Beyoncé Launches Surprise New Album

Jay-Zand with Drake and Frank Ocean.

And there is also another very special guest in the form of her young daughter Blue Ivy, with the toddler being put to work at the age of just one on a track called Blue.

"I didn't want to release my music the way I've done it," she explained in an accompanying statement. "I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak directly to my fans. There's so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fans.

"I felt like I didn't want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it's ready and from me to my fans."

And on her unusual decision to accompany each track with a video, she said: "I see music, It's more than just what I hear.

"When I'm connected to something, I immediately see a visual or a series of images that are tied to a feeling or an emotion, a memory from my childhood, thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies. And they're all connected to the music."

The album is available to download on iTunes now, priced £12.99 in the UK.

The full tracklisting is...

1 - Pretty Hurts
2 - Haunted
3 - Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)
4 - Blow
5 - No Angel
6 - Partition
7 - Jealous
8 - Rocket
9 - Mine (feat. Drake)
10 - XO
11 - ***Flawless (feat. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche)
12 - Superpower (feat. Frank Ocean)
13 - Heaven
14 - Blue (feat. Blue Ivy)

Beyoncé has also just announced a new batch of gigs in the UK and Ireland.