If a butterfly flutters its wings in a Sony Music executive's stomach, does it cause an earthquake at the cash register? Beyonce's label certainly hopes so, because advance word about the singer's new album 4, due Tuesday, has been lackluster enough that according to the New York Post, the back channels at 550 Madison Avenue have been alive with whispers of a Destiny's Child reunion if 4's first-week sales figures are less than encouraging.
Rocks Off thinks the suits need to chill. First single "Run the World (Girls)" may be a little too all over the map to be an unqualified smash, but 4 makes up for in sultry old-school slow jams and the sheer gospel power of Mrs. Hova's voice what it may lack in "Single Ladies" sure things. (Look for an extended opinion Monday, probably.) In the meantime, Bey's PR team has been booking her on every magazine cover that isn't nailed down, including Essence, W, Dazed & Confused, Cleo, Black Hair and Cosmo UK.
In case 4 really tanks, though, Rocks Off enlisted the help of Houston Press Art Director Monica Fuentes to imagine what supermarket checkout counters, beauty-shop waiting areas and pickup-truck beds of the near future might look like if things go even further south than Sony is afraid of.
