Beyonce and Rihanna are in the same boat these days: both women were working on new albums for much of the past year (perhaps longer), and both women are not talking about when they’ll drop their new albums. Most people think Rihanna’s album is done and she’s just making fans wait before she drops it ahead of her tour. But Beyonce is another mystery altogether. The last time she dropped an album, it was a surprise release on iTunes complete with music videos, etc, etc. Beyonce is also no longer speaking on behalf of Beyonce, so she’s not going to do any advanced press for the album, unlike Rihanna who has been teasing this sh-t in the media for months. It’s totally possible that Rihanna and Beyonce will drop their albums within the same month, just as it’s totally possible that they’re coordinating with each other so no one’s thunder gets stolen. But there’s another theory going around: Beyonce completed her album last year, but held it back because she wanted to give Adele time to shine.
Her last album sold half a million copies in 24 hours. And while Beyonce has reportedly completed her brand new record, sources suggest she has delayed the release in order to allow another superstar to shine. Insiders have told The Sun that The Single Ladies hitmaker wrapped work on her sixth studio album at the end of last year, but she wanted to wait until the ‘hype’ around Adele’s comeback with 25 died down before unleashing her new material.
It’s thought that Beyonce will follow a similar tactic to her 2013 release, which saw her drop her self-titled fifth record and 14 videos on the same day in December. While the superstar was reportedly ready to release her sixth album at the close of 2015, sources have suggested the star stuck to a ‘code’ by allowing Adele to have her share of the spotlight with her first album in four years.
‘It was wrapped up at the end of 2015 but she held off on a release as a code of honour to Adele, so their records didn’t clash,’ an insider has alleged to The Sun. ‘Beyonce doesn’t have the pressure of releasing an album and is doing bits here and there because she and her team know it is Adele’s time to shine. The last few months have been all about her comeback…Now Adele’s sales are starting to die down, Beyonce is ready to drop her album at any time. But there’s a very strong chance the announcement could happen during the Super Bowl next month,’ the insider has added of Beyonce’s plan.
I’m trying to figure out if I think this is patronizing or sweet. Beyonce and Adele are friendly and supportive of one another, and Adele talked a lot about how much she loves Beyonce while she was doing press for 25. I think Beyonce would decide “let Adele have her moment” and on a professional-music level, that’s nice. But I also think Beyonce didn’t want to go head-to-head with Adele because then it wouldn’t be all about Beyonce, you know? Beyonce didn’t want to be outsold by Adele in a head-to-head match-up, and that was part of calculation too. Sigh… it’s really possible that Rih-Rih and Bey will both release albums in February. Can you wait that long?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Getty, WENN.
I haven’t really talked about Beyonce’s music in a long time. I don’t think any of the songs off her last release made much of an impact. When she did Single ladies and such those songs just stuck. And I hope that whole story about her holding back is BS.. because I don’t think she or anyone would have been able to hold back Adele
Amen!! This is 100% not wanting to go up against Adele, she knows she’d be beaten and she doesn’t want anyone to steal her thunder. Her last album was glorified elevator music.
This. I think Beyonce is now into strategic marketing and tactical style release territory for her music to sell anywhere near the volume it once sold as certainty.
Adele just had to create and sing for that to be enough to garner sales (old fans and new).
It was a fear-based move if any of this is true (re completed album). She just didn’t want any sales comparisons knowing she wouldn’t come out ahead. Nice try though.
Soooo this.
Beyonce’s music is not very good. Adele’s
Is much better, although I’m tired of her yelling in songs. But still, she is the sensation now and bey didn’t want to compete with that.
Thank you. If Beyonce held back her album because of 25, it was because she knew she would not be the Queen. It had nothing to do with giving Adele her “moment” and everything to do with Beyonce wanting to keep her illusion of relevance.
Beyonce couldn’t outsell Adel if she gave her albums away for free. This story sounds like it’s along the same lines as the divorce scandal they used to sell out their tour.
Riiiiight. I think it was more so Beyonce’s album could shine and not be overshadowed by Adele. Never change Bey!
But when was the last time Bey had an album that shined? I’m not a fan of Adele but I think most people prefer Adele’s depressing music over Bey’s hip shake grind and sex me up music. Overall Bey has had some good songs but there wasn’t one song that I heard on her last album that I liked. Drunk in Love sounded like a drunken mess. It never grew on me.
On a superficial note Adele looks older than Bey in those photos.
“But when was the last time Bey had an album that shined? ”
Come on now. When Beyoncé released her last album it was a pretty big deal.
I’ll take B’s music over Adele’s snooze fest. I turn over the radio every time “Hello” comes on.
@Tiffany 🙂 it was more of a big deal cause it was a surprise and had videos, but the songs weren’t what they used to be.
Thanks @Mia
I just returned to this thread and was about to say the same thing. Plus Bey album wasn’t anywhere near breaking the records that Adele’s latest album did. I do listen to more Bey than Adele. I actually heard Adele’s entire album and in my opinion it’s not that good. One depressing song after the other which doesn’t even sound that good. People just think Adele is so great because her music is a bit different than what’s on the radio. I think her music belongs on the contemporary adult stations and not pop stations. She’s like the Kenny G with lyrics. Sorry Kenny.
Let both of these women be great, as they are. Beyoncé changed the game with her last album. I don’t care for Adele’s music, I take Bey’s any time, but I can acknowledge her impact as I’m not blind.
Mia, it was a big deal because it sold. Her album broke iTunes weekly sales records in 3 days. It sold more than twice what Katy Perry did in her first week.
I don’t think this is an either/or situation, people can like both Adele and Beyoncé at the same time. But I do take issue with the idea that Beyoncé’s album didn’t do well. It did very well and really shook up the industry when it was released.
@Tiffany But please don’t take things out of context. Mia nor me said that Bey’s album didn’t do well. @Mia only said the songs were not what they used to be. I said it didn’t break Adele’s type of records. Adele killed Bey as far as record breaking on ITunes. I think Adele broke ITunes record in a day.
I’m happy to report that the only artist to date to beat Adele’s “Hello” on ITunes was The Voice singer Jordon Smith’s rendition of Queens “Somebody To Love”
And we weren’t saying that one should like one over the other. I even said I listen to more Bey than Adele. We were just commenting on how Adele was more ground breaking than Bey when it comes to their latest albums. You can’t deny that Adele out did Bey.
I didn’t take things out of context. You wrote ““But when was the last time Bey had an album that shined?”, and I correctly stated that her last album release broke records. That was clearly a “shining” moment!
Yes, years later Adele did sell many more copies than Beyoncé (or anyone) did their first week. I am not trying to diminish that accomplishment. I am merely saying that Beyoncé, for as flawed as she is, did have a pretty big accomplishment herself with her last release. I don’t have a dog in this race, and from my perspective it seems kind of odd to pit two very different performers with different audiences against each other, to determine who “out did” someone else. I just don’t see them as each others direct competition.
My comments about liking either/or wasn’t related to your comments. I was touching on what jeanpierre wrote, which I agreed with.
Right? Talk about delusional.
I can just hear Adele’s big ole’ guffaw when she hears Bey said such a patronizing thing. She’ll just laugh it off.
I think that it was so considerate of Beyonce to adhere to the “code of honor”. What a great, benevolent queen. Yeah…so I’m thinking Bey and Riri will release when Jay says so.
She was Afraid
This! In what world is Beyawnce any comptition for Adele? Girl please! As if!!! AS IF!!!
Once in a while a Voice comes along that is simply spectacular…Streisand, Garland, Houston etc. Adele is one of those voices. Beyoncé is not.
Taste in music change. Its Adeles time to shine. Beyonce had her time. Its not that neither is less talented than the other.
The music business is extremely fickle and Beyonce had her run. And one day another artist will come along to eclipse Adele.
But everyone also have to remember that Beyonce has been stunt queening it lately. Like everything else there in the Celebitchy archives.
Remember to break up rumors, the fight in the elevator and her father telling people that they were stunts?
Maybe ,maybe not.
Beyonce lives a pretty quiet life until there’s something to promote, then strange things begin to happen
She wanted to give Adele time to shine…yeah, right.
She wanted everything to be about her and not compete with Adele.
It’s because Beyonce wanted to be number 1 and she probably wouldn’t have if she released her Album the same time as Adele. I’m a Beyonce fan, don’t get me wrong…but it would be hard for anyone to compete with Adele at that moment.
That’s what I was thinking – she wants her album at number 1, not number 2, and if she’d gone head to head with Adele’s album, she would have come up short.
I think it’s a completely reasonable strategy and I probably would have done the same, but saying it was some big act of generosity for Adele is kind of ridiculous.
I agree that it’s nice of her, in a way. Then again, it does give me patronizing vibes as well, which wouldn’t be the case if we were talking about Rihanna (call me weird but yes, I do think Ri’s intentions would be way more genuine).
I’m with you – I have mixed feelings.
Bey IS aware that her fans are a bit rabid – so if her intentions WERE good, then it was nice, though somewhat unintentionally patronizing.
More like self-serving. Bey didn’t want to play second fiddle to Adele’s reign.
The numbers really speak for themselves. Both of Adele’s last albums are two of the best selling of all-time (25 is surely on its way). Even Queen B can’t touch those numbers.
Neither. Bey would have been crushed and everyone, including her people knew it. Adele is preppy for a sold out tour so she will be taking care of that and will be out of the spotlight for awhile.
More like waiting so her album would do well – she knows she wouldn’t be able to compete with Adele. It is after all only her (Adele) 3rd studio album and one that was waited for with baited breath.
Not even in the same class? I personally CAN’T STAND Bey… and that includes most of her music. Adele would slay Bey all day, every day when going head-to-head and Queen B knows it so she stayed away. They may be friendly, but I find it repulsive that she’s trying to sell this as respect when, let’s be honest, it’s really all about her NOT looking bad.
Amen!!
Scared. She was scared she couldn’t get a #1 if she had to compete with Adele. Most people were afraid of Adele’s charting power and knew not to release after she did.
Beyonce can’t compete with Adele. She would have been annihilated by Adele. Beyonce is more hype than substance these days.
this! she’s been thrown into our faces as the princess of the universe and her music isn’t that great. she’s a great worker, that’ s true. she tries really hard, dances, sings…great entertainer, but she seems fake to me. a perfect doll. adele has a much more genuine energy and she’s interesting.
Beyonce couldn’t compete and she knew it.
I was also really enjoying that break from Beyonce too. Damn.
LOL She held it back to help her own sales. Competing with Adele for that first month especially and longer is a lost cause. She’s a juggernaut.
Why does this have to be framed in terms of ‘niceness’? Beyonce’s shrewd enough to not want to release her album when Adele’s is dominating press and airwaves. While both women can be successful at the same time, why share the spotlight when she can maximize her exposure by waiting just a month?
not to mention that if they had released at the same time, the press narrative adnd questions would have only been about the battle between them, not the actual albums.
Frankly, I didn’t even read the press release as angling for a “Beyone is so generous” vibe. Yes, it mentions a code of honor but otherwise seems pretty pragmatic that there’s no reason to compete for the dollars and they were waiting for Adele’s sales to slow down. Nothing to see here.
I just find the whole “niceness” angle patronizing. We’d NEVER see that printed about a man.
Lol, Adele outsells Beyoncé by an extremely wide margin. For that matter so do Rihanna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift etc. It’s not even a worthwhile comparison to make.
not really. there aren’t numbers to back this up. among all those people mentioned, single ladies and halo has sold more than any of their top SOLO singles. Rihanna has sold more records than Beyoncé because she has put out more music than solo Beyoncé. Seriously we are comparing Rihanna’s 7 album sales to Beyoncé’s 5. Katy Perry and Beyoncé released albums in 2013 and Beyoncé has sold despite being released later. numbers don’t lie.
No they don’t.
Beyoncé has sold around 75 million records worldwide. Adele and Perry are nearing 100 million. Janet Jackson, GaGa and Britney are hovering around 110-120 million. Taylor’s at around 150 million. Whitney, Celine, Mariah and Rihanna are all at about 180-200 million. Madonna’s up near 300 million.
This is Beyonce’s pr team hard at work. What a silly story to put out. Release the album ,let music speak for itself. If the music is good Adele won’t be an issue.
I’m holding back my paintings, dont want to make Picasso look like an amateur.
Awesome! And you’re so nice and honorable for doing that you selfless thing you.
And I don’t write, so Shakespeare’s rep is safe.
Ha ha ha. You win this thread.
Ester, your a class act for being so generous. ☺
this comment is an absolute winner.
“But I also think Beyonce didn’t want to go head-to-head with Adele because then it wouldn’t be all about Beyonce, you know? Beyonce didn’t want to be outsold by Adele in a head-to-head match-up, and that was part of calculation too.”
I think that’s it, in a nutshell.
LOL
As if….
The entire music business knew not to release against Adele especially when that one single charted and sold so strongly…
…but the excuses keep coming as to why people had to hold off.
So Patronising when she didn’t stand a chance.
Sure…. Its not because she was afraid of the competition…. Sure Jan.
Adele’s work speaks for itself as does Beyoncé. I’m sure Adele doesn’t need such consideration as she is exceptionally talented – her voice is soothing and her songs are not too deep but are meaningful. The reason why I love her is she doesn’t take herself seriously ( like Gaga). i like listening to Beyoncé when working out.
Adele’s guesting on Jimmy Fallon and perfoming Hello with Fallon and his band on kazoos and school instruments just shows 1) just how talented she is – no studio magic there, and 2) that she is fun and light. I would be interested to see Gaga or Bey do the same, but they would never allow themselves to be that vulnerable and frankly, real.
meh, not even the same kind of music so not an either or / competitive situation.
more to do with superbowl, not adele
I agree. They even have separate radio formats that they are categorized in. I don’t think there is a lot of cross-over there.
I totally agree with your take on this. I think it may have been done out of professionalism as much as she knew everyone was going to go crazy about Adele. Why not let that die down so then she could have her time to shine?… Makes sense to me
Beyonce is not capable of taking the shine away from Adele, even on her best day.
thanks for the laugh, bey. adele would have outsold, outshone, out everything’d you.
Rihanna is/has been shooting a movie – Valérian and the City of a Thousand Planets – in France here in January, which would explain why her album isn’t out yet.
Who would be legit competition for Adele? Not Beyonce for sure. It’s quite patronizing to imply that she’d be able to.
Correction to the headline: Beyonce held her album back because she knew that no one would notice it if she tried to compete with a singer that actually has talent.
Seriously, if she released hers at the same time as Adele, people would notice that Adele truly has a gift and that she doesn’t. I’m not a huge Adele fan, but I recognize that she truly has a beautiful voice and doesn’t need to go overboard with a “Look at me! Pay attention to me! Me me me me me!” media bombardment as Beyonce so often does. Quite frankly, Adele is a singer and Beyonce, at best, could be called an “entertainer,” but not really a singer. She just doesn’t have anything special going on except for great marketing.
Yassssss thank you!!! She’s a performer not a singer
Oh please. BEYAWNCE have all the seats. Your PR team really screwed up with this little tidbit, no one believes the delay is about queen Bey’s benevolence for a hot second.
Puleeze! Beyoncé isn’t close to being in the same league as Adele who can sing circles around B. B is all smoke and mirrors and production hype – Adele is the real deal!
I’m really looking forward to new stuff from Rihanna, but Beyonce’s music has been meh for quite some time. She might have been able to compete with Adele in the past, but not with the “elevator music” (stealing this from a commenter upthread) that she released on her last album.
I see it as benefitting her too.
Since those words did not come directly out of Beyonce’s mouth I don’t find it patronizing. Looking forward to Beyonce’s new music, I love her!
Who is she kidding? I love Queen Bey but does she even sell the number of albums Adele sells without shaking her crotch in our faces?
Oh be serious! Beyomce get over yourself! This is patronizing beyond belief! To compare lovely,open,talented Adele to the over manufactured,everything is carefully manufactured Beyoncé is a joke
Lying.
She waited to release her album because it would hurt her ego way too much to see herself quashed under Adele’s 25.
It’s ok, Bey, we understand!
It’s kind of hard to gauge it as patronizing since she didn’t specially say it. But…I dunno, I sort of enjoy her swagger here. It’s kind of obvious she didn’t want to go head to head with Adele, but why would you admit that weakness publicly? Cover it up with a bluff. And why not? Men do it all the time.
Oh please. Beyonce hasn’t had a solid album in years. She held back the album because she would’ve gotten crushed otherwise. Rihanna did the same thing.
Why draw attention to the fact, you ain’t all that & a bag of chips? Doh! Was there any need to release any kind of statement?
In my opinion Beyonce sounds like a strangled cat at the best of times. As for that ring on it record, what an appalling, tuneless, moronic sentiment. Yet claims to be an independent woman. — God give me strength.
The all round badly crafted farce is too much for me.
Been going on since time in memorial I suppose, regardless of the product the S H 1 T sells if you market it well enough & the record company buys in massive volume.
Oh & Adele should cheer up & not shout sing. Apart from that actually talented.
Beyoncés record sales could not hold a candle to Adele. Beyoncé did not want to embarrass herself is more like it
100% patronizing.
Adele is a mega-talent, and nobody wanted to go up against her new album.
More like Bey didn’t want to be out-shined.
People are going to believe this because they hate Beyoncé but it’s not time for Beyoncé to release her album so I don’t believe this. She usually waits three years in between projects and is right now still working on her album and hiring producers. She will never outsell or even come close to Adele or Taylor Swift and it’s not fair to compare her to them because she is in a different music genre.
This. My thoughts exactly.
That was a nice thing to do of Queen Bey, wasn’t it? ‘sarcasm mode off”. The woman is delusional.
Patronising and not really honest. Her team probably figured they’d sell more by holding back.
…thats a beautiful red dress adele is wearing…
I’m not really a fan of either’s music but honestly I think if Beyonce and Adele would go head to head Adele would be the winner. Just because I think her music has a broader range of audience.
I don’t think it’s patronizing or sweet, it’s just a smart business move. All these artists must have known that 25 would have outsold anything they put out. The only thing that might have been patronizing is if Beyonce herself had said it was about giving Adele a chance. Then again, if she had come right out and said it was avoiding the competition, Beyonce/Adele feud rumors would have shown up.
Quite sure Adele would have done just as great, if not better. Bey didn’t want the competition. Very strategic. Lol
Sorry got to stick up for my girl Adele. Beyoncé in no way are you able to blow Adele out of the water I stopped listening to you in 2006 and I used to be a fan. Stop fooling yourself Beyoncé Adele takes every artist and vocalist down in seconds there is no comparison to the quality of her lyrics and her amazing voice. Beyoncé is trying to humble brag if you weren’t scared you would have gone up against her and put your album out.
I don’t believe a word! Beyonce’s last album didn’t do that well. i can’t even name a song! there’s noway she didn’t know she did not stand a chance! spare us Bey!
Sorry Bey, I think you need to STFU!!!!