Beyoncé Is Finally Back With "Best Thing I Never Had"

Forget what I said about "1+1".

"Best Thing I Never Had" is the single she should have come back with.

The diva released the song to radio stations as the official second single from her upcoming album 4. Despite the lukewarm reception to "Run The World", I have a very good feeling that radio is going to eat this song up and put Beyoncé back on the top where she should be.

Ironically, "Best Thing I Ever Had" takes the best elements of "Run The World" and "1+1" and combines them with the most listenable pop melody Beyoncé's put out since 2006's "Irreplaceable". There's her newfound penchant for edgier lyrics and cursing (I'm pretty sure I've never heard her say either "sucks" or "ass" before). Then there's her explosive vocal performance; her singing in this song ranks as one of her best ever. The end of the middle eight alone renders every female pop singer out there right now irrelevant. The song's melody seems to borrow from a few sources (I immediately heard Rihanna's "Fading" in the beginning) but it is one of the best I have heard this year.

The song is essentially an evolution from "Irreplaceable", still one of best pop songs of the past decade. It is exciting to hear Beyoncé try new things without completely deviating from what we've come to expect. She kind of did that with "Run The World", to almost disastrous effect, but "Best I Never Had" is definitely up the right alley. I feel like I can finally say Beyoncé is truly back, ready to take the throne back.

What do you think of Bey's new song?