BEYONCÉ: the discography rate ~ WINNER revealed!

It came out the same year I lost my mother and I think I avoided it mostly after one way too intense first listen. It broke my heart too much. Later she flooded me completely again with OTHERSIDE. I barely listen to both songs up until today but sometimes when I do it's an intense cleansing. Honestly just writing about them brings a tear to my eye.

 

2 for 4...

























60

SCORE: 8.175
TOTAL POINTS: 245.25

2016: 71/113 (+11) | 6.725 (+1.45)
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 5 ( @soratami, @Crisp X, @Purple, @klow, @Music Is Death )
LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 ( @TéléDex )
MY SCORE: 7/10

Lay Up Under Me was the first new track on the deluxe edition of Beyoncé’s fourth studio album 4. The song was originally performed by record producer Sean Garrett and was included on his huge flop of a debut album called Turbo 919. It was co-written with Shea Taylor and Stargate, who had worked with Beyoncé previously on the likes of Irreplaceable, Beautiful Liar and Broken-Hearted Girl. Saving the song from complete obscurity, Beyoncé re-recorded the track, nabbing a writing credit in the process. The Target Exclusive deluxe edition of 4 was released a few days after the original, eventually being added to iTunes around 6 months later. However, Lay Up Under Me was unfortunately removed altogether from the track list once the "expanded edition" of the album was released in 2013.

The song is upbeat and catchy, but is overshadowed by the far superior bonus tracks, Schoolin' Life and Dance For You. It's still undoubtedly an enjoyable moment though and is a worthy addition to the legend of 4. It's unfortunate that it's not available to stream anywhere anymore. I am curious as to why. The song debuted at the top of South Korean International Singles Chart, and went on the be their thirty-sixth best selling song of 2011.

Beyoncé has never performed the song live.









59

SCORE: 8.198
TOTAL POINTS: 245.95

2016: 31/113 (-28) | 8.127 (+0.071)
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 5 ( @odyism, @sesita, @godspeed, @klow, @TéléDex )
LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 ( @theincredibleflipper )
MY SCORE: 7.5/10

1+1 is the opening track from Beyoncé’s fourth studio album, 4 and it served as a promotional single with a release on iTunes about a month before the album came out. Beyoncé has a lot of love songs in her back catalogue, but this one might just be her most "love"-iest, whilst also ushering in a new, more grown kind of Beyoncé love song at the time. Originally titled Nothing But Love, the song was written and intended to be on The Dream’s second album. However, he would end up giving the song to Beyoncé where she and Tricky Stewart would do some additional writing on it. 1+1 is a slow tempo, R&B power ballad about Beyoncé’s undying love for her man, which she sings with some added grit and was missing from I Am… Sasha Fierce. Beyoncé described the song as the soundtrack to her life, "when the world is at war, let our love heal us all".

When you’re in the mood for a 1+1 kind of moment, it absolutely delivers. I can’t deny that 1+1 soars in places where no Beyoncé love song has soared before, especially when it’s performed live. The verses are just the right amount of memorable, so when the chorus hits the song allows you to breathe and bask in the mood. It has all the makings of a timeless classic, which I think was the exact intention with the song as it has the slow build, the over-the-top guitar solo and the powerhouse vocals all wrapped into one. Beyoncé means every single word she sings here, making it all the more personal and intimate. This is a given, as Beyoncé mentions the song in Life Is But A Dream as she gives a webcam confessional and says, "I need to go listen to 'Make Love to Me' and go make love to my husband".

The song was a massive critical success upon release and even made it onto multiple Year End lists, including #1 on The Guardian’s 10 Best Tracks of 2011. With 57,000 downloads in its first week, 1+1 funnily enough hit #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would go onto sell over 475,000 copies in the US which isn’t bad at all for an album track. The song peaked at #71 in the UK based on digital downloads alone, selling over 70,000 copies in total. Currently, it has over 70m on Spotify and over 100 million views on YouTube.

1+1 received a music video, despite not being an official single. It was directed by Beyoncé herself, alongside Lauren Briet and Ed Burke. Fittingly, the music video is a simple beauty video and the song really doesn't need much more than that. There’s lots of gorgeous slow motion shots with a focus on water and different setups with lighting and camera effects. Beyoncé’s skin looks amazing and duey as fuck throughout. It’s all very moist.

If we needed any more proof, Beyoncé declared the song “her favourite” during its premiere performance on American Idol. Shortly after the show-stopping performance, a video surfaced online of Beyoncé rehearsing the song backstage with the Mamas, a simple keyboard arrangement and no microphone. The rehearsal video went viral as it was discovered how Jay was the hidden cameraman saying on his website, "Sometimes you need perspective. You've been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time." The song became a staple on the setlist for Beyoncé, featuring on every solo tour since its inception and getting a moment in most of her one-off/special/festival performances.

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Finally losing my tens hits different.

 

58

SCORE: 8.233
TOTAL POINTS: 247

2016: 70/113 (+12) | 6.753 (+1.480)
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 8 ( @Sprockrooster, @Ana Raquel, @odyism, @Maria, @eatyourself, @soratami, @TéléDex, @Robert )
LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 ( @Music Is Death )
MY SCORE: 6.5/10

Why Don’t You Love Me was originally included as a bonus track for Beyoncé’s third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce before being added officially to the tracklist for the platinum edition of the album. The song was co-written with icon, legend and superstar sister Solange Knowles and cousin Angie Beyincé with production by The Bama Boyz. The song had a bit of a journey before being heard by the public. After Solange asked The Bama Boyz to produce some instrumentals for both her and Beyoncé, they almost didn’t send the one for Why Don’t You Love Me as they couldn’t imagine Beyoncé singing over it. After Solange had recorded the demo, her label was ready to ship the song to other artists not knowing Beyoncé had also recorded the song and loved it. The final obstacle for the song was Beyoncé’s label, who felt the song didn’t quite match with any of the other songs on the album. Probably with a push back from Beyoncé, the song eventually made it as a bonus track. Why Don’t You Love Me is an empowering retro funk style song with Beyoncé professing all the things she has and all the thing she does for her man and he’s simply too dumb to see it and appreciate it.

I like Why Don’t You Love Me for what it is and the message, but it’s not my fave Beyoncé. She has performed the fuck out of it… A LOT… and I mean A LOT. The song has over 25m streams on Spotify and reached a peak of No.51 in the UK with over 70,000 copies sold, becoming the ninth consecutive single from the album to peak inside the Top 75. This marked the end of an absolute slam dunk of an era in terms of mainstream success so the fact that this song nearly cracked the Top 50 is commendable.

The bit of success for the song was probably helped by the music video, which was shot by longtime collaborator Melina Matsoukas. It was released in May 2010 and features Beyoncé as B.B. Homemaker doing typical housewife duties, the most memorable being her dusting off her then 16 Grammy awards. After what was probably a few months off after the I Am… World Tour, Beyoncé was inspired to shoot the video and give a nod to how she’s been spending her time off, being a wife. I doubt she spent her time on the phone to Jay, smoking cigarettes and drinking cocktails and getting mad at him… but who knows, maybe? The video made a splash on release, mainly because the media wanted to pit Beyoncé and Kelly against each other, as the latter was just about to release the video for Commander. Beyoncé also received a lawsuit from shooting the video, as a neighbour of the property where they shot the video complained that the crew were blocking his driveway every morning. The case was dismissed.

As previously mentioned, Beyoncé has performed Why Don’t You Love Me quite a bit, which is unique for a little album bonus track. She first performed the track for her headlining Glastonbury set in 2011, giving her and her band a chance to flex a little bit. It was then performed at the Revel shows, for The Mrs Carter Show World Tour and for the On The Run Tour, getting around 6 - 7 minutes of the set!

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Two of the most underrated songs on 4, but I am not that mad given the averages.

 

We've really hit the point of the rate where it's one heavy hitter after the other huh? Oof.

 

I feel like I gave out enough 10s to last a lifetime but now I'm regretting not giving 10s to 1+1 and Why Don't You Love Me.

 

I didn't have time to vote, but I'd have been easily the lowest score for 1+1

 

I love the backstage rehearsal video of 1+1 but as a studio recording it’s not something I go back to often and only really listen to it if I listen to the album as a whole.

Why Don’t You Love Me is a bop and a half though and this remix bops hard too:

 

I can feel the draggings coming on for one user (again ddd)...
























57

SCORE: 8.24
TOTAL POINTS: 247.2

2016: N/A
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 11 ( @Sprockrooster, @lalaclairi_, @Phonetics Girl, @Remorque, @eatyourself, @Purple, @sesita, @TheOnlyOne, @klow, @Music Is Death, @Ramalama )
LOWEST SCORE: 1 x 1 ( @Daniel_O )
MY SCORE: 9/10

BLACK PARADE was a surprise release, coming out on Juneteenth 2020, a day originating in Texas which commemorates the end of slavery in the US. In a year for the history books, after the horrific murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, the Black Lives Matter movement was louder and more powerful than ever and Beyoncé made an effort to urge her fans to fight against all the injustices that Black people have been and continue to face in the United States. All proceeds of the track went to the BeyGOOD Black Business Impact Fund, a fund by Beyoncé which supports Black-owned businesses. Beyoncé announced on BLACK PARADE's release, "Happy Juneteenth Weekend! I hope we continue to... celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power. 'BLACK PARADE' celebrates... your voice and... will benefit Black-owned small businesses." The song was added to deluxe edition of The Gift after the release of Black Is King, along with an extended version.

The song itself is amazing. We have some of the classic Beyoncé horn instrumentation, sharp verses and a catchy chorus. What more could you want? BLACK PARADE was a huge hit with critics and ended up winning Beyoncé her 28th Grammy for Best R&B Performance. The award made her the most awarded female artist in the shows history, and second most awarded overall. FUCKING DESERVED!! Now give her the god damn Album Of The Year for Renaissance please!
(If you're reading this in the future, the album has leaked today, I've only listened to it once, but I already know it's insanely good... like insanely good so... it will deserve the AOTY)

The song has never been performed live. It reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, #49 on the UK Official Charts and currently has over 62m streams on Spotify.

BLACK PARADE is an extremely important song in Beyoncé's discography (and really good, like I've said), so its great to see such a strong average for it.
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Waaay too soon for Black Parade to be leaving. I understood some of my 10s leaving already but this is a bit much.

 

Okay I have NOT been able to keep up with the pace of the unveiling.
But that's more of a me problem who loves to write essays for each song.
But we are getting into some of the juiciest bits right now so I just wanted to share some opinions on my 10s of the past rounds of elimintations.
These are going to be long so forgive me or just SCROLL AHEAD.

MOOD 4 EVA, is a personal favorite for me for the inclusion of Oumou Sangare.
I remember first hearing Oumou Sangare on a "world music" CD compilation that one of my watercolor/drawing instructors were playing and her voice was piercing in the best way possible on her song "Iyo Djeli" or "Saa Magni" (I forget). Either way it touched the depths of my spirit with the way her voice glides dynamically.
Coincidentally at the time I was in a West African dance troupe, and literally months later we started rehearsing a traditional Malian dance to Oumou's song "Ah Ndiya". The instructor would constantly make the joke that "Oumou Sangare is the most popular female singer in West Africa. She is like Mali's version of Beyoncé". And then the year after all of this, Oumou Sangare performed at a festival in town, hung out with the dance company. She had such a royal and yet playful auntie energy to her, despite speaking mostly French and Bambara. But she made us all feel so at home, and was really craving KFC. Imprinted in my memory is me thinking of how Oumou is such a massive musical force, but here she is in the car with us eating KFC. On her trip there, I gifted her a painting because it was a *thing* that I did with all my favorite singers who had a spiritual tug on my trajectory (similarly I had gifted a painting for Beyoncé the year before)

ANYWAY this is all to say that Oumou was such a guiding light for my entrypoint into really loving and enjoying African music. That's such a broad label that kind of doesn't mean anything, but it had always been difficult for me to connect on a deeper level with music that came from West Africa because of the overrepresentation of men. So Oumou was the first to crack the seal for me and help me reconnect and appreciate the interconnectivity of the African diaspora.

With that in mind, this collaboration was the ultimate moment of my worlds merging together. I remember seeing Oumou on a Rolling Stones list of sorts, and thinking of Beyoncé's love for African music and wondering if she knew of Oumou Sangare. Years later my question was answered with this collaboration. Diaraby Nene is very much a pleasant road trip song for me, so to see the production flipped and UPPED to be an absolute banger in the context of Black Is King was spectacular.
I may have rated this a hint higher because of my personal connection and love for both of them. As I think what would have made me no hesistation 10/10 love the song is if Oumou was more of a sample and provided some additional melodies and original material for the record.

LISTEN

No Angel

Spoiler

Okay, to me this is the crown jewel of self-titled that distills what so much of the self projection is about.
"Perfection is so...hmmmm" is the thesis statement of the album, and it's expressed so blissfully and achingly sexy on this song.

I absolutely love when you have an album track that is overlooked in that it's not as immediate or a BIG single but it represents the album nicely. Even the video is a bit understated and focuses more on worldbuilding than the typical Beyoncé dance performance number. And I think there is a confidence in this song and video that a younger Beyoncé hadn't cultivated yet. It's a breakthrough for her to create a strong video despite it being relatively mundane. And in the vocal performance it just teeters and obviously requires TECHNIQUE but you can tell there is just a confidence to sing like THAT for most the entire song.

And despite all of that it just ELEVATES and gets steamier and steamier. The song just oozes and melts. It spiritually reminds me of Aaliyah's Hot Like Fire meets Prince, but even that isn't a fair description because it's transcends and becomes a "only Beyoncé can sing this song in it's current state". And I think for me that's what's important about a Beyoncé 10. Every song is going to be a vocal feast, but when it can exceed that and become something that only Beyoncé could do whether through song delivery or totality of the song (performance, video, etc) then it reaches the highest of highs.
The head voice that slinks into the husky mid-deep register?
The ease of the vocal delivery???
This song just feels like a musty summer day in your car with *just* enough air so you're not dying, but it just makes you feel in your body and a bit sweaty in a sexy way.

Say Yes

Spoiler

Again I may have rated this a tad higher than needed. But I think I have such a fondness of whenever DC reunites. And despite my aversion to being raised in a Nigerian Catholic environment, this song goes. It's a lovely take/interpolation on the original nigerian gospel song by Agatha Moses. And I think the live performance at the Stellar Awards just speaks volumes to the vocal PROWESS of Destiny's Child. Even if Beyoncé is not actively singing gospel, that training simply does not leave her but becomes part of her repertoire.
There is a certain cheesiness in the production, which depending on my mood makes this song a 8 OR it blasts into the 9s and 10s. I love how accessible it is and just feels like a sunday market or BBQ or just something so COMMUNAL. And something about the cheesy beep boops just made that SMOOTH piano and pre-chorus just SO delicious.
Bonus points to this song for DC3 shooting this video in my literal hometown where I grew up....of course at this point I was giving "Thank god I don't live there anymore" lmaooo

My Power

Spoiler

I don't know what else to say about this song that hasn't been said already.
My Power is that girl.
When we were desperate for fun uptempos for DANCING DANCING, The Gift/Black Is King came in to save the day. It was such a refresher after the heaviness of Lemonade, the introspection and broodiness of BEYONCÉ, and the midtempos (still fun but a specific swag) of The Carters.
I have almost injured myself...more than once dancing or exercising to this song.
There has been so much heaviness in the world that I am eternally grateful for a song like My Power that provides such a beautiful mantra throughout. Not only that but I love that Beyoncé *does the work* despite what the haters say. There is a mythology of her being self-centered, self-serving, or hogging the spotlight. This simply isn't true in my opinion. But I think it's especially expressed beautiful on a song like My Power that feels so communal and like every single musician is providing something that they can only uniquely do.

We have multiple languages, multiple flows and cadences, all over a stomping South African Gqom beat. And it feels reminiscient of those classic all women hip-hop collaborations of the 90s, but reimagined in a really fun way that is uniting so many sounds across the diaspora.

Ultimately, Black is King recieved some of my highest most consistent scores. And I think the unfortunate reality of the project is the same thing that created the embers of the project (The Lion King) is what prevented it from reaching the same impact or heights as Lemonade.
Additionally, the main audience it was for, who would immediately understand what it was doing so masterfully really jumped head first in the African diaspora wars. I didn't expect it to take that turn, but for some people there is simply no winning when a Black American is trying their best to "Find their way back" so to speak.
I would love to imagine what an entire Beyoncé album like Black is King would be where she doesn't have to be contractually obligated with a company like Disney, or rush out a product, or even stick too closely to the Lion King premise.

 

FFFFFFFFFF

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k, calmed down a bit

It's a shame Black Parade couldn't have made top 50, it's all I really hoped for my 11 contender and now I'm praying for my actual 11 (it was always between those 2).

Do I regret giving out over 40 10s, though? Never! In fact, even if I'll lose nothing but 10s before we get there, 1/2 of the top 50 will still be made up of 10s. When it's Beyoncé, it's Beyoncé.

 

I loved reading your commentaries and your art is amazing. Talent!

 

Time for a biggun'...
























56

SCORE: 8.241
TOTAL POINTS: 247.25

2016: 32/113 (-24) | 8.095 (+0.146)
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 5 ( @Epic Chocolat, @Remorque, @soratami, @Lost In Japan., @Robert )
LOWEST SCORE: 4 x 1 ( @Purple )
MY SCORE: 8.5/10

One of her biggest ever songs, Halo, was released as the third/fourth single (International/US) from Beyoncé’s third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce and was co-written with Evan Bogart and One Republic’s Ryan Tedder. Halo is a quintessential pop ballad and song about being in love, which marked a massive shift from the narratives of B’Day, released over 2 years prior. The song was, of course, placed on the I Am… half of the album, which was meant to showcase the real Beyoncé behind all the glamour.

Like most songs of this stature, there was plenty of gossip and controversy surrounding it. King of terrible record labels, Simon Cowell was annoyed that Beyoncé had recorded the song, claiming the song was originally intended for X Factor winner, Leona Lewis. Tedder later admitted that he had told Cowell’s camp about the song, but it was on hold with another artist. Halo was always Beyoncé’s song first. There was also some controversy with Kelly Clarkson, who was annoyed with Tedder after critics pointed out the similarities between Halo and the song she had co-written with Ryan Tedder, Already Gone, which was to be featured on her fourth studio album a few months after I Am… Sasha Fierce’s release. Clarkson even tried to get her then label, RCA, to not release the song as a single out of respect for Beyoncé, but the label chose to release it anyway.

Halo is huge. It sounded huge back in 2008 and it still sounds huge in 2022. On paper, I shouldn’t love this as much as I do. It’s a big, classic power ballad meant to appeal to the locals and as we’ve come to know, Beyoncé’s best work isn’t necessarily when she’s being mainstream. I’m sure it was overplayed at the time, but I’ve never tired of it like I did with the lead singles If I Were A Boy and Single Ladies and as usual, the song comes ALIVE when Beyoncé performs it live.

Despite its huge success, Halo failed to reach No.1 in either the US or the UK, peaking at No.5 and #4 respectively. Poker Face and Boom Boom Pow were literally dominating everywhere at the time, and Beyoncé was on her third/fourth single, so it’s not a huge shocker. Clearly the song has been a consistent seller throughout its lifespan, raking up over 20 million sales to date. It hit #1 on our good judy, the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. And if you’re wondering what clubs were playing Halo back in 2008, well I’m sure it was some Dave Aude remix that was being hammered by DJs in the gay clubs. The song became a staple on pretty much every talent show for years to come and has amassed over a billion streams on Spotify.

The music video is very simple and cutback. It was directed by Philip Andelman and sees Beyoncé in multiple bright set ups looking deep into the eyes of hot actor Michael Ealy. It’s all very angelic and it makes for Beyoncé’s most viewed video on YouTube with over 1.1 billion streams. Like with a handful of her videos, there is an alternate version of the Halo video that found its way online in 2010. The alternate version is a lot darker, with Michael Ealy getting attacked by police dogs and lying lifeless on the floor at the end.

Halo is/was Beyoncé’s safe go-to concert closer. From the I Am… World Tour to The Mrs Carter World Tour to the Formation World Tour, Beyoncé loves to close her shows with a Halo moment, and for those that have seen Beyoncé live, it does work incredibly well. It has been performed for numerous special occasions and one off shows as well, such as Glastonbury, her Super Bowl Halftime show and more recently her Global Citizen show and Kobe Bryant’s Memorial Service. There is an acoustic performance of the song which Beyoncé did at a children’s hospital in Singapore that went sort of viral on YouTube. It’s fucking stunning. Surprisingly, Halo was left off of Beyoncé’s Coachella setlist and replaced with the more upbeat Love On Top as a closer.

Plus, a fun game watching Halo performances is seeing whether she stays record accurate and goes low on the word "sound" in the opening verse. I've never been able to get my voice to reach those depths... in tune.

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Oof, that drop in ranking. I maintain that Halo is incredible, if overplayed!

 

Now THAT is a shocker. Not even top 50.

Halo is a beautiful song. I love the lyrics and the beat. My partner says it reminds him of me every time he hears it and bought me a framed lyrics / wav image picture for an anniversary once. So it has even more meaning even though I loved the song long before I met him.

 

why don't you love me is one of her most memorable songs and not even top 50????? where are your beauty, class, style, and ass???????

 

"Halo" leaving before "Diva" is one of the biggest shocks of the rate for sure.

Maybe this is an even bigger shock.

 

she is a legend, she is an icon and she is the moment...













































55

SCORE: 8.246
TOTAL POINTS: 247.4

2016: 33/113 (-22) | 8.073 (+0.173)
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 7 ( @lalaclairi_, @odyism, @Dijah., @Crisp X, @klow, @TéléDex, @Music Is Death )
LOWEST SCORE: 4 x 1 ( @Phonetics Girl )
MY SCORE: 7.5/10

Going out side by side with Halo, like in the 2016 rate, Blue is our next cut. It marked the first ever feature on a Beyoncé album from her first daughter and icon in the making, Blue Ivy. The track is another collaboration between BOOTS and Beyoncé with both co-writing and co-producing it. Self-Titled starts off with Beyoncé dealing with all her scars and insecurities coming from being in the industry so young, then delving deep into her womanhood, sexuality and relationship throughout to then the devastating Heaven about her miscarriage to then ending with Blue, a loving dedication to her daughter. It's the storyline for me folks!

Blue is a brilliant and fitting closer for the album. It begins as soft, uplifting piano ballad before a switch up half way through as we get more synths and then violins as we reach the song's climax. Listening again today, it's an enthralling listen and still gets me teary eyed like it did back in 2013, especially when Blue kicks in. It's so funny because I always thought, it's weird how Beyoncé can make me cry about something as normal, or should I say something as heteronormative as marriage and children, but she gives so much story and so much of herself throughout Self-Titled, Blue is that sigh of relief at the end that Beyoncé is happy and hopeful for her future. Ugh, a moment!

All of what I've just said is felt on Beyoncé's face when she performed part of the song towards the end of her Self-Titled medley at the 2014 VMAs. The song hasn't been performed since.

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