[179], The Lemonade film also appeared on a number of critics' lists. "[65], According to The A.V. It’s important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror, first through their own families — as well as the news, the, Infidelity and trauma in Black relationships, Recording Industry Association of America, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, 50th Annual Country Music Association Awards, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, African American Film Critics Association, ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards, Outstanding Television Documentary or Special, Australian Recording Industry Association, The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience, MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Long Form Video, Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, List of number-one albums of 2016 (Canada), List of number-one albums of 2016 (Ireland), List of number-one albums of 2016 (Australia), List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s, List of UK R&B Albums Chart number ones of 2016, "Beyoncé's "Lemonade" is incredible as a visual album. [331][332], Michigan State University hosted a discussion on Lemonade as part of their series for "exchanging ideas and exploring the lived experiences of underrepresented and marginalized communities". I was served lemons, but I made lemonade", and describing her own grandmother, Agnez Deréon, as an "alchemist" who "spun gold out of this hard life" with the instructions to overcome these challenges passed down through generations like a lemonade recipe. [27] MNEK relayed how "Hold Up" was written, saying "The way Beyoncé works, the song is a jigsaw piece and then she will piece various elements. [333] The music that Beyoncé recorded separately was what became Lemonade and was released first.


"[267] Many critics have noted that Jay-Z's thirteenth studio album 4:44 (2017) is a response to Lemonade, with Jay-Z referencing lines from Lemonade, such as the "You better call Becky with the good hair" line on Beyoncé's "Sorry", with Jay-Z retorting: "Let me alone, Becky" in "Family Feud". [73] [258] American singer Matt Palmer was inspired by Lemonade to create his visual EP Get Lost. Many articles and think pieces were produced discussing the importance and meaning of the song and performance, such as the BBC, who produced an article entitled "Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance: Why was it so significant? In Canada, the album debuted at number one with sales of 33,000 copies.

According to Nielsen's 2016 year-end report, it had sold 1,554,000 copies and 2,187,000 album-equivalent units in the United States. [68] The Daily Telegraph writer Jonathan Bernstein felt it was her strongest work to date and "proves there's a thin line between love and hate. [44][45] Lemonade also defies and dismantles stereotypical representations of Black women as monolithic and angry Black women, instead attributing them complexity, agency, strength and vulnerability. [324][325][326], Lemonade has also received notable attention from scholars and authors outside the music industry. A Creative Director Pulling the Strings", "A Brief History Of Beyoncé And Her Father, Mathew Knowles", "Beyoncé's new album: why is it called Lemonade, what do the lyrics mean, plus all you need to know", "Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Is a Revolutionary Work of Black Feminism: Critic's Notebook", "Examining Lemonade with a Beyoncé studies professor", "When Life Gives You Lemons, "Get In Formation:" A Black Feminist Analysis of Beyonce's Visual Album, Lemonade", "Beyoncé's Lemonade is #blackgirlmagic at its most potent", "Beyoncé's Lemonade tears apart the most demeaning stereotype of black women", "Creator of UT's Famous 'Beyoncé Class' Combines Memoir and Study in New Book", "Beyoncé's "Lemonade" Isn't Just About Cheating, It's About Black Sisterhood", "Close To Home: A Conversation About Beyoncé's 'Lemonade, "Breaking Down Beyoncé's Lemonade Samples", "A Black Girl's Song Misogynoir, Love, and Beyoncé's Lemonade", "What Beyoncé teaches us about the African diaspora in 'Lemonade, "Beyoncé's "Love Drought" Video, Slavery and the Story of Igbo Landing", "Beyoncé Just Released the Most Stylish 600-Page Coffee Table Book", "Beyoncé's Lemonade Is Black Woman Magic", "Lemonade: The hidden meanings buried in Beyoncé's visual album", "The story behind the haunting ruins of Fort Macomb, featured in 'True Detective,' Beyoncé's 'Lemonade,' and more", "Let's talk about Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' dress", "The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927", "How Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Reclaims Rock's Black Female Legacy", "Sound, Vision, and Embodied Performativity in Beyoncé Knowles' Visual Album Lemonade (2016)", "Beyoncé's 'Lemonade': A Deep Dive Into the Star-Studded Album's Credits", "Review: Beyoncé Makes 'Lemonade' Out of Marital Strife", "Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' contains singer's most fully realized music yet", "Beyoncé's Lemonade pushes pop music into smarter, deeper places", "Beyoncé – Lemonade review: 'A woman not to be messed with, "Beyoncé Releases New Album Lemonade Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, the Weeknd, James Blake", "Lemonade: Best moments from Beyoncé's HBO event", "Warsan Shire Is the Next Beyoncé-Backed Literary Sensation", "Ibeyi, Laolu Senbanjo, Warsan Shire Featured In Beyoncé's 'Lemonade, "Serena Williams is SI's Sportsperson of the Year", "Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner's Mothers Appear in Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' Video", "Here's the Malcolm X Speech About Black Women Beyoncé Sampled in, "Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Beyoncé's 'Lemonade, "Beyoncé ft Jack White – Don't Hurt Yourself ( Official Music Video ) Pre Promo", "Beyonce to Release Audio of 'Lemonade' Film across All Music Streaming Platforms (EXCLUSIVE)", "Beyoncé's Choreographer Talks Grammys, Why Being a 'Great Mom' Informs Her Art — and If She'll 'Rock' Coachella", "Review: It's Coldplay, Starring Beyoncé, at Super Bowl Halftime Show", "Super Bowl half-time show review – Beyoncé easily steals the show from Coldplay", "Review: Beyonce upstages Coldplay in Super Bowl halftime show", "The Revolutionary Politics Behind Beyoncé's Super Bowl Halftime Show", "Beyoncé 'Formation' Super Bowl Performance: 5 Think Pieces About Blackness And Singer's New Video", "Watch Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar Destroy 'Freedom' At The BET Awards", "beyoncé and kendrick lamar opened the bet awards with a surprise performance", "Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar open BET Awards with blazing rendition of 'Freedom, "Beyoncé Makes Epic Freedom Statement At The BET Awards", "VMAs 2016: Beyoncé performs Lemonade tracks", "Beyoncé's VMA performance of "Pray You Catch Me" was an earth-shattering nod to BLM", "Beyoncé's VMAs Performance Included A Tribute To Trayvon Martin", "Relive Beyoncé's "6 Inch" Performance from the TidalX: 1015 Concert Right Here", "Beyoncé's 'Daddy Lessons' Tops Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 Chart After CMA Awards Performance", "Beyonce, Dixie Chicks wow CMA audience despite backlash", "Beyoncé And The Dixie Chicks Offer Up Lessons On Country Music's Past (And Future)", "Beyonce's CMAs Performance Was a Musical and Racial Olive Branch", "Beyoncé, the CMAs, and the fight over country music's politics, explained", "Beyoncé's C.M.A. Beyoncé continues, writing "Only when I saw that clearly was I able to resolve those conflicts in my own relationship. In a 2020 New York Times article titled "The African-American Art Shaping the 21st Century", which contained 35 prominent black artists talking about the work that inspires them most, American actress Kerry Washington relayed about Lemonade: I think Lemonade really was so culture-shifting in terms of gender roles, in terms of fidelity, in terms of how we think about marriage today, how we think about hip-hop today, how we think about feminism, how we think about power. “1989 getting album of the year over To Pimp A Butterfly. [144], At the end of 2016, Lemonade appeared on a number of critics' lists ranking the year's top albums. The fourth and fifth singles released were "Freedom" and "All Night", respectively. Beyoncé also draws a connection to her own grandmother, Agnez Deréon, using her lemonade recipe that was passed down through the generations as a metaphor for the mechanisms for healing passed through generations. Thanks to its earlier release date, her album 25 dwarfed Lemonade in sales. "Formation" received three as well: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video. [81], The album title was inspired by Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z's grandmother, Hattie White, as well as her grandmother Agnéz Deréon. [39][40] As part of reverting the societal oppression and silencing of Black women, Lemonade centralizes the experiences of Black women in a way that is not often seen in the media, and celebrates their achievements despite the adversity they face. "[55] Throughout the film, Beyoncé can be seen in Fort Macomb, a Confederate States Army stronghold that was taken over by one of the first all-Black Union Army units - the 1st Louisiana Native Guard - and eventually destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Defying genre and convention, Lemonade immerses viewers in the sublime worlds of black women, family, and community where we experience poignant and compelling stories about the lives of women of color and the bonds of friendship seldom seen or heard in American popular culture. [50][51] In "Love Drought", Beyoncé walks with her dancers into the sea, alluding to the Igbo Landing of 1803, where Igbo slaves took control of their slave ship, and rather than submit to slavery, marched into the sea while singing in Igbo, drowning themselves. It could be a bit that she's written, a bit that someone else has written and she’ll make that the bridge; a bit I've written she’ll make the middle eight". |
"[265] Kadeen Griffiths from Bustle states that Lemonade, as an album that deals with issues related to black women, "paved the way" for Alicia Keys' Here and Solange's A Seat At The Table.