Two Beyoncés aren't in sync

For Beyoncé, to say that an identity she is not is "revealing who I am" is not a contradiction. As an artist, she is a role player first — a brainy, often showy interpreter instead of a gut singer on ballads and a brilliantly varied rhythmic innovator on her club hits. "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" shows her further refining both of those tendencies. But her misplaced worries about authenticity cause Beyoncé to make some unfortunate missteps.

Her first mistake was to give Beyoncé and Sasha each her own disc.

The "real" Beyoncé is romantic, interdependent, brought to life by love. Her modus operandi is the power ballad. Then there's Sasha, whose manifesto is the Lil Wayne-inspired "Diva," anchored around the line, "Diva is the female version of a hustla." Her motif is the club banger.

As a vocalist, Beyoncé seems more comfortable in Sasha's stilettos. Stretching on the Beyoncé ballads, she risks sounding ponderous. When she finds the right balance, as on the first single, "If I Were a Boy," she can be exquisite.

— Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times

ALSO OUT

• "The Foundation" from Atlanta country-rockers Zac Brown Band.

• Blake Shelton's "Startin' Fires."

• "American Idol" Season 8 winner David Cook's self-titled debut.

• "Dark Horse" from Nickelback.

• "17" from Latin pop star Ricky Martin.

• "The Promise" from Il Divo.

• Onetime Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar's "Cosmic Universal Fashion."

• "Safe Trip Home" from one-time British pop sensation Dido.

• "King Pleasure Time," multigenre stylist Joe Jackson's four-song EP of remixes.