Beyoncé’s upcoming album finally has a title: 4. The singer shared some insights into the title and tracks during a recent Q&A session with Billboard.
"We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me," the singer explained the numeric title. "It’s the day I was born. My mother’s birthday and a lot of my friends’ birthdays are on the fourth; April 4 is my wedding date."
As a singer, Beyoncé said she took more risks with the sound of the new album, branching out into different styles of music.
"I recorded more than 60 songs; everything I ever wanted to try, I just did it," she noted.
"I started off being inspired by [Afrobeat music pioneer] Fela Kuti… 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. I also gave myself more freedom to really belt out some songs, and bring soul singing back."