Lemonade
Beyoncé
(Columbia)
Four and a half stars
Let's just get this out of the way — Lemonade is not a subtle album. Years' worth of infidelity rumours surrounding her husband, the rapper and mogul Jay Z, are filtered here through a megaphone.
It’s overtly sympathetic and somewhat self-righteous, with Beyoncé emerging as the clear winner while never coming off as a victim — a delicate balance that’s expertly walked.
That aside, Lemonade also marks another triumph for Beyoncé the artist. It's her third straight great album, a clear statement the pop star is in her artistic prime.
For whatever the record lacks in subtlety, it does well to not sound disingenuous, especially when experienced with the track-by-track videos accompanying the album's release (screened on American broadcaster HBO). It's worth tracking down the "visual record" component. Beyoncé, for all of her crystal-clear audible talents, is this generation's Michael Jackson when it comes to creating music videos, through which Lemonade's most cutting lines are downright vicious. If "Becky with the good hair" weren't already gracious enough to give Jay's tryst a pseudonym, Bey's ice-cold stare in the accompanying video while reciting the now-famous line would cause the offending party to change her moniker and flee far from the public's view.
But back to the music, of which there’s plenty here worthy of repeated, sing-out-loud moments.
The real standout is the second track Hold Up, a weightless, soulful refrain filled with painful confusion, authoritative indignity and a glorious repetition of the most repeatable line from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs 2003 classic single Maps. It might be as close to perfect as songs come, one that would risk coming off as parody in anyone but Bey's capable hands.
Sorry will probably prove to be the biggest radio hit. It's a gorgeous, triumphant song that bookends an opening four-track run that's as good as any set of tracks on a Beyoncé album. She also proves to have a Kanye-esque knack for curating other talents to fit her idiom. Rapper Kendrick Lamar, enjoying his own artistic pique, takes time to add serious weight to the fierce Freedom. Jack White sounds more vital than he has in a decade and gives Don't Hurt Yourself a tint of soiled-blue soul that only he could. The Weeknd — making what seems like his six-billionth cameo of 2016 — floats in and out on 6 Inch before wearing out his welcome. And Formation — a victorious, come-at-me-if-you-dare declaration of empowerment — is a great choice to close out the refreshingly streamlined 12-track set.
Once-Drunk In Love, Lemonade finds the pop queen facing a sobering new reality — life isn't a fairy tale, after all. She chooses the path of the head-held-high, and comes out more powerful than ever.
kjeffers@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
RESULTS
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jordan Sport, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Jungle Cat, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Kimbear, Patrick Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.