Beyoncé - 4 tracklist and 1+1 review

After a month of absolutely nothing, Bey's promo campaign went into overdrive this week. She touched Oprah in ways that made Gayle jealous on Monday night before unveiling her album tracklist and setting a new standard of excellence on American Idol on Wednesday. But more about that career-defining performance later. I have some "4" stanning to get out of the way first. These are the names of 11 of the best songs you will hear this year as well as the hottest mess of the decade:

1+1
I Care
I Miss You
Best Thing I Never Had
Party (Featuring Andre 3000)
Rather Die Young
Start Over
Love On Top
Countdown
End of Time
I Was Here
‎Run The World (Girls)

I'm happy with 12 songs. Given Beyoncé's recent track record, "4" will probably be re-released more times than "Good Girl Gone Bad" - so I'm sure we'll end up getting a bunch of extra tracks anyway. The only surprise is the Andre 3000 collaboration. Was Flo Rida busy? Whatever. I'm sure it's amazing. Speaking of which, how stunning is the diva's latest promo pic (above)? That should have been the album cover. Every other bitch in the game can only nod and say yep, she got this. Sasha Fierce is back from beyond the grave!

But while the styling still has an edge, there is something very old-fashioned about "4". Take the new song Beysus premiered this week. I heard a preview of "1+1" online before seeing her holiness belt it out on American Idol and was left scratching my head. In a good way. Much like the recently leaked "End of Time", this sounds like a throwback to old school 80s soul when music was allowed to grow on you instead of beating you over the head with a robotic hook. "1+1" is the best ballad Anita Baker never got to record. The love song Karyn White wishes she got sing after "Superman". Yes, it's that amazing! And if you think "1+1" sounds brilliant on record wait until you hear it live. Bey tore the stage up on American Idol with another flawless vocal performance that stole the show. Even better is the backstage rehearsal Jay Z posted on his blog today. Watching this is like having a front row seat to greatness. Beyoncé is now operating on a whole different level.