BEYONCE FELT SHE HAD SOMETHING TO PROVE WHEN SHE RELEASED "I AM..SASHA FIERCE." AND SHE DID. FIND OUT HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN BY WATCHING THIS.

AFTER DOMINATING THE EARLY 2000's AS THE CENTERPIECE OF DESTINY’S CHILD AND WITH TWO SUCCESSFUL SOLO ALBUMS ALREADY BEHIND HER, BEYONCE KNEW IT WAS TIME TO TAKE A RISK IN HER CAREER. SHE WENT INTO THE STUDIO THE INTENTION OF HIGHLIGHTING HER DUALITY AS AN ARTIST AND, WITH THIS GOAL IN MIND, SHE DECIDED HER NEXT RECORD WOULD BE A DOUBLE ALBUM.

INSPIRED BY JAY-Z, AS WELL AS  THE LEGENDARY ETTA JAMES, BEYONCE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HER OWN STRENGTHS AS AN ARTIST WHILE SHEDDING A NEW LIGHT ON HER PERFORMING ALTER EGO, THE VICIOUS SASHA FIERCE.  AS A RESULT, SHE WOULD DEDICATE THE FIRST SIDE OF THE ALBUM TO HERSELF, AND THE SECOND HALF TO SASHA.

RECORDING FOR “I AM...SASHA FIERCE” TOOK PLACE OVER EIGHT MONTHS ACROSS THE U.S., FROM PATCHWERK RECORDING IN ATLANTA TO STRAWBERRYBEE PRODUCTIONS IN NEW YORK. SHE WORKED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF SONGWRITERS AND MUSICIANS, SUCH AS AMANDA GHOST, WHO HELPED BEY REWORK “AVE MARIA” AFTER COLLABORATING ON THE TRACK “DISAPPEAR”.

FOR DISC  ONE, NICKNAMED “I AM”, BEYONCE INCORPORATED ACOUSTIC GUITAR AND WORKED ON HER BALLADRY, WITH EXPRESSIVE LYRICS HIGHLIGHTING THE SINGER’S INNATE SENSITIVITY. HOWEVER, DISC  TWO, DEDICATED TO SASHA FIERCE, WAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANIMAL AND CONTAINED MORE OF AN ELECTRO INFLUENCE. THE GAME-CHANGING “SINGLE LADIES” PUT THIS INFLUENCE ON FULL DISPLAY AND BECAME A SMASH HIT, BECOMING BEYONCE’S FIFTH SINGLE TO TOP BILLBOARD’S HOT DIGITAL SALES CHART AND IT WENT ON TO WIN SONG OF THE YEAR AT THE TWENTY-TEN GRAMMYS.

EIGHT OTHER SINGLES WERE RELEASED FROM  THE ALBUM, WITH SEVEN OF THE NINE BREAKING THROUGH THE BILLBOARD HOT RNB/HIP-HOP CHARTS, MAKING “I AM...SASHA FIERCE” THE FIRST TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ALBUM SCALE THOSE HEIGHTS. THESE OTHER SINGLES INCLUDED “DIVA”, “EGO”, “VIDEO PHONE”, “SWEET DREAMS”, AND THE HIT BALLAD “HALO”. CERTIFIED SEVEN TIMES PLATINUM, “HALO” HAS SINCE BEEN CITED AS ONE OF BEYONCE’S BEST SONGS, WITH RENDITIONS DEDICATED TO MICHAEL JACKSON, THE VICTIMS OF THE TWENTY-TEN HAITI EARTHQUAKE, AND AS RECENTLY AS THIS YEAR FOR KOBE AND GIANNA BRYANT.

AFTER EIGHT MONTHS OF RECORDING “I AM...SASHA FIERCE” WAS PRESENTED  TO THE WORLD ON NOVEMBER 12th, 2008. WHILE RECEIVING MODERATE REVIEWS FROM CRITICS, WHO FELT THE DOUBLE ALBUM FORMAT WAS TOO MUCH OF A GIMMICK, THE ALBUM DEBUTED AT NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD TOP TWO-HUNDRED--BEYONCE’S THIRD NUMBER ONE RECORD, MAKING HER THE THIRD FEMALE ARTIST OF THE 2000's WITH ALL THREE OF HER ALBUMS TO DEBUT IN THAT POSITION. THE ALBUM AND ITS SINGLES GAVE BEYONCE SEVEN NOMINATIONS AT THE 2010 GRAMMYS, EARNING HER SIX, A RECORD-SETTING NUMBER FOR A SOLO FEMALE ARTIST.

SINCE THE RELEASE OF “I AM...”, BEYONCE HAS LEANED MORE INTO HER SASHA FIERCE SIDE, RELEASING TRACK AFTER TRACK OF BLACK FEMINIST ANTHEMS ON RECORDS LIKE HER TWENTY-THIRTEEN SELF-TITLED ALBUM AND TWENTY-SIXTEEN’S “LEMONADE”.   FOR SHOWING US THE MULTIPLE FACES OF A TRUE QUEEN, “I AM...SASHA FIERCE” IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.