“Two Beyonce Albums Leak Onto Streaming Services — Then Disappear

“Two Beyonce Albums Leak Onto Streaming Services — Then Disappear - Variety” plus 1 more

Two Beyonce Albums Leak Onto Streaming Services — Then Disappear - Variety

Posted: 21 Dec 2018 12:00 AM PST

UPDATED: Two Beyonce albums of old material briefly leaked onto Spotify and Apple Music late Thursday and were quickly removed, according to multiple news reports. Representatives for Beyoncé, her label Columbia, its parent company Sony Music, Apple Music and Spotify either declined comment or did not immediately respond to Variety's requests for comment.

The two albums — titled "Have Your Way" and "Back Up, Rewind" — appeared under the name Queen Carter and featured demos, previously released songs and unreleased tracks by the singer. The 10-song "Have Your Way" includes "After All Is Said and Done," a 1999 duet with Marc Nelson from the "Best Man" soundtrack; "Hollywood," a song with Jay-Z from his 2006 album, "Kingdom Come"; and "Hey Goldmember" from the soundtrack for 2002′s Beyonce-starring "Austin Powers in Goldmember"; "Crazy Feelings," a collaboration from Missy Elliott's sophomore album "Da Real World"; and a cover of the "Fever," a cover of the '50′s hit made famous by Brenda Lee. Meanwhile, "Back Up, Rewind," featured 11 tracks including "Keep Giving Your Love to Me," from the "Bad Boys II" soundtrack and "What It's Gonna Be," a bonus track from 2003.

Beyonce has become renowned for surprise releases — both her self-titled 2013 effort and this year's collaboration with husband Jay-Z, "Everything Is Love," were released without advance notice — but these albums appear to be unauthorized. While they are thorough compilations of tracks from across the singer's career that are not featured on Beyonce's own albums, judging by a screen grab from Spotify, their cover artwork is uncharacteristic and below the singer's usual high standards.

It is not uncommon for unauthorized releases to appear on streaming services — for example, a few Velvet Underground live bootlegs that managed to skirt copyright laws in some European countries were briefly available on Spotify several years ago, and managers holding rights to an artist's very early recordings often issue them without the performer's consent — yet such a situation involving major-label material from a global superstar is rare. However, the fact that the album was listed under the artist name Queen Carter — similar to "Everything Is Love" being billed to The Carters — is likely what enabled it to slip through on the streaming services. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said during the company's "Investor Day" early this year that the platform ingests upward of 20,000 new releases per day.

On a similar note, earlier this month a collection of nine unfinished 2015 material by R&B singer SZA called "Comethru" appeared on Spotify under the name Sister Solana (her real name is Solana Rowe). The singer took to social media to explain, calling the project "random scratches from 2015 — def not new new!," adding "But…creative? And Scary?" and promising genuinely new music is coming soon. Punch, from her label TDE, also posted, "Old songs were stolen and leaked. We are currently fixing the issue. Please feel free to continue enjoying Ctrl until the next album is ready."

At press time those songs had been removed from Spotify, although icons for them remained.

Beyoncé’s 9 Most Retro Outfits: From Power Suits To ’70s Chic Two-Pieces - Hollywood Life

Posted: 24 Jan 2019 12:00 AM PST

Beyoncé innovates style, but she still takes cues from the bygone eras! See her hop from one generation to another in disco attire to '80s-approved suits.

Beyoncé's style is timeless, which explains why we see hints from all decades in her wardrobe! Whether the "Formation" singer is on tour with husband JAY-Z, 49, or on the red carpet at the Grammys, we've experienced déjà vu. It happened just this morning when we saw a photo of Bey, 37, in a groovy co-ord from Marques Almeida, which she wore to attend an event at the Just One Eye clothing boutique in L.A. on Jan. 23 with daughter Blue Ivy, 7! The two-piece outfit was a splash of stripes and contrasting purples, greens and reds, just like the colorful disco age that was the '70s. Foxxy Cleopatra, did you time travel again from Austin Powers in Goldmember?

Let's backtrack a decade and recall Bey's most iconic look: her 2018 Grammys dress. Designed by Nicolas Jebran, we imagined the gown emerged from a '60s think tank in the avant-garde community! Its all black color and wide brim hat (with that intentional flop) was very beatnik. Beyoncé has already started a music and style revolution, but we think she could also tackle a new literary movement in that dress.

And then there are Beyoncé's countless music videos, which we've noticed channel icons and trends from the 20th century! When the singer wore a black power suit for her 2014 music video "Haunted," we couldn't help but think of Madonna in a similar menswear ensemble in her 1988 music video, "Express Yourself." And then there was Bey's 2018 music video with JAY-Z, "APESH**T," where they famously held hands in coordinating pastel suits at the Louvre museum. Their united front and pink and green blazers made us think of another tag team who had an affinity for pastels: Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs from the '80s show Miami Vice. Even off-screen, colorful power suits were a staple in that time!

Beyonce Retro Outfits — Beyonce gave us a flashback to the disco decade in her funky striped co-ord from Marques Almeida as she and daughter Blue Ivy left an event at the Just One Eye clothing boutique in L.A. on Jan. 23.

Check out even more of Beyoncé's throwback moments in HollywoodLife's gallery above! We've got Bey channeling Toni Braxton circa 1993, and then her wearing a sweet floral dress that could've been vintage (but, of course, was designer).