Beauty Marks

Fifteen years after her explosive debut, Goodies, the pop star embarks on a new, good-vibes-only chapter with album seven. Beauty Marks—the first release on her own imprint, Beauty Marks Entertainment—is a slick collection of empowering R&B-pop that reframes perceived faults and failures as sources of strength. “Damn right, yeah, I love myself/And I can have it all because I love myself,” she chants on the album opener while Macklemore spits bars about sobriety, good parenting, and self-respect. Elsewhere, she links up with Kelly Rowland for the swaggering squad-goals smash “Girl Gang,” which channels classic Destiny’s Child and Ciara circa 2004 (the year of her iconic hits “Oh” and “1, 2 Step”). Just try not to wag your fingers along to these one-liners: "He try to hit it without committing/Tell him ‘Hell no’/He asks your favorite position/Tell him CEO."