Beyoncé celebrates 10th anniversary of when she 'stopped the world' with an album drop
Beyoncé is marking the 10th anniversary of her fifth studio album, "Beyoncé," and reminding fans why they call her Queen Bey in the process.
The award-winning singer dropped an Instagram video early Wednesday morning to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her self-titled album, which was released Dec. 13, 2013, on iTunes.
In the clip, Beyoncé features some of the album's tracks and takes fans down memory lane back to the iconic moment she surprised fans with the album in the wee hours of the morning with no prior promotion or announcement.
"I don't want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out," she said in the clip. "I just want this to come out when it's ready and from me to my fans."
Beyoncé included some reactions from fans and news outlets about the album's unexpected release, which included a video for each song. This combination arguably changed the music industry forever.
In her 2014 hit with Nicki Minaj, "Feeling Myself," Beyoncé sang: "Know where you was when that digital popped. I stopped the world."
The visual album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and became the fastest-selling album in iTunes history up to that point. It reportedly generated over 1.2 million tweets in 12 hours and sold over 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days.
"I still get scared before every album release," Beyoncé said in the Instagram clip. "I'm constantly searching for the deeper purpose for my art ... thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies."
The video ends with Beyoncé saying, "This album is the anti-perfection. Happy 10th anniversary."
It's the latest reason for Beyoncé to celebrate this year after she broke records with her Renaissance World Tour and the movie version, which is still in theaters.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyonce Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Beyonce celebrates 10-year anniversary of surprise album drop