Beyoncé "Lemonade" Album Review (20th Review)

As promised, here is my review of Beyoncé’s 2016 album “Lemonade.” This was one of last year's biggest (and possibly best) albums, and yet, I missed out on it when it was first released. Not that I don’t like Beyoncé, she’s an incredible musician and I’ve always had huge respect for her, but I just missed a lot of 2016’s big albums (Views, The Life of Pablo, ANTI, Lemonade, etc.), so I wanted to go back and listen to what is being seen as one of the best (even though finding somewhere to listen to it was a pain, since it’s not on Spotify). So, obviously, I’ll go song-by-song and then give my basic sum-up, so tracklist, let’s get into Formation:

Pray You Catch Me: I really like the lighter sound on this song, and Beyoncé’s vocals are on point as always. This is a really interesting start to the album, and I like how Beyoncé pulls no punches in regards to the lyrical subject matter, and how she gives us a sign of what’s to come.

Hold Up: Beyoncé’s vocals are on point as always, the hook is really catchy, and the beat is pretty damn nice. I also love her fearlessness and unapologetic lyrics. Quite a good song, I’ll say!

Don’t Hurt Yourself (ft. Jack White): While I initially wasn't sure what to make of this song because it's a really different, thrashing sound for Beyoncé, her vocal performance is absolutely unbelievable (I love her passion on this particular track), I initially wasn't really digging the filters on her voice, but now I definitely see the appeal of them, especially in the context of the album's themes of infidelity. Jack White’s chorus, which I initially thought was nothing special, really grew on me, too. Honestly, this whole song grew on me; initially, it was my least favorite on the album, but I'm kicking myself for ever thinking that because holy hell, does it go OFF.

Sorry: I like the hook on this one a lot, and I love how Beyoncé’s throwing up the unapologetic middle finger throughout this song. It’s extremely catchy and it’s definitely the perfect break-up song. This is one I’ll definitely want to hear a lot after this review. Hell, I’ll probably be constantly humming “I ain’t sorry” to myself after this one. Great stuff.

6 Inch (ft. The Weeknd): I was very excited for this one because The Weeknd is featured on here, and as expected, his verse is amazing. His vocals and performance as a whole shine on this track. And while I’m not particularly crazy about the hook here, I do love Beyoncé’s vocals and the catchy beat on this one. Really enjoyable song, and who knows, maybe the hook will grow on me in the future? (Actually, I usually edit these reviews when a song grows on me, but I'm just gonna leave this one here and say that 2017 Matt was right; that hook did grow on me. This song is incredible)

Daddy Lessons: Beyoncé doing country music? An odd combination, but it works fantastically thanks largely to her beautiful vocals, the wonderful guitar sound, the catchy beat, and the really strong, personal lyrics. I really love this track a lot, it’s one of my favorites on the album.

Love Drought: Instrumentally, this one is really strong, and Beyoncé’s vocals are as beautiful as ever. I love the lyrics on this one, and the hook, even if it’s a bit slow, is really nice. I like this song a lot as well, another one I want to listen to a lot after this review.

Sandcastles: Beyoncé slows things down a lot in this one, but I do love her raw, emotional, and passionate vocals on this one. While this one doesn’t really have a hook, I think that works because a hook would’ve made the song a bit more monotonous. It’s not my favorite Beyoncé song ever, but it does sound quite nice, that’s for sure.

Forward (ft. James Blake): James Blake’s vocals are pretty beautiful, and even despite this interlude's short length, it did grow on me a bit. Initially, I felt like it was just a bit too empty for me, but at the time I reviewed this album in 2017, I had not listened to a James Blake album at all. Now that I've listened to a good portion of his discography...yeah, this is a beautiful interlude.

Freedom (ft. Kendrick Lamar): I really like the feeling of empowerment that comes from this one, from Beyoncé’s strong, passionate vocals to her excellent lyrical content. Oh yeah, and Kendrick Lamar is featured on this track, and the result is exactly what you’d expect: an incredible performance and amazing lyricism. This is an amazing track, that’s for sure.

All Night: I’m repeating this, but Beyoncé’s vocals are beautiful on this one. She also shows some really strong flow and I love the feeling of love this song provides, from the instrumental to the sound of Beyoncé’s vocals. Initially, I wasn't totally crazy about the hook, and I felt like the song was the tiniest bit too long, but I came to love it in re-listens, especially in how it sees Beyoncé finally breaking through the five stages of grief and reaching acceptance. Wonderful track.

Formation: This has a kind of weird-sounding instrumental, but it works really well. The song is really catchy, Beyonce’s flow and vocal abilities are strong as usual here, and the lyricism is pretty great. I can agree with you on one thing, Beyoncé: you slay, you slay, you slay, you slay.

(Sorry - Original Demo: Hi, Matt from 2026 here. Initially, this song wasn't on the album when I reviewed it. It was added to the album when it was re-released on Spotify in 2019, and somehow, I didn't get to listen to it until now, as I was going back and re-listening to this album for my TEN YEARS LATER series. It's a beautiful demo, and I think the fact that it's so much darker and sadder than the eventual song is fascinating, but I'm not gonna take this moment to talk about the song; I instead want to kind of reflect. At the time I'm writing this (April 12th, 2026), it's been just under nine years since I initially reviewed this album (back on my personal Facebook before I even created this blog). As the title suggests, this was my 20th album review ever, and it's kind of crazy to look back at it now. I wouldn't say I regret any of my album reviews, but I do admittedly kind of wince at some of these early ones, because I feel like I wasn't nearly able to appreciate or critique music in the way I can now, and this review was a particular example of that. I mean, sure, I loved the album when I first reviewed it, but in this review, I barely made any mention of the album's themes or concepts, most especially the "five stages of grief" Beyoncé went through in its construction. I guess it shows that you can absolutely enjoy art you don't fully understand, but of course, I apologize if this wasn't the most all-encompassing review of the album you could find online. I'm very happy to say that I've grown a lot since this initial review, both in terms of my writing skills and my appreciation of music, and as much as this review may make me wince...hey, I had to start somewhere, right?)

Overall, I definitely really enjoyed this album a lot: there were some really memorable tracks through this, Beyoncé’s vocals are, as always, incredible, the lyricism is quite good, and I think Beyoncé shows on this album that she can handle quite a few different styles of music, from pop to rock to even country. I’m not big on country music at all, so when you can get me to really enjoy a country-style song, you’re doing something right, and Beyoncé did A LOT of things right on this album. Even if her music isn’t the kind of stuff I listen to consistently, I can’t deny the quality of the album, from the vocals to the production to the lyrics, it was an all-around well-made project. Beyoncé proclaims on "Formation" that she slays, and I couldn't agree more.

Favorite tracks: Pray You Catch Me, Hold Up*, Don't Hurt Yourself*, Sorry, 6 Inch*, Daddy Lessons, Love Drought, Sandcastles*, Forward*, Freedom, All Night*, Formation, Sorry - Original Demo***

Least favorite track: Yeah, get outta here**

Rating: Excellent

(*An asterisk next to a “favorite track” indicates that the track wasn’t initially one of my “favorite tracks” when I first wrote the review. If a track has an asterisk next to it, it means the song wasn’t initially a favorite of mine, but it grew on me, and the text for the song may have been edited to more properly reflect that.)

(**"Don't Hurt Yourself" was originally listed as a "least favorite" track. However, repeat listens helped it to grow on me, hence the double asterisks. Text in the review has been changed to reflect that.)

(***"Sorry - Original Demo" was not included in the album when I initially reviewed it; it was added when the album was re-released on Spotity in 2019. New text has been added to this review as a result.)