We’ve been reading for months about Beyoncé’s ambitious new CD, you know the one where she’ll reveal her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce. Well today is the day that I Am Sasha Fierce will hit the stores. I don’t know if I’m excited or over it. Don’t get me wrong, I do think that Beyoncé is a pretty good performer and her solo efforts have been much better than I anticipated, but the hype surrounding showcasing the two sides of her personality wreaks of a marketing idea gone wrong.

I watched the singer’s performance on SNL this weekend and I was kind of bored with her rendition of “If I Were A Boy”. She did sound good but she was also just standing there (looking like she was about to have a wardrobe malfunction at any moment). And I am sure she knows by now that the whole fan thing was not a good idea.

Anyway, this split personality thing may kind of come back to haunt her. Reviews of the double disc seem to prefer Sasha Fierce over the real Beyoncé. Rolling Stone’s review says “the “Sasha” disc boasts Beyoncé’s most adventurous music yet.” And it also notes that the singer has never sung with more restraint (which they think is a good thing.) The Hartford Courant describes the Beyoncé ballads as “nice enough, in a syrupy, overwrought way.” I don’t know about you but I don’t think that description is actually glowing. Finally, Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times thinks that the Beyoncé made a mistake by giving each persona its own disc. “As a vocalist, Beyoncé seems more comfortable in Sasha’s stilettos. Stretching on the Beyoncé ballads, she risks sounding ponderous,” Powers writes. “When she finds the right balance, as on the first single, “If I Were a Boy,” she can be exquisite.”

I hope the emphasis of these two personalities doesn’t distract her loyal fan base. Because in the midst of all those personalities there might actually be some good music.

UPDATE: But now comes word that Beyoncé may have made a calculated error by submitted this double disc for Grammy consideration this year. She just barely made the deadline and will be up against Alicia Keys’ megahit “As I Am”. Odds are strong that she could get shut out.