The countdown is officially on until impatient fans get to hear new music from Beyoncé.
The 2013 ESSENCE Festival headliner graces the cover of the March issue of Vogue, looking stunning as usual. Inside the magazine, the pop diva gets personal, delving into her creative approach for her fifth studio album. Although no new music or track titles have been teased, Beyoncé says the LP is “more sensual… empowering” and calls it a mix of her last albums, 4, and I Am… Sasha Fierce.
The past year of Beyoncé’s life has influenced her the most—especially giving birth to daughter, Blue Ivy, last January. “Right now, after giving birth, I really understand the power of my body,” she says. “I just feel my body means something completely different. I feel a lot more confident about it. Even being heavier, thinner, whatever. I feel a lot like a woman. More feminine, more sensual. And no shame.”
The filmmaker, whose latest documentary Life Is But a Dream will air on HBO this Saturday, says she recorded the album last summer in the Hamptons with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and the The-Dream. “We had dinners with the producers every day, like a family,” she explains. “It was like a camp. Weekends off. You could go and jump in a pool and ride bikes… the ocean and grass and sunshine… it was really a safe place.”
Although it’s been quite some time since she started the album, Beyoncé says it’s not finished. “I’m going to be tweaking it,” she said. “I still have things to figure out.”