Following a career hiatus which reignited her creativity, Beyoncé was inspired to create a record with a basis in traditional rhythm and blues that stood apart from contemporary pop.

Severing professional ties with father and manager Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé eschewed the music of her previous releases in favor of an intimate, personal album.

Lyrical themes of 4 emphasize monogamy, female empowerment and self-reflection, a result of Beyoncé considering a maturer message to contend artistic credibility.

It was her fourth consecutive album to debut atop the US Billboard 200, and it also reached number one in Brazil, Ireland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The album spawned seven singles–"Run the World (Girls)", "Best Thing I Never Had", "Party", "Love On Top", "Countdown", "I Care" and "End of Time".

[4] She severed professional ties with father and manager Mathew Knowles, who had guided her career since the 1990s with Destiny's Child,[5] noting that the decision made her feel vulnerable.

[8] She intended 4 to help change that status, commenting, "Figuring out a way to get R&B back on the radio is challenging ... With 4, I tried to mix R&B from the '70s and the '90s with rock 'n' roll and a lot of horns to create something new and exciting.

[13] In 2015, The-Dream revealed that he and Beyoncé had composed a whole album based on Kuti's music, although this was scrapped in favor of creating 4, therefore explaining how "End of Time" became so heavily influenced.

[15][16] She used hip hop for a "broader sound" and looked to bring soul singing back, stating, "I used a lot of the brassiness and grittiness in my voice that people hear in my live performances, but not necessarily on my records.

[13][19] Consequently, most of the instruments, including drums, keyboards, guitar and bass work, were recorded there and performed by Jeff Bhasker and Shea Taylor.

[18][19] Beyoncé asked Frank Ocean to write and record "I Miss You" at MSR, saying to Complex, "[Jay-Z] had a CD playing in the car one Sunday when we were driving to Brooklyn.

"[8] After listening to each song, Beyoncé would often request the addition of specific instruments, leaving her production team to make the sounds cohesive.

[13] The final cut of 4 comprises twelve tracks on the standard edition and eighteen on the deluxe edition—three of which are remixes of "Run the World (Girls)".

[27] With vocals that allude to a "wounded bird turned resilient lioness",[27] the song is built on a "winkly piano riff and beefy bass drums".

[36] "Run the World (Girls)", a female empowerment anthem reminiscent of Beyoncé's more contemporary work on I Am... Sasha Fierce,[23] uses an energetic sample of Major Lazer's "Pon de Floor".

[26] The song incorporates "layered melodics", most prominently a military marching drumbeat, while Beyoncé's near-chanted delivery encompasses her full vocal range.

[13] "Lay Up Under Me" is also built on retro horns, featuring upbeat vocals,[36] a sound Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork associated with Michael Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall.

[36] The chorus of "1+1" was compared to "Purple Rain", with themes of sadness and resentment, the song uses soft background vocals and dense percussion.

[45] Shot on the rooftop of the Hôtel Meurice in Paris,[46] Beyoncé is looking into the distance with her arms raised over her head, wearing smokey eye makeup, thick gold cuffs and a fox-fur stole by cult French designer Alexandre Vauthier, embellished with Swarovski crystals by the Lesage embroidery house.

Rumors had suggested that the label requested from Beyoncé to make changes to the record and reunite Destiny's Child, claims Columbia denied.

[53] A deluxe version of the album was released simultaneously with the standard edition in several countries; in the United States, it was available exclusively through Target stores.

[72] "Love On Top" was sung at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28,[73] Beyoncé finished the performance by unbuttoning her blazer and rubbing her stomach to confirm her pregnancy.

[76][77] 4 was Beyoncé' first album that yielded no number-one singles in the United States, as no song from 4 reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

[104] In his review for Rolling Stone, Jody Rosen wrote that Beyoncé eschews contemporary production styles for a more personal and idiosyncratic album.

[25] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed it as a good showcase for Beyoncé as a torch singer, because she convincingly sings about heartbreak and the strong emotional effect of love.

[28] Pitchfork critic Ryan Dombal found it easygoing, retro-informed, and engaging because it shows "one of the world's biggest stars exploring her talent in ways few could've predicted".

[105] In a less enthusiastic review, Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly said the first half of 4 is marred by boring ballads and the songwriting in general are not on-par with Beyoncé's vocal talent.

[142] According to the Official Charts Company data, this was more than the combined sales of its three nearest challengers: Adele's 19 (2008) and 21 (2011) and Lady Gaga's Born This Way (2011).

[148] According to the Japanese music charting site Oricon, the album debuted at number ten, selling 18,984 copies for the week ending July 11, 2011.

[151][152] On August 1, 2011, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped one million copies to retail stores.