Beyoncé marks 20 years of the "B'Day" album with a 31-song release: Selena and Maluma among the biggest surprises
Beyoncé released a major anniversary edition of her second solo album on September 4, 2026, on her 45th birthday and exactly 20 years after "B'Day" was first released. The digital deluxe edition features 31 songs and combines remastered recordings, previously released bonus tracks, material that had not previously appeared on the original release, and new collaborations. According to the official announcement from Parkwood Entertainment, the project was conceived as a reopening of one of the key periods of her early solo career, but also as an expansion of the album with content connecting R&B, hip-hop and Spanish-language music. Two digital bonus recordings immediately attracted the most attention: "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" with Selena Quintanilla-Pérez and "Cuerpo (Tumbao)" with Colombian singer Maluma. Those two songs most clearly demonstrate that the anniversary edition was not conceived merely as a remaster of an old catalog, but as an attempt to place "B'Day" in the broader musical context of 2026.
Posthumous collaboration with Selena received approval from her estate
The biggest surprise of the release is "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)", a song that combines Beyoncé's Spanish-language version of the hit "Irreplaceable" with vocal material from Selena's song "Como La Flor". It is a posthumous combination rather than a new studio recording by Selena: the San Antonio Express-News states that previously released vocals by the late Tejano star were used in the new version. The same source, as well as Parkwood Entertainment's statement, confirms that Selena's estate approved the use of her music for this collaboration. This is particularly significant because Parkwood points out that the rights to Selena's recordings have rarely been licensed for projects of this kind since her death in 1995. "Como La Flor", originally released in 1992, is one of the songs that strongly defined Selena's career and the expansion of Tejano music beyond its traditional audience.
The collaboration also has a personal background. Beyoncé grew up in Texas and has repeatedly spoken about listening to Selena's music on the radio and how it helped her work on her Spanish pronunciation. The Houston Chronicle also recalls her earlier account of a brief encounter with Selena at The Galleria shopping center in Houston, when Beyoncé was not yet a publicly known performer. Parkwood Entertainment now states that Selena was one of the inspirations for Beyoncé's 2007 EP "Irreemplazable", which featured Spanish-language versions and remixes of songs connected to the "B'Day" era. For that reason, the new song feels like a continuation of a connection that has existed in Beyoncé's discography for almost two decades, rather than a collaboration added afterward without any previous context.
The public reaction from Selena's family circle was also positive. The San Antonio Express-News reported that Selena's brother A.B. Quintanilla III, who wrote "Como La Flor" together with Pete Astudillo, supported the collaboration on social media and thanked Beyoncé for connecting two recognizable songs. The very fact that the estate formally approved the project further distinguishes this recording from unofficial mashups and remixes that have circulated on the internet for years. On the new edition of "B'Day", Selena's contribution is therefore treated as an officially licensed part of the album, rather than merely as a sample without broader significance. For Beyoncé, it is also one of the most direct moments of connecting her own Texas musical history with the legacy of a Mexican-American performer who has remained an important reference point in Latin American popular culture in the United States for decades.
Beyoncé and Maluma's first collaboration draws on Celia Cruz
The other major new addition is "Cuerpo (Tumbao)" with Maluma, the first official collaboration between Beyoncé and the Colombian performer. Parkwood Entertainment states that the song draws on "Get Me Bodied", one of the most rhythmically pronounced compositions from the original album, but gives it a new Latin American framework and a bilingual character. The recording also uses a sample from Cuban star Celia Cruz's song "La Negra Tiene Tumbao", thereby connecting several generations of performers from different musical traditions. According to the official statement, the song was produced by Beyoncé, Edgar Barrera and CASTA, while Ali "Ali Ali" Alvarez is credited as co-producer. Sony Music also confirms that it is one of the central new songs on the digital deluxe edition.
The choice of Celia Cruz is not merely decorative in the arrangement. In its description of the release, Parkwood mentions Beyoncé's longstanding respect for Cruz and her public celebration of Afro-Cuban identity, as well as for her influence on Latin American and global popular music. The "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" sample therefore functions as a recognizable rhythmic and cultural link, while Maluma's guest appearance gives the new version a contemporary pop and urban-Latin dimension. This makes "Cuerpo (Tumbao)" considerably more than a simple remix of "Get Me Bodied": the song opens space for a new context in which Beyoncé's mid-2000s catalog is connected with the music market and performers who became globally dominant over the following two decades.
The inclusion of Selena, Maluma and Celia Cruz in the same anniversary project also emphasizes the importance of the Spanish language in the expanded version of "B'Day". Sony Music states that the digital edition also includes "Amor Gitano" with Alejandro Fernåndez, "Listen (Oye)", "Beautiful Liar (Bello Embustero)", "Irreplaceable (Irreemplazable)" and "Get Me Bodied (Mueve El Cuerpo)". Some of these recordings were already known from earlier releases and Beyoncé's Spanish-language projects, but they have now been brought together into a single collection alongside new material. This arrangement of the tracklist further brings the anniversary edition closer to the idea of an archival overview of an era, rather than merely a reissue of the original album with a few bonus tracks.
Previously unreleased songs and material that remained outside the main album for years
Among the new and rare recordings is "Can I Watch You" with Pharrell, which Parkwood Entertainment lists as a song produced through a collaboration between Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams. The album also includes "My First Time", a recording originally intended for Beyoncé's 2003 solo debut "Dangerously in Love", but which did not make the final version of that album. The new edition also brings back "Lost Yo Mind", "Creole" and "Back Up", which Parkwood describes as B-sides and material that was not included on "B'Day" in 2006. For listeners familiar only with the standard edition, these songs are an important part of the expansion because they show how much music was created around the project but remained outside its best-known sequence.
The digital deluxe version contains 31 songs. Alongside original tracks such as "DĂ©jĂ Vu" with JAY-Z, "Get Me Bodied", "Suga Mama", "Upgrade U", "Ring the Alarm", "Kitty Kat", "Freakum Dress", "Green Light" and "Irreplaceable", there are also songs that became associated over the years with the album's expanded era, including "Beautiful Liar" with Shakira, "Flaws and All", "Resentment" and "Listen". These are followed by "Morning Dew (Donk)", "My First Time", "Can I Watch You", "Welcome to Hollywood", "Lost Yo Mind", "Creole" and "Back Up", while the final section of the release brings together remixes, Spanish-language versions and new collaborations. According to Parkwood, "Cuerpo (Tumbao)" with Maluma and "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" with Selena are the digital bonus additions compared with the deluxe vinyl configuration.
"Morning Dew (Donk)" paved the way for the anniversary edition
The anniversary project did not arrive without advance notice. Parkwood Entertainment states that news of the new "B'Day" edition was announced on July 4, 2026, alongside "Morning Dew (Donk)", a recording whose earlier version leaked online in 2023. One month later, on August 4, a remix featuring JAY-Z was also released, continuing the long series of their joint musical projects. That release schedule led up to September 4, a date that is both Beyoncé's birthday and the anniversary of the original release of "B'Day". In that sense, the campaign was structured as a months-long return of the audience to the album's era and concluded with the full release precisely on the symbolic date.
The original "B'Day" was released on September 4, 2006, when Beyoncé turned 25. According to Parkwood Entertainment, the album was recorded during an intensive two-week session in which the performer had a very clear production and songwriting vision. Twenty years later, she described the goal of the sound at the time as combining strong percussive energy, live instrumentation and R&B melodies with hip-hop production and sampling. That combination is particularly recognizable on songs such as "Déjà Vu", "Ring the Alarm", "Upgrade U" and "Get Me Bodied", while "Irreplaceable" demonstrated how successful the album could be even when its energy was reduced to a simpler guitar and vocal arrangement.
The album's historical success is also confirmed by data from the Recording Academy. "B'Day" won the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007, further strengthening Beyoncé's position following her first solo album, "Dangerously in Love". The San Antonio Express-News notes that "Irreplaceable", released as a single in the United States in October 2006, spent ten consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the decades that followed, these songs remained among the most recognizable parts of her early solo catalog, so the anniversary edition now serves both longtime fans and listeners who began following Beyoncé during later stages of her career.
Music videos restored in 4K and unreleased photographs from New Orleans
The restoration of "B'Day" is not limited to sound. Parkwood Entertainment announced that the music videos, originally shot on 35-millimeter film, were reprocessed, color-graded and finished in 4K resolution. Among them is "Déjà Vu" with JAY-Z, directed by Sophie Muller. In this way, the project returns to one of the album's important characteristics: the strong connection between music and visual identity. Parkwood describes "B'Day" as a project that was in many respects Beyoncé's first visual album, because the songs and short films were conceived as interconnected portrayals of relationships, self-confidence, liberation and emotional change.
The anniversary materials also include previously unreleased photographs taken in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. According to Parkwood, at the time the original project was being created, the city was undergoing reconstruction after the catastrophic devastation of 2005, and its resilience was one of the sources of inspiration for the visual approach. Beyoncé's family has deep ties to Louisiana, which is why New Orleans does not appear in this edition merely as scenery, but also as part of the personal and cultural context. The Houston Chronicle also states that these unreleased photographs are included alongside the restored music videos, giving the physical editions additional archival character.
Multiple physical editions, from a standard 2LP to a deluxe four-vinyl set
Parkwood Entertainment states that "B'Day (20th Anniversary Edition)" was prepared in standard and deluxe versions on vinyl and CD, as well as in an expanded digital version. The standard vinyl is described as a limited edition on two 180-gram LPs with a new track sequence, additional recordings and remixes. The package also contains a 16-page booklet with previously unreleased photographs. The deluxe vinyl version goes considerably further: it is a set of four 180-gram vinyl records in the "Bayou Blue" color, featuring "Morning Dew (Donk)", Spanish-language recordings, B-sides, a 60-page booklet and two double-sided collectible prints.
An important difference between the physical and digital editions concerns precisely the two most-discussed collaborations. According to Parkwood, the digital deluxe contains all the material from the deluxe vinyl version plus two additional digital bonus songs: "Cuerpo (Tumbao)" with Maluma and "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" with Selena. Sony Music confirms the availability of the 31-song digital edition on streaming platforms, while the physical configurations are offered through record distribution channels and stores, with the availability of individual formats potentially varying between markets. For collectors, the anniversary has therefore been designed as a combination of a restored catalog and extensive visual material, while the digital version provides the broadest musical content.
Why the 20th anniversary of "B'Day" matters in Beyoncé's discography
Twenty years later, "B'Day" can be viewed as a turning point between Beyoncé's early solo success and the later period in which she increasingly connected music, film, conceptual albums and control over the way her own projects were released. The anniversary edition further emphasizes that trajectory by not attempting to replace the original album, but instead showing what existed around it: alternative songs, B-sides, Spanish-language versions, music videos, unreleased photographs and ideas that developed in parallel with the main release. Within that framework, the collaborations with Selena and Maluma function as a bridge to the musical present, while the Celia Cruz sample opens an even older historical connection.
The most sensitive part of the project remains the posthumous song with Selena, precisely because such collaborations always raise the question of the boundary between tribute and the use of archival material. In this case, the key fact is that Selena's estate explicitly approved the collaboration, while Beyoncé's longstanding and publicly documented connection to Selena's music gives the project additional context. At the same time, the new version does not alter the history of the original "Como La Flor", but places it in dialogue with "Irreemplazable", the Spanish-language version of one of Beyoncé's biggest hits. It is precisely for this reason that "B'Day (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" is attracting attention beyond the circle of conventional reissues: it is a project that simultaneously restores, archives and reinterprets an important chapter of 2000s pop and R&B music.
Sources:
- Parkwood Entertainment / PR Newswire - official announcement about the release, new songs, approval from Selena's estate, Maluma, Celia Cruz, 4K music videos and physical editions (link)
- Sony Music España - confirmation of the release date, the 31-song digital deluxe version, Spanish-language recordings and tracklist (link)
- San Antonio Express-News - information about the posthumous combination with Selena, approval from the estate and the reaction of A.B. Quintanilla III (link)
- Houston Chronicle - context on Beyoncé's relationship with Selena, unreleased photographs from New Orleans and restored music videos (link)
- Recording Academy / Grammy - official data on the Grammy Award for the album "B'Day" in 2007 (link)