Everything Is Love

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Lore & Background

Plans about a joint album by the couple were announced by Jay-Z during an interview with The New York Times in 2017 when he said that they used "art almost like a therapy session" to create new music. However, since they also worked on their respective albums 4:44 and Lemonade, and Beyoncé's music progressed more rapidly, the project was temporarily stopped. The majority of the album was recorded at U Arena in Paris; "Friends", "Black Effect" and "Salud!" were recorded at Kingslanding Studios West in Los Angeles, while further recording for "Summer" and "Nice" was done at The Church Studios in London. Beyoncé and Jay-Z co-produced all of the songs on the album themselves, with further producers including Pharrell, Cool & Dre, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, David Andrew Sitek, D'Mile, El Michels, Fred Ball, Illmind, MeLo-X, Mike Dean and Nav.

In Their Own Story

At the end of their second show at London Stadium in London on June 16, 2018, Beyoncé announced to the crowd that the duo had a surprise before leaving the stage. Then, the music video for "Apeshit" played on the LED video screen onstage. Following the conclusion of the video, the words "ALBUM OUT NOW" came across the screen. Everything Is Love was subsequently released exclusively via Jay-Z's streaming service Tidal and all audience members received a free six-month trial subscription in order to be able to stream the album. On the same day, the music video for the album's second track and lead single, "Apeshit", was released on Beyoncé's official YouTube channel. It was directed by Ricky Saiz and filmed at the Louvre in Paris.

Reader's Guide

Everything Is Love debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 123,000 album-equivalent units (including 70,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week. The album debuted on the chart after less than six full days of activity on Tidal, and four days of activity on all other digital retailers and streaming services. In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, earning an additional 59,000 units. In its third week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, earning 33,000 more units. In its fourth week, the album remained at number eight on the chart, earning 29,000 units. On January 14, 2019, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States. At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, the album won for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Did You Know?

• The album was announced to a live audience at London Stadium during the On the Run II Tour, with the music video for 'Apeshit' playing on the LED screen before the words 'ALBUM OUT NOW' appeared.
• The majority of the album was recorded at U Arena in Paris, with additional recording at Kingslanding Studios West in Los Angeles and The Church Studios in London.
• The album's artwork is a still frame from the 'Apeshit' music video, featuring two of Beyoncé's background dancers at the Louvre in front of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
• Everything Is Love won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
• The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 123,000 album-equivalent units, despite having less than six full days of activity on Tidal and only four days on other platforms.