I Am... Sasha Fierce
I Am... Sasha Fierce
I Am... Sasha Fierce received mixed to positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 482,000 units and earning Beyoncé her third consecutive US number-one solo album. The album has earned one diamond and over thirty platinum certifications in separate worldwide markets, being certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after shipping over seven million units in the United States. I Am... Sasha Fierce has sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. The album garnered seven Grammy Award nominations at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony (2010), including a nomination for Album of the Year, winning five. With a sixth win during the ceremony, Beyoncé broke the record for most awards won in one night by a female artist.
I Am... Sasha Fierce
The album was marketed with the release of several singles, including "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It))", both of which charted highly internationally. The former topped the charts in over ten countries and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, with the latter becoming her fifth number-one single on the Hot 100 chart. "Diva)" and "Ego)" were released exclusively in the United States, while "Halo)" and "Sweet Dreams)" were promoted internationally as the third and fourth singles, respectively. "Broken-Hearted Girl" was released internationally as the fifth single, while "Video Phone)" was released in September 2009 as the overall eighth, and "Why Don't You Love Me)" was released in July 2010 as the ninth and final single. To further promote the album, Beyoncé made several award show and televised appearances across Europe and America, and embarked on the worldwide I Am... Tour) (2009–10).
Recording and production
For the I Am... disc, Beyoncé was influenced by folk and alternative rock genres, while incorporating other instruments she had not normally used previously, such as the acoustic guitar. Tedder specifically assisted Beyoncé with crafting the album's balladry). The ballads were crafted in a way to combine "the best elements" of pop and soul music, while simultaneously "expanding the possibilities of both genres". Beyoncé attempted something different as people had strong expectations from her; she experimented with stronger lyrics. Beyoncé worked with Ghost to re-write Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" after having co-written "Disappear" in London, England. Ghost told The Daily Telegraph that they were both inspired by their then-recent marriages and had walked down the aisle to "Ave Maria". The song "Smash Into You", featured on the deluxe edition of the album, was originally slated to appear on Jon McLaughlin)'s sophomore album OK Now under the name "Smack Into You", but was cut from the finalized tracklist after it was leaked online and was subsequently given to Knowles.
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