To commemorate the 20th anniversary of her sophomore album, Beyoncé has released a remastered version of “B’Day” featuring Spanish recordings, previously released bonus tracks, and a few unheard songs including “Can I Watch You” featuring Pharrell and a new Spanish version of “Irreplaceable” featuring previously released vocals from the late Selena Quintanilla.
In a press release shared with Variety, Beyoncé reflected on the 20-year milestone of the album, which was originally released on September 4, 2006. “I wanted the album to be big, percussive, hard, up-tempo, and energized, and it was important to me that we used live instrumentation,” she said. “Hip-hop was taking over at the time, but I was fighting to preserve the bridges, melodies, and harmonies that have always been at the heart of R&B. The goal was to blend those two worlds through the art of sampling. I loved the minimalism of a beautiful vocal arrangement over a simple drum loop or a classic guitar like ‘Irreplaceable’…but only if that 808 was banging underneath.”
For the reissue, Beyoncé remastered the songs and videos, which were recolored and finished in 4k. The revamped visual for “Déjà Vu” featuring Jay-Z was also released alongside the album.
