Last night on American Idol (May 18), Beyoncé premiered her video Run the World (Girls). The girl-power anthem seems to take an edgy page from Lady Gaga’s book, with a video showing lots of skin and attitude.
Today (May 19), the singer announced the June 28 release date and unveiled the artwork for her new album on her website. For the cover photo, the singer wears a torso-revealing open fur vest (faux – one hopes), gold cuff bracelets, and dark eyeliner – somewhat reminiscent of the post-apocalyptic look of the Road Warrior/Mad Max films.
Beyoncé has been working on 4 since spring 2010, recently finalizing the new material. "I recorded more than 60 songs, everything I ever wanted to try, I just did it," she confessed.
"I started off being inspired by [Afrobeat music pioneer] Fela Kuti. I actually worked with the band from ‘Fela!’ [the hit Broadway musical based on Kuti’s life] for a couple of days, just to get the feel for the soul and heart of his music; it’s so sexy and has a great groove you get lost in. I loved his drums, all the horns, how everything was on the one. What I learned most from Fela was artistic freedom: He just felt the spirit."
The singer also confided that there were many influences at play on her new album: "I also found a lot of inspiration in ’90s R&B, Earth, Wind & Fire, DeBarge, Lionel Richie, Teena Marie.”
"I listened to a lot of Jackson 5 and New Edition, but also Adele, Florence and the Machine and Prince. Add in my hip-hop influences, and you can hear how broad it is,” she added.
“I also gave myself more freedom to really belt out some songs, and bring soul singing back. I used a lot of the brassiness and grittiness in my voice that people hear in my live performances, but not necessarily on my records."