Overnight, Beyonce has released her fifth studio album without warning. Referred to as the "visual album" and titled Beyoncé, it was made exclusively available on iTunes without any announcement—and has already made quite an impact.


With Twitter going crazy over the release, the Daily Mail reports that it "caused iTunes to temporarily crash as fans rushed to download it." Oh dear. A press release notes that Beyonce "has been the target of leaks", explaining that the iTunes-only launch "is a fully designed preventative plan. The album will be offered as a cohesive body of work with every song and every video available all at once for one single purchase."

The album features 14 tracks—without the ability to purchase individual tracks—and retails for $16. It features guest appearances from the likes of Frank Ocean, Drake, and Jay-Z. There's an accompanying music video for each song, hence the "visual album" tag. It will no doubt sell by the bucketload—if Apple's servers keep up. [iTunes Store, Daily Mail]


Image by Getty