Deary me...

Back in 08 we reviewed Beyoncé's last album I Am... Sasha Fierce. At the time we gave it a very generous 3.5 out of 5, but since then relations between us and Bey have soured (just stop pretending to write songs, it's annoying), the album has dated horifically (it's two years old and it sounds stale already) and we have let the rating slip to a humble and meagre 3. The only thing stopping it from slipping further is that it still, as it did then, represents a significant achievement in HOMOSEXSUELLE MUSIQUE.

At the time we also labelled it the gayest album ever released. Well, it's not. To suggest that would be to suggest that it embodies all that it means to be gay, which it doesn't. To say that would be to suggest that all gay people are vibrantly camp and flamboyant, which they are certainly not. So we retract that. What we safely claim, though, is that it is the campest album ever released. What makes it specifically camp (more camp, in fact, than the work of more out-and-proud homo icons like Madonna, Kylie, Cher or even Bette Midler) is that it isn't even trying to be queer, nor is it particularly aware of its total ridiculousness. We mean, sure. Beyoncé 'loves' gays and seems fairly passionate about camp. She's publicly admitted she's inspired by drag queens and we're sure if you asked she'd spout something vague and pro-gay rights. But she doesn't love-love camp culture in a way that makes her scream, demanding equality, from the rooftops, or swan down a float at gay pride. And the music she makes, unlike Kylie Minogue, isn't specifically and cynically aimed at the scene-loving, party-going sector of the gay community.

Nevertheless, I Am... Sasha Fierce, is still the campest album ever. Its un-self-aware, victim-complex-style forced vulnerability coupled with its flipside's gargantuan sexually-charged ego is one of the campest things of all time.

Well, it was, until we saw the intro to this Nicki Minaj video.