For Beyoncé fans who happened to be awake in the wee hours of Friday the 13th, Christmas came early this year–in the form of a surprise album by the superstar singer.
对那些恰巧在12月13日（周五）凌晨还清醒着的碧昂斯粉丝来说，今年的圣诞节来得特别早——这位超级巨星歌手出人意料地发布了一张新专辑。
The self-titled visual album was released exclusively via iTunes as a complete download for $15.99; individual songs will be available starting December 20th. The list of collaborators on Beyoncé features a who’s-who of the music business, including Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Timbaland, Frank Ocean, Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland and, of course, Jay Z.
《碧昂斯》（Beyoncé）这张专辑的合作者名单可谓星光熠熠，都是音乐界的大人物，包括法雷尔?威廉姆斯（Pharrell Williams）、贾斯汀?廷伯雷克（Justin Timberlake）、德雷克（Drake）、提姆巴兰（Timbaland）、弗兰克?欧辛（Frank Ocean）、米歇尔?威廉姆斯（Michelle Williams）、凯莉?罗兰德（Kelly Rowland），当然了，还有Jay-Z。
With so many high-profile names attached to the project, it’s a small miracle that nothing leaked in advance of the launch, but Beyoncé runs a tight ship.
鉴于有这么多大牌和这个项目挂钩，专辑推出之前没有消息泄漏，这倒是个小小的奇迹。不过碧昂斯是个要求严格的人。
“I’m never satisfied, ” she told FORBES in a 2009 cover story, adding: “I’m sure sometimes it’s not easy working for me … I’ve never met anyone that works harder than me in my industry.”
“我从不满足，”她在2009年一期《福布斯》封面故事中表示，“我肯定，有些时候事情对我来说并不容易……在我所在的这个行业，我还没有碰到过哪个人工作比我更努力的。”
Indeed, she’s already played 97 shows on her Mrs. Carter World Tour this year–and, in combination with the buzz for her new album, that could catapult her to the most lucrative year of her already storied career. FORBES calculates earnings on the half-year, meaning that the scoring period for 2014 will run from June 2013 to June 2014.
是的，今年迄今为止，她已经出演了97场“卡特夫人世界巡演”（Mrs. Carter World Tour）演唱会——加上新专辑为其所造的声势，碧昂斯可能大跨步进入其业已功成名就的职业生涯中最为赚钱的一年。《福布斯》在计算艺人收入时是以年中为界限，也就是说，计算2014年收入的起讫时间是从2013年6月至2014年6月。
Beyoncé is already scheduled for 83 shows during that span, and that’s not counting additional bookings that could fill up April and May. She’s currently grossing over $2 million per city, according to Pollstar. Factoring in merchandise sales at her sold-out shows, that means she’s likely taking home somewhere around $1 million per night–if not more–before paying out agents, managers and Uncle Sam.
在此期间，碧昂斯已经定下有83场演唱会的计划，这还没有算入四、五两个月份中的额外门票订购。据票房统计机构Pollstar数据，目前她在每个城市的总收入超过200万美元。门票销售一空的演唱会，再加上相关商品的销售，意味着她每个晚上可将100万美元收入囊中——在扣除支付给经纪人、经理人及税收费用之前。
Those sorts of touring numbers alone should be enough to equal Beyoncé’s best years to date, her twin peaks of $87 million in both 2009 and 2010. Factor in endorsements with Pepsi and H&M, in addition to her other ventures and record sales, and she should easily double the $53 million she made this year. She’ll also challenge for music’s earnings crown, which went to Madonna at $125 million for 2013.
光是这些巡演数字，就足以让碧昂斯收获从艺以来的第三大丰收年——前两大丰收年分别是2009年和2010年，收入均为8,700万美元。加上她为百事可乐和H&M的代言收入，还有其他投资和唱片销售，她或可轻松将今年所赚得的5,300万美元进行翻番。她还将冲击乐坛收入之王的称号，2013年这一桂冠被麦当娜以1.25亿美元摘得。
As for the new album, it’s too early for sales numbers. But there’s at least one indicator that points to success: in 12 hours, Beyoncé has already garnered half as many reviews on iTunes as Katy Perry’s PRISM and one-third as many as Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP. Both albums sold about a quarter of a million copies in their opening weeks.
至于新专辑的销量数字，目前进行预测还为时尚早。不过至少有一个指向成功的信号：发售12个小时之内，碧昂斯已经在iTunes上收获了凯蒂?佩里（Katy Perry）的新专辑《PRISM》一半的评论数和Lady Gaga新专辑《ARTPOP》三分之一的评论数。后两张专辑均在开售首周售出了25万张左右。
Furthermore, Beyoncé’s strategy of selling her album as a whole for the first week–rather than allowing fans to buy songs a la carte–could prove incredibly valuable. Before the digital revolution in music, that was the status quo, and it led to platinum opening weeks for scores of artists who’d now be lucky to sell a third of that over the life of an entire album.
另外，碧昂斯对于新专辑首周销售的策略——让粉丝整张专辑进行购买，而不是一首歌一首歌地购买——可能是相当具有价值的。在音乐行业的数字化革命开始之前，这一直都是惯例做法，并为几十位艺术家创造了首周白金销量，而如果放在现在，这些歌手若是能在整个专辑上市期间售出之前三分之一的销量就已经算是幸运了。
Her idea also hearkens back to the example of another top-earning superstar: Michael Jackson. In a video explaining why she decided to release a video for every song on her album, Beyoncé recalls watching the short film for “Thriller” with her family and being inspired.
碧昂斯的想法还令人想起了另一位高收入超级巨星：迈克尔?杰克逊（Michael Jackson）。在一段解释自己为何决定为专辑中的每一首歌都拍摄音乐录影带时，碧昂斯回忆起了自己和家人一起观看的《战栗》（Thriller，杰克逊的一首歌曲）幕后故事短片，并从中受到了启发。
“I see music, ” she says. “It’s more than just what I hear.”
“我看到了音乐，”她说，“而不仅仅是听到”。
She’ll be seeing a lot more cash, too.
当然了，她还将看到更多现金。