Okay so we are finally here! Here's your #2 track people...
2
SCORE: 9.633
TOTAL POINTS: 289
2016: 1/113 (-1) | 9.494 (+0.139)
HIGHEST SCORE: 11 x 2 ( @allyshone, @Ensnare ) | 10 x 20 ( @Sprockrooster, @theincredibleflipper, @lalaclairi_, @Ana Raquel, @Daniel_O, @Phonetics Girl, @odyism, @Dijah., @Remorque, @Maria, @eatyourself, @soratami, @Purple, @sesita, @TheOnlyOne, @godspeed, @klow, @Lost In Japan., @Music Is Death, @Ramalama )
LOWEST SCORE: 6 x 1 ( @Epic Chocolat )
MY SCORE: 11/10
What more is there to say about Formation that hasn't already been said? It's fucking iconic.
Co-written with Mike WiLL Made-It, Swae Lee and Pluss, Formation served as Lemonade's lead single, releasing on February 6, 2016, the day before Beyoncé was set to make an appearance at the Super Bowl again. Pluss created the beat for Formation originally, with Swae Lee coming up with the hook, "Okay ladies now let's get in formation". Mike WiLL was asked by Beyoncé's team to send over some ideas at the time and sent her a version with Swae Lee freestyling over the beat. Beyoncé wrote the verses, taking the concept of the song to an entirely different, broader space than which Mike WiLL had originally thought, with more focus being put on her heritage, identity and the culture. Mike WiLL said, "took this one little idea we came up with on the way to Coachella, put it in a pot, stirred it up, and came with this smash. She takes ideas and puts them with her own ideas, and makes this masterpiece". Yes, that is what Beyoncé does and she is the master of it!
When trying to choose my 11 for this rate, I kept coming back to Formation. There's so many songs from Beyoncé which I consider an 11/10 and even some that I seek out more than Formation, but I don't think there's any other song which truly epitomizes the artist Beyoncé is today more than this one. Of course, she has grown even more since Formation (she's insane!!), but I think this track marked such a pivotal moment in her career, where she shifted once again to delve deeper into her past, deeper into her personal struggles and deeper into the experiences of black people, specifically women in America. You can pinpoint many moments in Beyoncé's career where she takes all of her previous experience, but shifts the direction in her artistry. She has continued to build on what Formation started over the past few years and for that reason I gave it my 11.
It's also a fucking banger, don't get me wrong! The beat immediately catches your attention and while it's clear the song is heavily influenced by trap and bounce, it still manages to sound completely UNIQUE! Can't type that word anymore with writing in capitals and think of ALIEN SUPERSTAR. Anyway, the production is fire, especially with the added Beyoncé horns under the chorus. The lyrics are memorably and noteworthy. Imagine the nerve of Beyoncé to open up her song with the line, "Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess". That line immediately tells you, this is a Beyoncé song and it's going to be a big FU to all of her haters. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, it just slaps so hard as well.
Formation was a big hit worldwide, despite being fumbled by the TIDAL exclusivity of it all. A peak of #31 in the UK is so wild to me, but we'll move on. I think I got it free with a TIDAL subscription at the time? Okay, moving on. It has sold over 3m copies in the US, and hit Gold in the UK and currently has around 230m streams on Spotify. That number would be much higher if it wasn't for... ANYWAY, moving on!! It was a hit, no matter what the haters say. It won a lot of awards and was on many music publications Best of 2016 lists, even snagging the #1 spot in a few. The Independent included Formation in their 40 Best Song Lyrics of All Time ranking. The list could go on, but the consensus is, the critics couldn't get enough of it.
The release dropped with the music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas. Even though it was shot in Los Angeles, the main influence for the video was New Orleans, which they created sets for to emulate. The video is still one of Beyoncé's best I think. From the sets, the fashions, the choreography, the cameos, the false start, the Big Freedia inclusion... it really set the scene of what was to come with Lemonade and where her mindset was. Also, it's not only her identity and culture which she touches upon in the video, but it's the imagery relating to present day politics which really felt important for Beyoncé to include at the time. Again, Formation really set the groundwork for Beyoncé's later projects.
As we all know, Beyoncé first performed the track at the 50th Super Bowl Halftime Show, which was headlined by Coldplay. This performance caused a whole lot of controversy, which is funny because Beyoncé literally says in the song, "You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation" and she sure did. To put it briefly, conservatives, the first people to call others "woke" for supporting BLM or "snowflakes" because we fight for Trans rights, were offended by everything Beyoncé and her dancers did on the world's biggest stage. Racists gonna racist, I guess. I don't want to give much time to the controversy to be honest. Let's focus on how Beyoncé shut the entire place down with a song that had been out for less than 24 hours!
That's mother!
All performances of Formation are high energy and mesmerizing. She has performed the song on every tour since it's release and I hope it doesn't go anywhere from the setlist, it's just that good. Special shout out to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards performance, where Beyoncé added some extra choreography moments that had my jaw to the flaw.
Ugh, being a Beyoncé fan is just so satisfying.
2
SCORE: 9.633
TOTAL POINTS: 289
2016: 1/113 (-1) | 9.494 (+0.139)
HIGHEST SCORE: 11 x 2 ( @allyshone, @Ensnare ) | 10 x 20 ( @Sprockrooster, @theincredibleflipper, @lalaclairi_, @Ana Raquel, @Daniel_O, @Phonetics Girl, @odyism, @Dijah., @Remorque, @Maria, @eatyourself, @soratami, @Purple, @sesita, @TheOnlyOne, @godspeed, @klow, @Lost In Japan., @Music Is Death, @Ramalama )
LOWEST SCORE: 6 x 1 ( @Epic Chocolat )
MY SCORE: 11/10
What more is there to say about Formation that hasn't already been said? It's fucking iconic.
Co-written with Mike WiLL Made-It, Swae Lee and Pluss, Formation served as Lemonade's lead single, releasing on February 6, 2016, the day before Beyoncé was set to make an appearance at the Super Bowl again. Pluss created the beat for Formation originally, with Swae Lee coming up with the hook, "Okay ladies now let's get in formation". Mike WiLL was asked by Beyoncé's team to send over some ideas at the time and sent her a version with Swae Lee freestyling over the beat. Beyoncé wrote the verses, taking the concept of the song to an entirely different, broader space than which Mike WiLL had originally thought, with more focus being put on her heritage, identity and the culture. Mike WiLL said, "took this one little idea we came up with on the way to Coachella, put it in a pot, stirred it up, and came with this smash. She takes ideas and puts them with her own ideas, and makes this masterpiece". Yes, that is what Beyoncé does and she is the master of it!
When trying to choose my 11 for this rate, I kept coming back to Formation. There's so many songs from Beyoncé which I consider an 11/10 and even some that I seek out more than Formation, but I don't think there's any other song which truly epitomizes the artist Beyoncé is today more than this one. Of course, she has grown even more since Formation (she's insane!!), but I think this track marked such a pivotal moment in her career, where she shifted once again to delve deeper into her past, deeper into her personal struggles and deeper into the experiences of black people, specifically women in America. You can pinpoint many moments in Beyoncé's career where she takes all of her previous experience, but shifts the direction in her artistry. She has continued to build on what Formation started over the past few years and for that reason I gave it my 11.
It's also a fucking banger, don't get me wrong! The beat immediately catches your attention and while it's clear the song is heavily influenced by trap and bounce, it still manages to sound completely UNIQUE! Can't type that word anymore with writing in capitals and think of ALIEN SUPERSTAR. Anyway, the production is fire, especially with the added Beyoncé horns under the chorus. The lyrics are memorably and noteworthy. Imagine the nerve of Beyoncé to open up her song with the line, "Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess". That line immediately tells you, this is a Beyoncé song and it's going to be a big FU to all of her haters. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, it just slaps so hard as well.
Formation was a big hit worldwide, despite being fumbled by the TIDAL exclusivity of it all. A peak of #31 in the UK is so wild to me, but we'll move on. I think I got it free with a TIDAL subscription at the time? Okay, moving on. It has sold over 3m copies in the US, and hit Gold in the UK and currently has around 230m streams on Spotify. That number would be much higher if it wasn't for... ANYWAY, moving on!! It was a hit, no matter what the haters say. It won a lot of awards and was on many music publications Best of 2016 lists, even snagging the #1 spot in a few. The Independent included Formation in their 40 Best Song Lyrics of All Time ranking. The list could go on, but the consensus is, the critics couldn't get enough of it.
The release dropped with the music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas. Even though it was shot in Los Angeles, the main influence for the video was New Orleans, which they created sets for to emulate. The video is still one of Beyoncé's best I think. From the sets, the fashions, the choreography, the cameos, the false start, the Big Freedia inclusion... it really set the scene of what was to come with Lemonade and where her mindset was. Also, it's not only her identity and culture which she touches upon in the video, but it's the imagery relating to present day politics which really felt important for Beyoncé to include at the time. Again, Formation really set the groundwork for Beyoncé's later projects.
As we all know, Beyoncé first performed the track at the 50th Super Bowl Halftime Show, which was headlined by Coldplay. This performance caused a whole lot of controversy, which is funny because Beyoncé literally says in the song, "You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation" and she sure did. To put it briefly, conservatives, the first people to call others "woke" for supporting BLM or "snowflakes" because we fight for Trans rights, were offended by everything Beyoncé and her dancers did on the world's biggest stage. Racists gonna racist, I guess. I don't want to give much time to the controversy to be honest. Let's focus on how Beyoncé shut the entire place down with a song that had been out for less than 24 hours!
That's mother!
All performances of Formation are high energy and mesmerizing. She has performed the song on every tour since it's release and I hope it doesn't go anywhere from the setlist, it's just that good. Special shout out to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards performance, where Beyoncé added some extra choreography moments that had my jaw to the flaw.
Ugh, being a Beyoncé fan is just so satisfying.
