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I Am...Sasha Fierce

EMAILPRINTby Beyonce

Beyonce reviews
62
7.7 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 137 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Sony

Release Date: 18 November 2008

Discs: 2 disc

Genre(s): R&B, Soul, Pop

Summary

The third solo album for the ex-Destiny's Child singer features songs attributed to her alter ego Sasha Fierce.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83

Entertainment Weekly

I Am...Sasha Fierce does offer two compelling sides of the singer.

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75

The Phoenix

My advice is to skip directly to disc two, though I'm happy to report that the typically melismatic Mrs. Jigga shows a shocking degree of vocal restraint on the ballads.

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75

MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)

There are three good songs on this 11-track artifact, and deeply vapid though the split-personality bit is, the trick of dividing the album into two CDs does leave a 17-minute dance disc that can be played without gastric distress by any purchaser who isn't picky about diva gangstaism or videophone porn.

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70

Rolling Stone

Though some of the slow songs have thoroughly memorable tunes, the lyrics are full of bland self-affirmation and saggy lines....But the "Sasha" disc boasts Beyonce's most adventurous music yet.

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70

Vibe

Ironically, it’s the more tame (and nameless) persona that’s the most intriguing, commanding and sexual.

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70

Hartford Courant

The ballads are nice enough, in a syrupy, overwrought way. But slamming dance songs have always been Beyoncé's strength, so it's no surprise that the "Sasha Fierce" half of the album is the better showing.

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70

Billboard

It's the classic, more timeless R&B songs on the I Am portion of the album that seem like a much-welcomed stretch for the singer.

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70

Boston Globe

For the most part, it works well and sounds fresh.

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67

The Onion (A.V. Club)

The two halves wouldn't necessarily sound better shuffled together--both are pretty uneven.

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60

Slant Magazine

I Am...Sasha Fierce is an admirable vie for artistic credibility (and for a last-ditch revival of the long-player format) but one that is muddled by the fact that the album is being offered in two configurations.

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60

The Guardian

It's not just that the music on I Am ... is boring--although, aside from the growling guitars and tumbling drums of That's Why You're Beautiful, it is. It's that there is something underwhelming about the whole project.

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60

Hot Press

Beyonce still proves that she's an all-around good performer even though her attempt to branch out into an alter ego fails a little.

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60

Blender

What’s revealed is...well, what we’re used to. Beyonce is still a beauty-shop feminist, quick with the smack-downs, and she still describes the rattling rush of love with preternatural poise.

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60

PopMatters

I Am… Sasha Fierce had an opportunity to be a great record. Instead, it’s merely good. And for a diva such as Beyoncé, that’s not entirely acceptable.

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57

Pitchfork

While this LP is more painstaking than B'Day, the extra effort dulls any emotional wallop; "B'Day," in all its hectic glory, offered a much more vivid peek into the elusive mind of Beyoncé than Sasha Fierce, which often reads more like projection than reality.

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50

All Music Guide

Beyonce's third solo studio album is as concise as 2006's B'day, but it is divided into two discs as a way to emphasize the singer's distinct personalities. It's a gimmick, of course--a flimsy one.

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40

Observer Music Monthly

But OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" aside, it's debatable whether there has been call for a double album since "Sign O' the Times" in 1987, and this is clearly another case for the prosecution.

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40

Dot Music

It's more a rescinded lesson in demographics, with disc one seemingly aimed at airbrushing out the last vestiges of Knowles' credibility in favour of a procession of lame pop ballads in a Shakira or even Shania Twain-ish mould.

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40

Spin

Sasha is an intriguing but diluted direction.

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40

NOW Magazine

Unfortunately, the “deluxe edition” is bloated with filler, and the shorter “standard edition” omits some of the more creative songs instead of dropping the duds.

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35

Paste Magazine

On the first disc (I Am), Knowles comes off helpless and as emotionally closed as ever....The Sasha Fierce side is more like it. Here, Knowles works her confident, fun alter-ego. Still, she overdoes it on 'Diva.'

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30

cokemachineglow

I am...amused. But it’s sort of like the horrific fascination of seeing a train wreck.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 137 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Hugo C gave it a10:
I think the album is awesome. It has great ballads where beyoncé shows her beautiful vocals. Then, there is sasha fierce full of fierceness.

Jason R gave it a10:
Beyonce delivers yet again.

elise gave it a10:
Amazing album; for me her best album so far!! grea job!

Alain gave it a10:
Some people wonder why she is so successful, well just listen to this album and you'll understand, absolutely beautiful!

emilia gave it a10:
Just love it! i like the concept. its good that she is showing more of who she is.

tina gave it a10:
Really good album, i like the concept. i saw her show recently and it makes me love her even more.

amelie gave it a10:
I cant stop listening to this album, i just love it. i love smash into you and disappear on the first cd, and sweet dreams and hello on the second one.

Read more user comments >

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