Beyonce released her new album last night exclusively on iTunes, and if you're wondering why you didn't know about it earlier, it's because no one did. Surprise!

Beyonce is the singer's fifth solo album, and it features 14 songs and 17 videos. Drake, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, hubby Jay Z and Destiny's Child band mates Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland lend their vocal talents to the new EP, which Beyonce calls a "visual album." Beyonce shot footage in Paris, New York, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro and her hometown of Houston. The clips above are from "Drunk in Love" featuring Jay Z and “Blue” (yup, that's her little girl in the vid) ... click thru to see more preview vids from the album!

"I didn't want to release my music the way I've done it," she said in a statement. "I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak directly to my fans. There's so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fans. I felt like I didn't want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it's ready and from me to my fans."

"I see music. It's more than just what I hear," Bey added in a promo video on her Facebook page. "When I'm connected to something, I immediately see a visual or a series of images that are tied to a feeling or an emotion -- a memory from my childhood, thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies. And they're all connected to the music."

"I wanted people to hear things differently and have a different first impression -- not just listen to a 10-second clip but actually be able to see the whole vision of the album," she continued. "It was important that we made this a movie, we made this an experience. I wanted everyone to see the whole picture, and to see how personal everything is to me."

What do you guys think about the new album? And the fact that she dropped it without warning?