Beyoncé’s ‘All Night’ Video Is An Intimate Portrait of Music’s First Family

Featuring cameos by Jay Z and Blue Ivy

by daniel barna

If Beyoncé's Lemonade was the most definitive album of the year, it's fitting that as 2016 comes to a close, Queen Bey decided to bookend it with a music video. Following the standalone videos for “Hold Up,” “Sorry,” and “Formation,” on Wednesday, Beyoncé dropped the distilled version of Lemonade’s triumphant closer, "All Night."

While a large chunk of Lemonade's visual cues was representational, "All Night" is Beyoncé at her most presentational. And what she's presenting us with here, are the most intimate moments of the Carter-Knowles family.

But what’s striking is even their most private moments—Beyoncé and Jay Z's wedding day, playtime with Blue Ivy—are for public consumption. That's what being the most famous family on the planet means in 2016. But Lemonade was Beyoncé's confessional, and, as we're told at the video's beginning, "All Night" is the redemption chapter of her journey. We also know that her journey is far from over. And frankly, we can’t wait to see where she takes us next.

Watch the standalone video for "All Night" above.