So 2013 is all but over, and there might not have been any marketing (or even a half-assed rumour) prior to its release but Beyoncé looks set to take out the biggest debuting album of the year by a female artist, if the sales projections follow through. Everyone was taken by surprise when Bey dropped her self-titled ‘visual’ album via iTunes before the weekend and had sold 430,000 copies after just over 24 hours. Billboard now reports that sales have surpassed 550,000 copies and is #1 on iTunes in over 100 countries. The reviews are still rolling through and the Beyhive will be buzzing for a long time but no matter what your thoughts are about the music, there is no longer an argument against Beyoncé’s relevance and almost absolute power.