Flawless (Beyoncé song)
"Flawless" (stylized as "***Flawless") is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé from her self-titled fifth studio album (2013). Knowles wrote the track with Rashad Muhammad, Terius Nash, Chauncey Hollis and Raymond DeAndre Martin, with production handled by Hollis, Knowles, Martin, Muhammad, and Boots. An early version of the song, titled "Bow Down / I Been On", was released onto the Internet by Beyoncé in March 2013.
"Flawless"
Musically, "Flawless" consists of two parts – "Bow Down" and "Flawless", divided by a speech titled "We Should All Be Feminists" delivered by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at a TEDxEuston conference. It is a trap-influenced song, with a dirty groove and a clattering beat. After being released as a radio single, the song peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, in addition to charting on several of the magazine's component charts.
A music video for the song was directed by Jake Nava, and includes choreography by Les Twins and Chris Grant. It was released on the iTunes Store through Beyoncé itself on December 13, 2013. "Flawless" was performed live by Beyoncé during the last, European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour and her co-headlining On the Run Tour with Jay-Z. It was also performed at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards where the singer sang a medley of songs from her fifth studio album.
Background[edit]
On March 17, 2013, Beyoncé released an audio track titled "Bow Down / I Been On" as well as a picture of herself as a child standing in a roomful of trophies on her official website.[1][2][3] Hit-Boy produced the first half of the track, "Bow Down", while the second half, "I Been On",[a] was produced by Timbaland.[6] Hit-Boy stated in 2022 that he was "basically trying to make a 'Niggas in Paris', female version. With that bounce, with that synth."[7] A sample of "I Been On" was also prominently used in an advertisement for O2 and The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in February 2013.[6][8] The release "shocked fans and fellow singers alike", as the song caused some controversy over its lyrical content.[9] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly commented that Beyoncé seemed "to be attacking straw women a generation behind her who dismiss her as little more than Jay-Z's wife."[10] The song was criticized by Rush Limbaugh[11] and
Keyshia Cole,[12] among others.
In December 2013, Beyoncé explained the idea behind "Bow Down" on iTunes Radio: "The reason I put out 'Bow Down' is because I woke up, I went into the studio, I had a chant in my head, it was aggressive, it was angry, it wasn't the Beyoncé that wakes up every morning. It was the Beyoncé that was angry. It was the Beyoncé that felt the need to defend herself. And if the song never comes out…OK! I said it! And I listened to it after I finished, and I said, This is hot! I'mma put it out. I'm not going to sell it. I'm just going to put it out. People like it, great; they don't, they don't. And I won't do it every day because that's not who I am. But I feel strong. And anyone that says, 'Oh that is disrespectful,' just imagine the person that hates you. Imagine a person that doesn't believe in you. And look in the mirror and say, 'Bow down, bitch' and I guarantee you feel gangsta! So listen to the song from that point of view again if you didn't like it before."[13][14]
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie praised the song, stating that she "likes the idea that Beyonce's song might make girls feel that they can ask to try to do these things" and further said "I have had young people in Nigeria who probably would have never heard of my TED talk without Beyonce and who are now talking about feminism."[15]
Critical reception[edit]
"Flawless" was met with mostly positive reviews, while its lyrics were widely discussed and acclaimed by the public. Los Angeles Times's Carolyn Kellogg wrote that the inclusion of Adichie's talk was an "astonishing" thing.[26] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian commented that by using Adichie's TED talk as a feminist spoken word interlude in the middle of "Flawless", the singer put "Bow Down" into a different context.[27] Andrew Hampp and Erika Ramirez of Billboard magazine wrote, "When we first heard the Hit-Boy produced track in March it didn't contain the content of the full-version, only to come off abrasive. 'Flawless' though, with the insightful commentary of feminism by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, carries power and highlights camaraderie amongst women."[28]
The Guardian's Mikki Kendall wrote, "In 'Flawless' (a track that leaked as 'Bow Down' over the summer), Beyonce quotes from author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TedX talk 'We should all be feminists', adroitly addressing the idea that she is somehow anti-feminist for not fitting into the boxes others project onto her. It's clear that like a lot of black American women, the mainstream middle class white feminist narratives with which we are so familiar aren't necessarily compatible with Beyonce's view of herself. This album makes it clear that her feminism isn't academic; isn't about waves, or labels. It simply is a part of her as much as anything else in her life. She's pro-woman without being anti-man, and she wants the world to know that you can be feminist on a personal level without sacrificing emotions, friendships or fun."[29]
However, Catherine A. Traywick of Foreign Policy magazine criticized the singer, commenting that "On a track called 'Flawless', Beyonce samples Adichie's April 2013 Ted Talk, which is a thoughtful, amusing examination of subtle sexism in everyday life. Beyonce bookends Adichie's words with distinctly less thoughtful lyrics of her own: She shallowly trumpets material wealth and physical beauty and, working in a few lines from her spring single, advises others to 'Bow down, bitches.'" She continued, "Beyonce gives us a heavily-edited, watered-down version of Adichie's speech that aligns with the singer's banal brand of beginner feminism: She reduces Adichie's powerful message to an overly simplistic, inoffensive pro-girl anthem that does little to challenge trenchant gender ideals."[22] In the annual Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2013, "Flawless" was ranked at number 72.[30] The following year, "Flawless" was ranked at number nine on the same poll for the best music of 2014, tied with DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What". Pitchfork Media named it the 7th best track of 2014.[31] Slant Magazine listed the single as the 23rd best one of 2014,[32] while Tiny Mix Tapes also considered the release one of the best songs of the same period.[33]
Chart performance[edit]
Without being released as a single, "Flawless" managed to appear on several music charts. In the US, it peaked at number 13 on February 15, 2014 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart which acts as a 25-song extension of the main Billboard Hot 100.[34] The same week, on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the song peaked at number 32 in its fourth week of charting.[35] Elsewhere, it peaked at number 157 on the UK Singles Chart on March 8, 2014 and 77 on the Irish Singles Chart on March 13.[36][37] Following the performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, "Flawless" debuted at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and moved to a peak position of 25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the issue dated September 13, 2014.[38][39] Selling 29,000 digital copies, it entered the Hot Digital Songs chart at number 48.[40] Following the first week of the remix's availability as a digital download as part of the Platinum Edition release, the song reached new peaks of 41 and 12 on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, respectively; it sold 67,000 that week, 91 percent of which were of the remix.[41]
Live performances[edit]
The song was added to the set list and performed live during the second European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, with the first performance taking place in Glasgow at the SSE Hydro arena on February 20, 2014.[49] After "Run the World (Girls)", the performance of the song opened with the words from Adichie's talk being displayed on a screen on the stage with a large lit-up font.[50][51] Beyoncé appeared on stage during the beginning of the song and performed a choreography taken from the song's music video along with her background dancers.[52][53] She was also dressed in the same way as in the clip with a bedazzled plaid button-up shirt, a cat-ear baseball cap and short leather hot-pants.[54] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Isabel Mohan noted that while performed live, the "booty-shaking" song "turns into a huge, powerful urban pop hit".[55] While describing the performance as "an exercise in sheer sass", The Independent's David Pollock described the singer's style as "retro Bronx street chic".[52] He praised her for "burning onstage" and felt that the "commanding" lines executed during the chorus was the "'I am what I am' for the 2010s."[52] Graeme Virtue of The Guardian felt that unlike the studio recording of the song, it became an "all-out sonic and visual assault" when performed live.[56] A professionally recorded live performance of the song was broadcast in July 2014 on Beyonce: X10, an HBO series documenting renditions of the song performed during The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Anna Silman of Vulture praised the singer's dancing and her "wild" costumes.[54] "Flawless" was also part of the set list of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's co-headlining On the Run Tour (2014).[57] Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times felt that the singer's vocals managed to hit every note and praised her dance moves.[58]
"Flawless" was performed live by Beyoncé during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, as part of a medley consisting of songs from her self-titled album. The rendition of the song came towards the end of her set list, following an interlude of "Superpower". Adichie's words began appearing on the screen on the stage with bold, pink letters and background dancers started appearing on the dark stage. At the end of the speech, the word "feminist" in capital letters was flashed on the screen and the singer was seen next to it in a silhouette.[59] As she launched into the song, Beyoncé asked the crowd "How did you wake up this morning?". Towards the end of the performance, a line from the remix version featuring Nicki Minaj was heard in the background and the singer immediately continued with a performance of "Yoncé". Throughout the entire performance, she was dressed in a jeweled bodysuit.[60][61] Nadeska Alexis, writing for MTV News praised the bold, feminist statements made during "Flawless" and felt that Beyoncé changed the soulful vibes of the other songs for "all out breaking-it-down".[61] Eliana Dockterman of Time magazine considered the performance of the song to be a peak of the singer's medley and praised its feminist theme for being presented to an audience consisting mostly of teenagers.[59] Following the song's live performance at the VMAs, its sales in the US increased by 1,237% the next week.[62]
Remixes[edit]
In March 2014, rapper M.I.A. posted several videos on her Instagram account during which a remix of "Flawless" was played.[63] Two months later, on May 13, she released an officially commissioned remix of the song titled "Baddygirl 2".[64] M.I.A.'s version was produced by Party Squad, contained modified lyrics and samples of Beyoncé's "Diva" and "Run the World (Girls)".[65][66] It explored elements of trap and EDM music.[67] Some of the reworked lines contained feminist messages and elements of the original song were completely altered. John Walker, writing for MTV News remarked that except the opening lines "I woke up like this/ I went to bed like this/ We do everything just like this", the remix doesn't contain "any easily recognizable bits" of the original.[68] Similarly, a writer of Fact magazine noted that Beyoncé did not want to release the remix as it only contained the same feminist elements of the original.[67] Zach Frydenlund of Complex felt that the reworked version contained M.I.A.'s "intense energy"[65] while Sharan Shetty found a "manic", high-energy sound similar to the rapper's diverse influences. However the latter concluded that the remix "doesn't quite measure up to the original, but... regardless, it's an interesting and head-bopping take".[69] The Guardian editor Alexandra Khan-Anselmo felt that the remix is "good enough to make you want to smash the window of a cop car, pull a Wynona or sneak on to the underground".[66]
On August 4, 2014 rapper Lil' Kim posted an unofficial remix of the song. Lil' Kim released her remix after the official remix of the song featuring Nicki Minaj was released. Her version was a diss track directed at Minaj for Minaj calling herself "the queen of rap," a title that has been hotly contested by a number of women in rap over the years. It contained the same lines by Beyoncé from the official remix and several of Minaj's verses.[70]
"Flawless Remix"
August 12, 2014
2014[71]
3:55
- Parkwood
- Columbia
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Onika Maraj
- Terius Nash
- Chauncey Hollis
- Raymond DeAndre Martin
Impact[edit]
The lyric "I woke up like this" from the song has entered popular culture. The phrase inspired a viral trend "in which the subject takes a selfie right after they wake up," generated over five million hashtags.[99][100] It is also used to refer to a fresh or natural look.[101][102][103]