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Beyoncé - Nobody does it quite like Mrs. Carter. After a year of touring, Beyoncé capped off 2013 with album No. 5, a self-titled visual album unveiled exclusively on iTunes without a drop of advance notice. The 14-track release was accompanied by 17 music videos (one for each track, plus three extras), turning the typical listening experience into a feast of both audible and visual marvels. A new Beyoncé has emerged, one who celebrates her femininity, sexuality, confidence and vulnerability. King Bey gives us a taste of it all. Click on for our track-by-track review. — Latifah Muhammad(Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Pretty Hurts" - Bey kicks off the LP exposing the fleeting reward of outer beauty. The song, told through the eyes of a pageant queen, shines a light on the internal suffering that comes along with being on a public pedestal. The track is the begining of a common theme throughout the album, which finds the singer challenging the widespread ideals women are expected to aspire to.(Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Haunted" - Fame and fortune haven't shifted Beyoncé's worldview. Over a pulsating bass line, Bey waxes poetic on the sameness in the daily hustle and bustle of everyday people ("Working nine to five just to stay alive") and her personal issues with untrustworthy record labels. As the chest-thumping beat shifts to a more infectious foot-tapping rhythm, the songstress transforms the performance from inspiring spoken word to seductive tease.(Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Drunk in Love" ft. Jay Z - Hov doesn't just spit a verse, he's also the Clyde to her Bonnie in the video for this raunchy alcohol-fueled late night romp. The track is so sonically intoxicating that a hangover is pretty much expected. The bombastic, gyrating beat commands as much attention as Bey's raunchy lyrics cleverly hidden in an ear-bending "surfboard" metaphor.  (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Blow" - Put the kids to bed. This song plays with an '80s sound á la Vanity's "Nasty Girl" and doesn't skimp on the pearl-clutching sex demands. The Houston native straddles the beat in a perfect pitch playfully demanding things like "turn this cherry out" — and she's not talking about fruit.(Photo: Columbia Records)

Photo By Photo: Columbia Records

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"No Angel" - After all that passionate lovemaking, the next track on the album is unapologetic and overflowing with the kind of candor that makes it a standout. "No I'm not an angel, but at least I'm trying," Bey sings, and in the next moment adds, "You're no angel either, baby." Since love isn't always black and white, this song deals with the gray area. (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Partition" - Sasha Fierce takes a backseat as "Yoncé" has her turn at the alter-ego stage, steering the album to one of its more X-rated moments. The five-minute track melts into a clap-beat paired with sharp instrumentals climaxing into more lyrical erotica from Bey now "on her knees" in the backseat of a chauffeured ride. And if that lyrical picture wasn't transparent enough, a Monica Lewinsky reference makes it crystal clear.(Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Jealous" - A distant cousin to "If I Were A Boy," this song replaces enviousness with flashes of anger that dissolve into moments of reflection. The turning point comes towards the end as Bey admits, "I know that I'm being hateful, but that ain't nothin'/I'm just jealous/I'm just human/Don't judge me." (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Rocket" - This mid-tempo winner is assertive, feminine, coy and direct (she opens with, "Let me put this a-- on you"). Co-penned by James Fauntleroy, Baddy Bey transitions from boss to sexual subordinate begging for discipline. (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Mine" ft. Drake  - More piano keys pilot this declarative love song that's saturated in apologies and admissions. Drake plays backup to Mrs. Carter's lead with a melody nestled in a steady instrumental that picks up speed in the middle. Since both are virtual aficianoados of relationship records, the two pair nicely over the shapeshifting beat produced by Noah "40" Shebib. (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"XO"  - Rumored to be her first official single of 2014, "XO" is the most conceptually frivolous cut off Beyoncé. Although a solid attempt and tailored perfectly for the radio, the Ryan Tedder and The Dream-produced love record lacks the innovation captured among the other 13 tracks.(Photo: Columbia Records)

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"***Flawless" - Kicking off with "Bow Down" — the chopped and screwed banger fans heard earlier in the year — "***Flawless" is a hybrid of two concepts. Mid-song, Bey swtiches from commanding that her adversaries "bow down b-----s" to a call for female empowerment.  (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Superpower" ft. Frank Ocean - A dilapidated union so formidable its deemed a "Superpower," marks another shinning moment for Bey, this time with Frank Ocean as her plus one. Ocean raises a soul-piercing chorus of confessions starting with, "I thought the world wouldn't revolve without us," crooning above, below, and finally, right beside Queen Bey's vocals.(Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Heaven" - "Heaven" is a field of emotional land mines, which is fitting given the subject matter. The death of a loved one takes precedent in this heartbreaking yet optimistic rendition with a touching hook that begins, "Heaven couldn't wait for you." (Photo: Columbia Records)

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"Blue" ft. Blue Ivy Carter - "Blue," the final audio track on Beyoncé, is likely the closest to the singer's heart and inspired by daughter Blue Ivy Carter, whose voice and giggles are featured towards the end. Mama Bey's whimsy garnishes the piano-led instrumental as she pledges an unbreakable dedication to her baby girl. (Photo: Columbia Records)