If I Were a Boy::BEYONCÉ

For the past three years, Beyoncé's solo career has flurried in and out of focus, with a series of oddball singles, one-off collaborations and curious strikeouts. ("Ring the Alarm," anyone?) The 27-year-old is obviously now paying attention to dominant muse Rihanna—10 years her junior—who has effortlessly played dominos with the charts during the same period by playing the melodic field: dance, pop, R&B and yes, even ballads. Two singles head to radio from Beyoncé's upcoming third album, "I Am." "Ladies First," impacting R&B and rhythmic, is standard screech-thump fare—but "If I Were a Boy" is Beyoncé's most affecting offering since "Listen" from "Dreamgirls." Her vocal performance is breathtaking: exquisitely emotive, mournful and mature. Lyrically, the stunning ballad is a tome of torment, as she offers, "If I were a boy, I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl/I swear I'd be a better man." Boy, Beyoncé delivers. This is the kind of all-encompassing song that exudes the fragrance of a Grammy Award nod. —Chuck Taylor