With two wildly successful solo albums and 10 Grammy wins already behind her, Beyoncé’s desire to grow as an artist led her to experiment with new concepts and genres on 2008’s I Am… Sasha Fierce, including folk (“If I Were a Boy”), alternative rock (“Smash Into You”) and electropop (“Sweet Dreams”).

Beyoncé, a true renaissance woman, is notoriously private in interviews, leaving the Beyhive to wonder what the superstar is like off stage. Luckily for us, the hardest-working woman in show business made a conscious effort to give fans a glimpse into her world on her third studio LP, I Am… Sasha Fierce– a double-disc album intended to show off the two facets of Beyoncé’s personality. The I Am… disc consists of all stripped-down ballads, whilst the edgy material on Sasha Fierce boasts Bey’s sexy alter ego and reinforces female empowerment.

“I know that people see celebrities, and they seem like they’re so perfect—they seem like their life is so great, and they have money and fame,” Beyoncé told MTV News at the time of the album’s release. “But I’m a human being. I cry. I’m very passionate and sensitive. My feelings get hurt. I get scared and nervous like everyone else. And I wanted to show that about myself.”

The entertainer’s transparency was rewarded in the coming weeks, months and years. Debuting atop the Billboard 200, I Am… Sasha Fierce sold 482,000 units in its first week and went on to sell over eight million copies worldwide. In addition, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and racked up a record-breaking six Grammy awards in one night, including Song of the Year for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).”

To celebrate I Am… Sasha Fierce’s 10th anniversary, VIBE ranked every song on the album’s deluxe edition.

Read my latest story for Vibe [here].