Beyonce

When Beyonce goes schizo -- dividing her musical persona into balladeer Beyonce and club diva Sasha Fierce -- she is certainly organized about it. She dedicates the first side to the 'Yonce persona and the second to Fierce. Both halves are great. The gorgeous, sweeping "Halo" displays her incredible range and knack for squeezing pathos from stone, while the second half's "Diva" offers Fierce a chance to strut through Bangladesh's stuttering production while proclaiming, "Diva is the female version of a hustler."

Having transitioned into a more grown-up sound, Beyoncé has gotten conceptual on us:
Her third album offers two discs, a collection of heartfelt ballads credited to Beyoncé and
a danceable set credited to "Sasha Fierce," the pop diva's more brash, lady-empowering
alter ego. Though some of the slow songs have thoroughly memorable tunes, the lyrics are
full of bland self-affirmation and saggy lines like "You're everything I thought you... More >