Surprise Beyonce Album: 'A Radio Event'

Beyonce

Beyonce dropped da bomb on Friday, and radio delivered it, according to David Hinckley at The NY Daily News.

By midday Monday, the glamorous star’s self-titled new album — released Friday with no advance notice — had sold more than 617,000 units on iTunes. The previous record was held by Taylor Swift’s 2012 “Red,” which sold 465,000 units in its first week.

That’s a tribute to the music, the star and to radio, says Clear Channel President of Entertainment Enterprises John Sykes.

“It was a brilliant and innovative marketing idea,” says Sykes, to drop the album as a holiday surprise. “We found out when everyone else did, minutes before it was released.”

John Sykes

“It was as exciting for radio as it was for listeners,” he says. “This was an event. This was news. People were talking about it.

“No one can respond faster to pop culture news than radio. All day Friday, thousands of stations were playing it. That’s how most people discovered it.”

While “Drunk in Love” emerged as the most popular track, the album had no designated singles, which Sykes says was also a shrewd move.

“Clear Channel alone had five formats playing five different tracks,” he says. “So Beyoncé got the whole album exposed, not just one track, and I think that’s reflected in the number of people who bought the whole album.”

Beyonce's new self-titled album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making her the first woman to hit No. 1 with her first five studio albums.