The Daily Campus

Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Focus

If you've been near a radio in the past month, you probably have heard both of Beyoncé's new, split-personality singles. The first, "If I Were A Boy," is a slowed-down contemplation on how life would be if she had the chance to see through the eyes of a man. The second, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," is a bouncing, repetitive club jam for, well, the single ladies. So what's with the indecisiveness on a direction? Why, it's all part of Beyonce's new, schizophrenic album "I Am … Sasha Fierce."

So who exactly is Sasha Fierce? Who knows? This album is every bit Beyoncé as her past work, except instead of mashing all the passionate ballads with the club bangers, they're divided amongst two discs. Don't be mistaken, though - unlike Nelly's "Sweat/Suit" and Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" full double-albums, "I Am … Sasha Fierce" has designated R&B and pop discs but with six and five songs, respectively.

Much like vastly different lead singles, the two discs are complete opposites and not in a good way. Beyoncé has a beautiful voice - it's a well-known fact - so when she uses it properly, it's almost angelic, and she succeeds with flying colors. In the past, Beyoncé had proven herself to be capable enough to deliver dance-pop hits, but sadly this is not the case on "Sasha Fierce."

Besides the addictive "Single Ladies," the dance songs fall flat and are often lame. On "Radio," a techno, synth-heavy track, Beyoncé reveals her love affair with her radio because "it never lets her down." One section of the song finds her pronouncing her words like a knock-off version of Rihanna's "Umbrella," like when she sings, "When I get into my car, I turn it u-uh u-up / Then I hear vibrations all up in my tru-uh tru-unk."

Even worse is the abysmal "Diva," on which Beyoncé declares that a diva is a "female version of a hustler" over a deep bass-driven beat.

Luckily, "I Am … Sasha Fierce" is saved (but barely) by its ballads, most notably, the often-replicated "Ave Maria," which is Latin for "Hail Mary." The song is gorgeous; there's really no other way to describe it. Backed by a simple acoustic and piano melody, Beyoncé's voice soars in a way that it never has before.

"Halo" employs a combination of piano, synths and claps that makes for an uplifting song about finding that special someone, but can even be interpreted in the religion sense.

Beyoncé sings, "I found a way to let you in / But I never really had a doubt / Standing in the light of your halo / I got my angel now."

Beyonce has spent the last year working on "I Am … Sasha Fierce," but sadly the effort doesn't show. Instead of the emotional concept album she was aiming for, the end result turned out to be a muddled, half-decent attempt at much of the same.

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