Yet a closer look at the track listings revealed the "new" albums to be unofficial compilations of previously released or bootlegged material.

The two albums, titled Have Your Way and Back Up, Rewind, appeared on Apple Music and Spotify before being removed.

Beyonce has yet to comment on what appear to be unauthorised releases.

The track listings for the Queen Carter albums as they appeared on Spotify

Fans expressed dismay on realising the albums were the musical equivalent of a lump of coal in a Christmas stocking.

"I almost passed out until I realised it's old music," wrote one Twitter user.

"If you thought those 'leaked' songs from Beyonce were new, YOU'RE NOT A REAL FAN!" wrote another.

A spokesperson for Spotify declined to comment.

SZA said the tracks on Comethru were "random scratches from 2015"

The Beyonce compilations came on the same day that nine tracks by singer SZA were uploaded to Apple Music and Spotify.

Released under the name Sister Solana, the songs on the Comethru "album" were "random scratches from 2015", she said.

The tracks, she wrote, were "def not new new" but were possibly "creative and scary".

And last month a collection of songs apparently by Ariana Grande appeared on streaming services under the title Nobody Does It Better, but they were swiftly removed and she distanced herself from them.

So what was actually on Beyonce's mystery non-albums? Here's a breakdown.

Back Up, Rewind

• Back Up originally appeared as a bonus track on a limited edition of Beyonce's 2006 album B'Day that was sold by US retailer Circuit City.
• Lost Yo Mind was a bonus track on the iTunes edition of B'Day, produced by New York DJ Swizz Beats.
• New Shoes was an unreleased song from the B'Day sessions, written by Ne-Yo as an alternative to Irreplaceable. It was first leaked in 2012.
• Black Culture came from the I Am.... Sasha Fierce sessions and samples Michael Jackson's Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. The track has been circulating online since at least 2015.
• Twerk is an unreleased Destiny's Child track that was originally called Twirk.

 Beyonce with 50 Cent at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards

• Sexy Lil Thug is a cover version of 50 Cent's In Da Club that featured on Beyonce's 2005 mixtape Speak My Mind.
• Forever To Bleed also derives from the Sasha Fierce sessions.
• Keep Giving Your Love To Me appeared on the soundtrack of 2003 film Bad Boys II.
• Ice Cream Truck is an unreleased track from the 2003 Dangerously in Love album that has been available on YouTube since 2009.
• What's It Gonna Be is a bonus track from the Japanese edition of Dangerously in Love that samples Zapp's Do It Roger.

Have Your Way

• After All is Said and Done was a duet with Marc Nelson that appeared on the soundtrack to 1999 film The Best Man.
• Hey Goldmember appeared on the Austin Powers in Goldmember soundtrack and features vocals from Beyonce's sister Solange.
• Crazy Feelings is taken from Missy Elliot's 1999 album Da Real World. Beyonce sings the chorus.
• Honesty, a cover of the Billy Joel classic, featured on the platinum edition of the I Am... Sasha Fierce album.
• Angel is an unreleased Destiny's Child song that has been circulating online since at least 2007.

 Beyonce appeared alongside Cuba Gooding Jr in The Fighting Temptations

• Fever is another cover that featured on the soundtrack of Beyonce's 2003 film The Fighting Temptations.
• Creole is a bonus track from the international deluxe edition of B'Day.
• Have Your Way is a duet with Kelly Rowland taken from the soundtrack to 2000 film His Woman, His Wife.
• Hollywood is taken from Jay-Z's 2006 album Kingdom Come.
• Body Rock is another unreleased Destiny's Child song from the same sessions that produced Twirk/Twerk. It was first leaked in 2010.