And although she has since released both the album and film on iTunes and Jay Z’s Tidal platform, the HBO special is eligible for consideration at the top TV prizegiving.
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Beyonce’s latest album delves into infidelity and champions the experience of African American women in a musically diverse work that includes songs written with Led Zeppelin members and electronic producer Diplo.
“Are you cheating on me?” she asks at one point.
The video series told the story of a romance gone bad, and many fans were quick to jump to conclusions, taking to Twitter to suggest Beyonce was publicly announcing her divorce from husband Jay Z.
The 12 tracks of the album, as per Vox, also features guest artists like Kendrick Lamar, Jack White and The Weekend.
The show began with the singer sitting in front of a red curtain, where she sang: “You can taste the dishonestly, it’s on your breath…”
There are also references to the Black Lives Matter campaign and a quote from human rights activist Malcolm X praising black women, which together with appearances by other famous black women, have led commentators to describe the album as a homage to the resilience of females from her ethnic background.
Videos also featured appearances by the mothers of two black men, Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, whose shooting deaths, in Brown’s case by a Missouri police officer, have trained a spotlight on United States racial tensions.
Beyonce, who in 2013 changed the rules for how pop superstars deliver music with the surprise simultaneous release of a self-titled album and corresponding videos, has returned with a follow-up in the same vein: Lemonade, her sixth solo album.
She wrote on Instagram: “Toast to lemonade…” It was executive produced by Beyonce.
But the theme of the 2013 album was far different, as it dealt with passion and monogamy, with the song “Drunk In Love” an ode to marital bliss sung in duet with Jay-Z.
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The album’s first single “Formation” was released on February 6.
