Does Beyoncé think this is her best project?

Beyoncé’s sophomore album, B’Day, will be celebrating its own birthday soon. The album, featuring iconic songs like “Irreplaceable” and the Shakira collaboration “Beautiful Liar,” will have its twentieth anniversary on September 4th, and the deluxe cover is iconic. It features Beyoncé holding an alligator’s tail, a callback to the album’s original promo in 2006. She looks just like she did on the 2006 cover. I’m guessing this is an edited version of one of the photos from that 2006 promo shoot.

Fans are eagerly anticipating the 20th-anniversary release, and I’m certainly in that camp, considering it’s one of my favorite albums of all time. However, some Twitter users are criticizing the vinyl pricing and the timing of the cover announcement. Twitter user @blueberr1_pie asks, “Now why is a billionaire charging $/€120-150 for a 20th anniversary version?” while other users have criticized how quickly the announcement came after the passing of Dolly Parton.

I’m personally very excited for the 20th anniversary of B’Day, and I love the cover. I don’t think I’ll be buying a $150 vinyl that doesn’t even include “World Wide Woman” for some reason, but if someone wants to spend that kind of money on it, I can understand the appeal for the right audience. I’m definitely curious about when the photo was taken and whether it was edited.

One way or another, I will definitely listen to any new music Beyoncé releases for B’Day’s twentieth b’day.

Emma Platt