Song of the Week [POP]: Beyoncé - 1 + 1

Since this week marks the release of Beyoncé's fourth studio album - appropriatly named "4" - i thought id make this weeks edition of Song of the Week one of the tracks off of said new album. It was hard to pick, since the album is literally full of little gems, but looking back at the last few editions of song of the week and noticing that all of the song have been 'dance pop' songs, i thought it was time for a little bit of a slow down, so, i picked a Beyoncé ballad! (yay?)

The album is quite 'Ballad Heavy' so that made the task of picking a ballad even harder, so after a few listens through the album i thought that the promo single and one of the better songs on the album "1 + 1" would be the best choice for this weeks edition of 'Song of the Week'. Its quite a different sounding song for Bey, as her pitching at some point and vocals seem more unedited, but whatever, imma begin talking about it right...... NOW!

The track was penned by Terius Nash, Christopher Stewart and apparently Bey herself (but given past controversys, i wouldnt count on it) and has been discribed as a 'slow burning R&B power balled with an almost not esistant beat' and more in 'the vein of halo than her previius hits', the song discusses Beyoncé professing her endless love to her partner and commanding that he makes love to her (it actually say that... no joke) to cement the love she feels they share. The song itself proves that when Bey steps down from all this hoodrat shit (although Run The World >>>>>>> this) and simpley focuses on using her vocals and powerful delivary to make the song work that the end product is usually almost more effective and successful than when she tries to do an uptemo that  sometimes come across as crass, fake & above all else, shite (See 'Diva' and the like...).

How does this song compare to the rest of the singles Beyoncé has released from "4" so far. Well, in all honesty this is my least favourite, but it doesn't mean it is a bad song, its actually pretty great. How will the song stand up against her growing back collection of singles? I doubt it will be released as a single, as the only ballad seller now is Adele, but it should be considered one of Bey's better ballads and overall one of her better singles, even if it will NOT see the success this subtle number deserves.

Queen Beys album "4" is out now. Listen to the promo single "1 + 1" above and buy the album from iTunes, amazon or any good retailer. Please, DON'T let this be 2011's 'Bionic'.

Best Bit: The lyrics 'I Don't know much about Algebra, but i know that 1 + 1 equals 2!' and her delivary of this line (very jerky, uncontrolled...) are just so tacky that it works so well. Also, her voice is as stunning as ever. You may not like Bey, but to say she has a poor voice is sheer ignorance
Shit Bit: At times, the song can sound a little desparate, and while it would work for most other artists, it doesnt work well for Bey. The repatition of 'MAKE LOVE TO ME' can be a little bit of a 'akward ...' moment...
Rating: 4.5 out of 5