The singer addresses her controversial decision in a new cover story for GQ, in which she explains why she chose to forgo the traditional music video release model after launching her latest albums.

She notes ... "I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice ... The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own."

Beyoncé says she didn't want any sort of visual to take away from the "quality" of her work -- especially since one album took more than 4 years to bring together.

She adds ... "The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film."

Beyoncé notably released "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," a documentary concert film, instead of music videos ... giving fans a front-row seat to her creative process. The project is clearly a hit with fans, bringing in over $44 million at the box office.

She has also released a number of lyric videos and visualizers for her hit songs from "Renaissance" and "Cowboy Carter" ... which feels like a compromise of sorts.

While the Beyhive couldn't get enough of the recent albums -- both debuted No. 1 on the charts -- Beyoncé has faced resistance from the country scene in her foray into the genre.

This week, the singer was shut out of the 2024 CMA Awards, receiving not one nomination despite her clear success on the charts.