All week, media outlets have been running stories about how Beyonce is going to drop her album at any moment. When she dropped her last album suddenly several years ago, there really was no warning – she hadn’t done any advanced media, and all of the gossip stories around the album were about how everything was in disarray and Beyonce couldn’t figure out what the sound should be. There’s none of that this time. This time, the Beyhive is prepared. They’ve been prepared for months. Every morning, the Hive walks up and checks Twitter to make sure that Bey didn’t drop it overnight. Plus, this time around, Beyonce IS doing advanced media. After several years of silence, Beyonce is finally speaking on behalf of Beyonce.
Bey covers the May issues of both Elle Magazine (US) and Elle UK. So far, Elle hasn’t released any quotes, but in their preview, they promise that “In a rare in-depth interview, Beyoncé talks exclusively to ELLE about freedom, feminism, how her new fashion line, Ivy Park, helps women love their bodies, and more.” Beyonce wants the Beyhive to believe that she’s just covering Elle to promote her fashion line. Are you buying that? No, I’m not even a stan and I think the Ivy Park line is a cover for some album promotion.
As for the covers… I LOVE the American cover. I love her curls, I love the cropped sweater, I love her expression. That one’s a keeper. The UK cover is… bugging me. I think it’s a combination of the head tilt and her overly groomed brows, but something is weird with her face on that one.
Beysus also said words for Ivy Park, in this first commercial. I could honestly watch like ten minutes of Beyonce on the treadmill. I also love the shot of her face as she comes up for air. Girl’s lipstick still looks PERFECT.
Covers courtesy of Elle and Elle UK.
Agree on the covers, the American is gorgeous, the British one not that good.
On the one hand I can’t wait for the album (JUST DROP IT ALREADY!!!!!!), on the other hand it’s probably going to be a Tidal exclusive first and there’s no way I’m signing up for that. So I have to find ways around that… and I already dread the search.
I use tidal and take it from me, it’s Hella good. I rate it over Spotify and Apple music and I’m on free trial. I also plan to renew. The new album won’t be a surprise because she said it herself that she’s done with surprise release do I’m religiously waiting for it to drop so I can get my life back. Also waiting for April 14th so I can give her all my coins for this line and I’m not an exercise person. Apparently the shoes she’s wearing in the commercial is part of the line and it looks hella good too. I’m a super stan, could you tell? sorry for filling your reply section
Either she’ll drop it today or she’ll wait for her anniversary (April 4) but being Beyonce it might still be a surprise. Also I’ll be saving my bday money to buy all of the workout clothes, which look gorgeous. I really like the name of it “Ivy Park”, damn Bey I mean we knew about the album but this was definitely a suprise.
What I’m curious is if she’s really going to give a person to person interview or will she be getting the questions & then replying with the answers? It’s been a while since someone has actually gotten an interview with her. This might be good.
She is a ridiculously beautiful woman, and she KNOCKS it out of the park on stage. I’m not even a huge fan and I think her live performances are incredible.
She’s a phenomenal entetainer. She makes the show worth it’s price, which can’t be said about many pop stars of her caliber.
Agreed.
Agreed. I love her curly hair look here and wish she rocked it more often.
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
Drop the album already Bey! My coins are ready!
Maybe Tidal is gonna get streaming exclusive but that’s all I think.
I think Tidal gets the exclusive first then she drops the album worldwide a few days later.
I don’t believe it. Tidal messed up way to much with both Rihanna and Kanye album releases. Bey’s release will be nothing but perfect so no Tidal exclusive I guess.
We’ll see 🙂
She seems refreshed since Formation. She feeds off success and praise (which is a great trait) so driven. So gets down or odd acting when her projects arent well received.
So much respect for her work ethic.
Yassssss Queen!!! Midway into the commercial, my mom was like “shut up and take my money, B”
The line looks very good. I want the shoes particularly and I love that Bey basically disappears till she wants to promote something.
First the vegan diet and now a fitness wear line- Beyoncé hates fat asses like me and wants us to keep in shape. I feel personally victimized. Hope there won’t be weighing scale at the entrance to her shows. just kidding.
The album will definitely drop this April seeing as she’s already shooting videos and the tour starts on the 27th. I’m readyyyyyy. Hurry up and take my moneyyyyyyy
I also loved the American cover and thought the commercial was beautiful. I like the concept a lot – that we have a place of inner strength to draw from when we’re afraid. I think she looks beautiful on the UK cover except for the head tilt and somewhat vacant look in her eyes.
Thia line is a total rip-off of Alexander Wang.
Lululemon thought she was ripping them off, and actually said so on Twitter. The Hive was nor amused.
Is Beyonce really known for being athletic though? I guess she wanted something that wouldn’t compete with the clothing line she has with her mom and also because athletic lines are doing really well right now. I don’t know if I’m liking the designs I’ve seen so far. Reminds me of something I’ve seen before and never liked.
The line with her mom is a disaster, I found the clothes tacky n cheap.she has distanced herself with the poor reviews. Celebrities think they can design,slap their name on anything.Just stick to what your great at. As for her Ivy Park line,looks good. Don’t know the prices but her reasoning was lame, “nothing speaks to me out there”. Unless your an athlete, that quote is ridiculous. All celebrities n none like Kylie with her lip glosses being sold out, BTW, no one knows how many she is selling for them to be sold out.
Is Beyonce really known for being athletic though?
I would think she had to do some kind of workout to maintain her stamina on stage. But I just feel that what most of what she’s saying in that video is BS to sell her gear. It seems so contrived. Same as Kate Hudson.
House of Dereon. That was bad. And to be honest, when I think of Beyonce I don’t really think of her as a fashion girl – I know she has great relationships with some top houses and gets invited to the Met Ball every year, but her taste has always been a bit suspect when left to her own (or let’s get real, Tina’s) devices. I could be totally off base here, but Beyonce’s fashion endeavors tend to feel like they’re an opportunity to give Tina something to do.
I don’t know if it’s fair to say she’s ripping them off. Athletic wear all looks pretty much the same to me. Alexander Wang didn’t invent the crop top.
Agreed. They all run together anymore. Lululemon isn’t even really a standout anymore since Fabletics basically rips them off too.
The line would be great without the extra-large lettering. That looks so tacky to me. She, on the hand, looks amazing.
Well, “IVY” and “PARK” and the number “4” — all these things are very important to Beyoncé, they should be to you, too!
/sarcasm/
Alix…lol, nice1
Righttt. I think the lettering is too large but not tacky. Nike, Puma etc also have those large lettering on their products too. Even Pimp Mama Kris had on an ensemble with “Chanel” scrawled across it. Bey can get away with this one
Hold up. Are you taking fashion cues from PMK?
B is ridiculously beautiful, but I never found her photogenic. I mean, she looks good, but she always has this dumb expression on her face.
of course, the “dumb” thing. Here’s a woman who owns her world and business, has done more for mainstream feminism than most pop stars out there (her mostly female employees and the that essay she wrote earlier which we also dismissed as dumb too), a woman who isn’t a pawn for her record label and who knows her worth and regularly speaks up for us black folks and women alike but hey look at that “dumb” expression.
Yeah, this is celebitchy and not CelebFawny but women are really their own worst enemies
Maybe the earlier comment was too harsh seeing as you didn’t really call her dumb. you only said she has this “dumb” look which is basically the same thing. But it irks me when People call Beyoncé dumb and boy she gets called dumb around here always. Nothing she does even suggests dumb. She owns the masters to her music, she doesn’t sell as much as Adele but she has Columbia by the balls, He last album drop was a major study in most colleges, she actually finished high school(not that that counts) but it’s almost like as a black woman, she can’t escape that label. Even Kim Kardashian gets called a shrewd businesswoman here. But Beyoncé? She has to work 2x as hard to get where her white counterparts don’t struggle to get and still gets called “dumb” in top of it all. Dumb doesn’t keep you relevant for almost 20 years in a misogynistic and very racist industry
After having heard her speak in several interviews, yes my impression is that she is dumb, uneducated and just plain boring. I don’t find her inspirational, or a feminist icon, but I enjoy some of her songs and I think she is pretty. Since her fans are frighteningly devoted I am sure whatever she shills will find buyers.
On a separate note – not sure why everyone and their mother needs a lifestyle side business, you’d think in her case, her music would be sufficient – both as an occupation and as a source of income. The funny thing is that fans actually believe celebs slapping their name on clothing, fragrance, beauty products, cookbooks, fashion products etc. means they actually had anything to do with the product. I will never understand why anyone would buy something advertised or branded by a celeb. Oh well.
I think Josefina was referring to her facial expression – blank eyes, slightly open mouth…not her level of intelligence. That expression is often used to portray a woman as sexy, because many people think you have to look dumb to look sexy. I think you are reacting to something that wasn’t actually intended by the comment.
“you’d think in her case, her music would be sufficient – both as an occupation and as a source of income.”
Yes! How dare she diversify her business or have ambition? Did she forget she was a black woman? Why doesnt she content herself with what “we have let her have” right? Did you seriously not think about this before you typed that??
And is the way your comment is phrased intended to make it a broad attack at every artist who spreads out? Because I spend a lot of time here and never read this types of “limit your success, gal” directed at other pop stars with far bigger fashion/cosmetic empires from Britney to Gwen Steffani to Jlo. I root for Beyonce because her success clearly offends a lot of people.
Naya, your comments always hit me hard. Well said!
Because people are so kind to other celebrities with their clothing lines?
While I do actually think that some of the Beyonce hate is over the top and racially motivated, I don’t think this specific comment was. Rather, I thought she was inferring that Beyonce is a SUPERSTAR, and we tend to associate lifestyle with stars who are on the downswing and need to come up with new sources of revenue (I’m looking at you, Kate Hudson).
Totally agree with you Naya.
@Chioma – RE “Kim Kardashian gets called a shrewd businesswoman here.” >>>> That’s cherry picking from the minimal praise KK gets. Above all, KK gets called a “p*rn star” “famewh*re” and also dumb, stupid, vapid, etc. I most certainly think people have praised Beyonce’s business sense and PR skills.
Admittedly, I am one of those people that assumed Bey wasn’t too bright after hearing her speak. However, I’ve learned it’s just a matter of eloquence (and the power involved in hegemonic discourse and language, but that’s a discussion in itself). In line with her being an artist, I find that her opinions and ideas are expressed better through creative outlets (e.g. Formation, the addition of the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie clip in the flawless song, etc.).
Did all of this discussion just happen because I dared to say Beyonce is not photogenic?
Damn.
of course, the “dumb” thing. Here’s a woman who owns her world and business, has done more for mainstream feminism than most pop stars out there (her mostly female employees and the that essay she wrote earlier which we also dismissed as dumb too), a woman who isn’t a pawn for her record label and who knows her worth and regularly speaks up for us black folks and women alike but hey look at that “dumb” expression.
Yeah, this is celebitchy and not CelebFawny but women are really their own worst enemies
Well said chioma
Girl, chill. I just said she has an unflattering expression on her face.
@Josefina It’s the lights are on but nobody’s home look. A number of celebrities do that.
Her infamous “thigh gap” makes another appearance. I think she looks lovely on both covers. I love her with curls.
I like the commercial, too, although the brief clip of her with those rope things is a little too “Gatorade.” It took me out of it for a second.
Did you notice in the video, the scene where she’s by the monkey bars/loops apparatus and wearing a leotard, she definitely does NOT have a thigh gap?? I don’t get it. I’m built similarly to her and do not have a thigh gap; I wish she would just own it.
ETA it’s at ~1:13 and at pretty much the exact same angle as the magazine cover too.
I’ll be interested to know the size range for this line. Think it does up to double digits, or just size 4?
Well from the commercial they sure didn’t show any plus sizes, but Beyonce is not stupid. She knows her beyhive is filled with all sizes and she knows they will run and buy this clothing line the minute they can.
I am not a member of the hive, but I could watch that commercial and listen to her talk ALL DAY!!!!!
I can respect what she does and shes my guilty pleasure for sure, but this commercial (and lots of other things she talks through) make me giggle.
Girl has got it going on, but she takes herself so seriously (especially when Beyonce is talking about Beyonce), it just makes me laugh.
I know what you mean but I think you could say the same about a lot of celebs. I don’t think she’s the worst offender in that area by a long shot.
Duh! The album is dropping on April 4. She loves 4! Wedding anniversary, birthday, Ivy.
Write it down.
Both covers are boring.
She always looks so good to me this way. When she moves it’s mesmerizing. I like her in action, and that narration was my favorite part. Also liked the way Blue popped up.
Her body is fantabulous!!! Nice video and I always love a Blue sighting.
She looks great with darker hair.
First Charlize the other day, now Beyoncé. Is this the new thing? Get powerful women on mag covers in bodysuits? Look forward to the Hillary and RBG ones. If we can’t see their pantyline and thigh gaps, how will we know to admire and respect them?
Maybe it’s because of her new workout line… And to be fair, she’s still pretty covered up.
I think this will be her most “desperate” album yet. I mean she NEEDS a hit album badly. She has so many colabs on this album, one with Kanye of all people. She never wanted him on her songs before but now she is willing lol (he must be in heaven)…she supposedly also has a duet with Adele, among others.
As a side note, I LOVE her hair when it’s darker, shorter, and curly like that. Great look on her.
What? She had many collabs with Kanye already, and the tracklist circulating (with Adele and Mariah duet) is totally fake.
Her career is fine. Her last album went double platinum and “Drunk in Love” hit #2 on the charts.
The track listing that leaked earlier is fake.
She’s also known Kanye for years. He produced at song on her fourth album and she was on his Watch the Throne album. I’m not sure why you think it’s desperate for her to work with him (if she is since no one knows).
ETA: I wrote my comment before I saw JEANPIERRE’s.
It’s not desperate but she’ll stick to the same formula. She’s not going to do anything that you haven’t heard before.
Damn ok I got it jeez. I didn’t know the tracklist was fake.
#2 on the charts is not good enough for Beyonce. Come on now.
I have personally never heard a song with Beyonce and Kanye together. Were those songs hits? I’m not talking producing, I’m talking about a song with Beyonce singing and Kanye rapping. How did I miss that?
“Ego” on I am… Sasha Fierce
“See me now” on MBDTF
Flawless remix
Just to name a few.
@Fingerbender
Have you listened to her last two albums? Both were different from a musical standpoint, especially her last one.
On a similar note, I don’t see this criticism aimed at her peers (Rihanna, Adele, Taylor) but maybe I’ve missed it. Hmm
@Me
A #2 song on the hot 100 isn’t good enough? You got high standards for her.
Also listen to “Lift Off” or “See Me Now”. Neither were singles.
I’m sick with the flu and writing bs. It’s not Flawless remix it’s Drunk in love remix 🙂
@ Katt who said “On a similar note, I don’t see this criticism aimed at her peers (Rihanna, Adele, Taylor) but maybe I’ve missed it. Hmm”
You must not frequent this site a lot. Adele is constantly accused of singing the same old boring depressing love/heartbreak songs. I know because I am one of her accusers along with others. Taylor Swift music is called meh and she’s not a good singer or songwriter. Rihanna gets accused of having nursery rhymes type lyrics and nothing new. Yes, you missed it and you’ve missed a lot. Even Riri’s “Work” recently got ripped apart on this site, though it was due to a lot of posters not understanding she was singing in patois.
Re: “Work” am I an idiot or am I not listening to the song close enough? Because all I can hear is a slight Bajan accent.
Yes I know she is Bajan and does have a Bajan accent but she is attempting a Jamaican accent and the lyrics are in patois.
Think about Iggy rapping. We know she is Australian but she is attempting to rap with a southern accent.
What I’m saying is, I don’t get what people are complaining about.
Oh, they say the song sounds like gibberish.
@ Katt
I’m not saying #2 is not good enough…I think that’s great. I’m just saying that Beyonce holds a very high standard for herself. She is a known perfectionist. That’s all I was saying.
To the rest of you: I have never bought a Beyonce album. I have bought DC album though. I only know the Beyonce songs that hit the radio because that is the only thing I listen to. I don’t download music. Don’t hold that against me. With regards to Kanye, I have read many previous comments on this site saying that Kanye wished he could work with Beyonce, so I assumed he never had.
The video looks like it was filmed in Houston – snapshots of her childhood home and her mother’s hair salon.
It’s called “Ivy Park” because:
1. Ivy after her daughter
2. Parkwood was the name of the park she used to go to when she lived in Houston. A place she loved.
Just come back to Brazil already, woman. 2013 was great, I want more. But “helping women to accept their bodies?” Bullshit. I wonder if people actually buy this crap from mainstream celebrities.
I would love to buy a few pieces, but I don’t have Nordstrom money lol