural to assume that the source for Beyonces artistic defiance thats visible throughout this album comes from her experience as a mother; that you can control and change your own destiny and trajectory if you want to, just as you do with your child. With all the albums ups, downs and swivels, theres nothing sweeter than knowing that all your happiness and answers can be found in the loved ones you surround yourself with. Its a great ending to an album filled with plot twists and editorials, and provides some smart closure and a lot of heart to this amazing ride. SCORE: B+
Ill conclude this review with the first thought that popped into my head after listening to this album for the first time on Friday the 13th:
Girl, I cant believe you made me wait this long to see you at your best.
