A more mellow Beyonce still impresses

Published



“Run the World (Girls),” the first single from Beyonce’s fourth solo album, “4,” has all the hallmarks of a signature No. 1 Beyonce smash — a bombastic, larger-than-life sound, a call-and-response hook, a heavy dose of girl power and a fierce drumbeat. Surprisingly, though, it landed with a thud on radio, and the buzz around “4” hasn’t been encouraging — there’s even talk that the multi-hyphenate diva could find herself dealing with her very first flop.

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