B'Day 2LP

B'Day is what happens when a pop star wraps a movie shoot and immediately needs to prove she still belongs behind a microphone and not a camera. Beyoncé stacked the record with production from Darkchild, Nellee Hooper, Ne-Yo, the Neptunes, Stargate, and Swizz Beatz, leaned on live instrumentation borrowed from '70s and '80s soul, and let Jay-Z drop in on "Deja Vu" and "Upgrade U." The gamble paid off in blunt numbers, "Irreplaceable" hit number one, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200, and the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album followed.