Beyoncé

Sasha Fierce is the undeniably fabulous alter ego of the lovely and talented Beyonce Knowles. Yes, she's fierce, and she sure can sing her ass off!

It's as though the title of Beyonce's new album, I Am…Sasha Fierce!, is an announcement that "Sasha Fierce" has arrived. But did we really need to be made aware of this fact? Beyonce has already (and competently) etched a place for herself in the diva realm with her soaring pipes, her beautiful face and bodacious body. However, she's less "bootylicious" and ultimately less "fierce" on this go around. The album abandons some of the hip-hop grooves that marked her prior efforts in favor of more soulful R&B compositions where Beyonce's shimmery voice and knack for introspection dominate the landscape.

Dancefloor numbers, like the ubiquitous 2003 hit "Crazy in Love," from Dangerously in Love, are in shorter supply. A spate of contemplative songs where Mrs. Jay-Z demonstrates her sensitive side live on this album. Perhaps Miss Knowles substantiates the fact that being fierce doesn't mean you have to come on like gangbusters all the time. Perhaps she's showing us that to be fierce is to be in touch with your emotions and to be confident enough to bare your soul to your vast audience. That's not to say that Beyonce has gone soft. Rather, she is just more comfortable showing off her delicate side, and maybe it's the playful adoption of the Sasha Fierce persona that allows her to do so.

The shake-what-the-good-Lord-gave-ya tune "Radio" will have you swinging from the rafters, while the bumpin' hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" is an empowering, knockout anthem, replete with a chorus so catchy that it should come with a pair of handcuffs. The rest of the ensuing album maintains quite a sexy pace. "If I Were a Boy" is a quirky and tender semi-ballad about a woman instructing her lover on how to treat a woman by viewing things from her perspective. Beyonce is essentially telling all the men out there what a woman wants, so guys, come on! Heed a girl's advice, especially when it's Beyonce who's giving the instruction. She wouldn't steer you wrong. "Halo" is another absolutely angelic mid-tempo number. "Brokenhearted Girl" allows the songstress to once again spill the contents of her heart into a song. "Diva" and "Video Phone" are Beyonce's successful stabs at ghetto fab, thanks to the thunderous percussion, while "Sweet Dreams" gets up in your grill with its mix of pop chops and urban edge.

Beyonce needn't worry about some upstart trying to step into her Manolo Blahniks and usurp her as the Queen of the Divas. Beyonce will wear her hard-earned Diva crown for a long, long time, regardless of whether or not we ever hear from Sasha Fierce again.

— Amy Sciarretto
11.19.08

In non-Deluxe Edition form, Beyoncé's third solo studio album is as concise as 2006's B'day, but it is divided into two discs as a way to emphasize the singer's distinct personalities. It's a gimmick, of course -- a flimsy one. Revealed through interviews in 2005, Sasha was said to be Beyoncé's "stage persona," an embodiment of the outgoing, aggressive, on-stage Beyoncé that doesn't necessarily represent the real Beyoncé. Sasha now has a last name (possibly picked up from Tyra Banks, who maybe took a cue from Klymaxx), and is granted half an album (the second disc) to express herself. These five songs, when compared to the majority of B'day, are actually less fun, less impulsive, and yes, less fierce. "Diva," a variation on Lil Wayne's "A Milli," is the only track that could go toe to toe with the likes of B'day's "Freakum Dress" or "Ring the Alarm," at least in terms of audacity. At the other end is "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," a dire "Get Me Bodied" retread. Otherwise, the Sasha Fierce half is full of decent, if easily forgettable, upbeat pop. If placed within the context of an album without a packaging ploy, there'd be little evidence that Beyoncé is making a radical progression or being any more bold than before. It would, if anything, be notable as the least R&B-oriented batch of songs she has made -- that is, if it wasn't for the I Am half, essentially a small set of adult contemporary ballads. Acoustic guitars, pianos, strings, contemplative soul searching, and grand sweeping gestures fill it out, with more roots in '70s soft rock than soul. Beyoncé feels each line to the fullest extent, which almost rescues the set's staidness. "If I Were a Boy," while sounding like the watery backdrop for a singing competition finale, turns out to be the album's standout, both for its lyrics and Beyoncé's tormented performance. It could have been the song that broke an unfairly neglected adult-R&B singer like Heather Headley into the mainstream, and don't be surprised if a country artist nabs a CMA Award by covering it. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide