When Beyonce released her latest album, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," she stated on her official web site, "I am in a different place right now and I wanted people to see the many sides of me. The music is upbeat for the dance, fun side and it is reflective, passionate and serious for the personal side. I have taken risks here. I am not afraid and my music will explain it all. There is no label or tag on my sound."
As "Sweet Dreams" this week makes its way to the Adult Contemporary chart at No. 29, while remaining bulleted in the top five of the Rhythmic and Hot Dance Airplay radio charts, the four Billboard Hot 100 top 10s from the album clearly represent four very different sides of the superstar's artistry.
First cut "If I Were a Boy" signaled an intimate, acoustic turn, while "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" oppositely aimed for more core R&B/hip-hop audiences (ultimately becoming a pop-culture crossover smash). "Halo," co-penned by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, fared best at mainstream top 40 radio, with its lush production and obvious hook. The current "Sweet Dreams" is perhaps the most pure dance song Beyonce has ever released, solo or with Destiny's Child.
The variety of sounds in the set's singles follows the tradition of albums that not only produced a bounty of radio hits, but also an artistic mini-reinvention on each track.
Many star acts have drastically evolved over years and albums - the Beatles, Elton John, Chicago, Heart, Sting - but when such a buffet of styles is evident on a single album, the dimensions of an artist's creativity are magnified.
http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/beyonce-s-single-s-viva-variety-1004041506.story#/column/chartbeat/beyonce-s-single-s-viva-variety-1004041506.story