Surprise, Surprise: Who Has The Clout To Pull Off A Beyonce-Style Release?

Chris Brown

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Taylor Swift

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Lady Gaga

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Lil Wayne

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Kanye West

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Miley Cyrus

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Jay Z

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Rihanna

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Katy Perry

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Nicki Minaj

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As Mariah Carey has experienced delays with her upcoming album, the singer and her camp hinted at a surprise release, similar to Beyonce's unbelievably successful LP from late 2013. It now appears that Mimi will end up going with a traditional rollout after all, but we're still waiting to see which other music stars can make waves like Bey did when she dropped her album without warning.

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Ms. Carter's hubby, Jay Z, came close to his own surprise release with 2013's Magna Carta Holy Grail, with marketing on the LP beginning merely weeks before its release. Hov also crafted the strategy of releasing an album as a full body of work with 2007's American Gangster, as shown in the clip above. Bey emulated that technique with her album, a novelty in the digital era.

It's obvious that not everyone can command that kind of attention on the fly, so which other artists would be able to make us drop everything and tune in to their new music? Who has the right mix of talent, visibility, and digital marketing savvy to pull off such a clever move?

Browse through our gallery to see who might be able to make the most out of a game-changing strategy!

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]