Halo (Beyoncé song)
"Halo" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). Included on the I Am... disc, it was intended to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Beyoncé's life, stripped of her make-up and celebrity trappings. Columbia Records released the song, the album's fourth single, to mainstream radio in the United States on January 20, 2009, and to international markets from February 20. Inspired by Ray LaMontagne's 2004 song "Shelter", "Halo" was written by Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart, with the former producing it alongside Beyoncé, who handled the vocal production. It was originally conceived by Tedder and Bogart specifically for Beyoncé, although there was media speculation that it had been intended for Leona Lewis.
"Halo"
January 20, 2009
2008
- Manfield (Los Angeles)
- Germano
- Roc the Mic (New York City)
- 4:21 (album version)
- 3:44 (radio edit)
- Ryan Tedder
- Evan Bogart
- Ryan Tedder
- Beyoncé Knowles
"Halo" is a pop and R&B power ballad, the lyrics of which describe a sublime love. It features drum, piano, keyboard, string, synthesizer, and percussion instrumentation. The song faced a controversy when Kelly Clarkson claimed that Tedder had reused the musical arrangement in her own 2009 song "Already Gone". "Halo" received positive reviews from music critics, who made comparisons with Lewis's 2007 song "Bleeding Love", also written by Tedder. Its production and Beyoncé's vocals also received critical praise. "Halo" was nominated for Record of the Year and won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. It won Best Song at the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards.
"Halo" topped the singles charts of Brazil, Norway, and Slovakia, and reached the top five on the singles chart of Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The song has received numerous certifications, including a twelvefold-platinum certification from Australia, making it one of the highest-certified songs in the country, ninefold-platinum certifications from Canada and the US, a quadruple-platinum certification from the United Kingdom, a triple-platinum certifications from Italy, and a double-platinum award from Spain.
Philip Andelman directed the accompanying music video, which features American actor Michael Ealy. It portrays a romantic relationship between Beyoncé's and Ealy's characters. Critics complimented Beyoncé's looks in the clip. An alternative music video, which shows Ealy's character being chased by police officers through a forest at night, was posted on the Internet in May 2010. The lyrics to "Halo" were changed for three of Beyoncé's special live performances: a tribute to Michael Jackson following his death, a tribute to the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and for Kobe and Gianna Bryant's memorial in 2020. The song has been covered by many artists, including Florence and the Machine, Harper Blynn, LP, and Westlife. It was also performed on the television show Glee, and was added to the soundtrack of the Brazilian telenovela Caminho das Índias.
Composition and lyrical interpretation[edit]
"Halo" is a contemporary downtempo R&B[15] power ballad[16][17] that features a pop production.[11] It has elements of gospel and soul music.[16][18] Instrumentation is provided by a piano,[13] a keyboard,[19] big drums,[20] a synthesizer,[21] strings, and percussion instruments.[12] The cascading piano work[22] is accompanied by percussive beats that alternate between handclaps and foot stomps.[12][13][16] "Halo" was composed using common time in the key of A major, with a tempo of 84 beats per minute.[19] It is built on the chord progression A–Bm–F♯m–D, and is written in the common verse–chorus form.[19] Beyoncé's vocals span from C♯3 to the head voice note of G5,[19] incorporate melisma,[23] and are supported by backing vocals.[19] She ornaments her singing with vibrato yelps and trills[16]—rapid alternations between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart. The arrangement also consists of symphonic crescendos and electronic accents.[18]
In "Halo", Beyoncé professes her all-encompassing fondness to her lover with open-hearted emotion.[13][18][24] She said, "['Halo'] is angelic ... like you see [angels'] faces instantly when you hear it. [Its lyrics] are basically saying that I had these walls built up about love; you completely tore them down and when I look at you I see your halo, it's really beautiful".[25] Backed by a piano, claps and step stomps that set a spiritualized atmosphere,[13][16] Beyoncé opens the song
with the lines: "Remember those walls I built? / Well, baby, they're tumbling down".[18] She sings the introduction in a low register, and the power of her voice gradually increases as the song progresses.[10] In the pre-chorus, she chants, "Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace / baby I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace / you're everything I need and more, it's written all over your face".[8][17] Beyoncé then echoes the word "halo" in the chorus;[10] the third and final one is preceded by a 1980s drum breakdown, and is complemented by sweeping strings and percussion.[12][26]
Release[edit]
"Halo" and "Ego" were initially planned for simultaneous release in the US, following the 2008 dual lead singles "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".[8] But the release of "Ego" was canceled and replaced with "Diva".[27] "Halo" was taken from a different disc of I Am... Sasha Fierce to "Diva"; the intention was to demonstrate the concept that Beyoncé has conflicting personalities—the central theme of the album.[11][28][29] The motif was demonstrated by placing the album's ballads and uptempo tracks on separate discs.[10][29] "Halo" was sent by Music World Entertainment and Columbia Records to contemporary hit radio playlists on January 20, 2009,[30] while "Diva" was classified for rhythmic contemporary and urban contemporary radio playlists.[31][32] A digital extended play (EP) containing a radio edit and four remixes of "Halo" was later released on April 14, 2009.[33]
On February 20, 2009, "Halo" was released as a two-track digital download, including a remix of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" in Australia[34] and New Zealand.[35] In France, it was released as a stand-alone digital download on March 20, 2009.[36] On the same date, "Halo" was serviced digitally alongside the album version of "Diva" in mainland Europe,[37] including Germany,[38] where it was also made available as a CD single on April 3 and a vinyl single on April 12, 2009.[39][40] In the United Kingdom, a digital EP containing the album version and three remixes of "Halo" was released on April 13, 2009.[41][42] The following day, the song was made available on a digital EP, as a maxi single and a vinyl single in Canada.[43][44]
Controversy[edit]
Soon after composing "Halo", Tedder worked with Kelly Clarkson on her fourth studio album, All I Ever Wanted (2009), for which they wrote "Already Gone" together.[45] When the song came out, critics noted a resemblance to Beyoncé's "Halo".[46] Clarkson, however, initially stated that she was unaware of any similarities between the two songs.[47] She eventually realized their resemblance when she listened to both recordings closely; the similarities are most notable in the backing tracks, which in both cases feature a melancholy piano, loud drums, and handclaps.[46] Clarkson tried to prevent "Already Gone" from being included on All I Ever Wanted, but it was impossible to make last minute changes, as her album was already being printed when I Am... Sasha Fierce was released.[45] She accused Tedder of using the same arrangement on both "Already Gone" and "Halo", and complained that people would, incorrectly, assume she was stealing it from Beyoncé.[45]
Clarkson was furious, and confronted Tedder on the phone.[45] In response, Tedder commented that he would never give two artists the same musical arrangement, and that her criticism was "hurtful and absurd".[48] He asserted that the concept, melodies, and lyrics of "Already Gone" and "Halo" are completely different.[48] Calling "Already Gone" one of the best songs he had ever composed, Tedder challenged people to "listen [to the two ballads] and form their own opinions".[48] Clarkson also tried to stop her label, RCA, from releasing "Already Gone" as a single because she wanted to respect Beyoncé,[49] but they went against her will and released it.[45] She said, "It's one of those things I have no control over. I already made my album. At this point, the record company can do whatever they want with it."[50] Clarkson later told James Montgomery of MTV News that it was unfortunate "Already Gone" and "Halo" sound so similar, but noted that at least they have different vocal melodies.[47]
Chart performance[edit]
"Halo" debuted at number 93 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart issue dated February 7, 2009.[68] It peaked at number five on the chart issue dated May 23, 2009.[69] The US success of "Halo" helped Beyoncé achieve more top 10 singles on the Hot 100 chart than any other female artist during 2001–10.[70] After spending 30 weeks in the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart, "Halo" last charted on the week ending August 29, 2009.[71] It peaked at number two on the US Mainstream Top 40 chart, behind "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas,[72] at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and at number 16 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[73] On January 5, 2010, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single double-platinum, denoting sales of two million copies.[74] In August 2022, RIAA updated Beyoncé's sales, certifying "Halo" as having sold more than 9 million copies.[75]
"Halo" debuted at number 40 on the New Zealand Singles Chart on February 2, 2009, and attained a high point of number two three weeks later.[76] The song spent 33 non-consecutive weeks on the chart, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), representing sales of 15,000 copies.[77] On February 15, 2009, it entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 29. The ballad peaked at number three for four non-consecutive weeks, and spent a total of 36 weeks in the top 50.[78] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified "Halo" twelve-times platinum for selling 840,000 copies.[79]
"Halo" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 98 for the week ending February 21, 2009;[80][81] over a period of seven weeks, it climbed to number four on March 29, 2009 (for the week ending April 4, 2009).[82] It spent 49 weeks in the top 100 of UK Singles Chart; 44 non-consecutive weeks after its debut, it was at number 94 on March 4, 2012, before dropping out the following week.[83] As of June 2022, it had sold 2.1 million copies in the UK, including 158.7 million plays, and is her best-selling and most streamed single there.[84] In October 2023, the song was certified quadruple-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting 2,400,000 units sold and streamed in the UK.[85] It debuted on the Irish Singles Chart at number 32 on January 22, 2009,[86] and peaked at number four for three consecutive weeks.[87][88]
On the Spanish Singles Chart, "Halo" debuted at number 45 on January 25, 2009, but it fell off the chart the following week.[89] However, the song re-entered the chart four months later on May 3, 2009, at number 44, and peaked at number five on October 11, 2009.[89] It was certified double-platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE), indicating sales of 80,000 copies.[90] "Halo" topped the Brasil Billboard Hot 100 chart for more than 20 consecutive weeks in 2009.[91] It emerged as the most listened to song on radio in Brazil during the same period as it registered 24,734 plays on radio stations throughout the country.[92] "Halo" was also the most downloaded song in Brazil from November 2009 to November 2010, as highlighted by the first edition of the Brazilian Digital Music Awards.[93]
Music videos[edit]
The accompanying music videos for "Halo" and "Diva" premiered simultaneously on the US iTunes Store on December 23, 2008.[12] Shot in late November 2008 in a SoHo townhouse owned by Beyoncé, the video was directed by Philip Andelman and features actor Michael Ealy as Beyoncé's love interest.[27][94][95] Ealy was happy to work with Beyoncé, as he had loved the song immediately after hearing it.[96] This was the second time he was asked to star in a video for a song by Beyoncé; the first was "Irreplaceable", which he had refused because he did not appreciate its theme and concept.[96] He had advised Beyoncé: "Call me when you have a hero role".[96]
The video, which Beyoncé has considered intimate and romantic,[25] begins as she stands against a wall, illuminated by light that passes through a window. In one scene, Beyoncé's character, dressed in a skin-tight leotard, performs a dance sequence while her love interest looks down at her from a balcony. According to Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly, the dance routines pay homage to the 1983 romantic drama film Flashdance.[12] Beyoncé and Ealy later stare adoringly at each other as they snuggle on a sofa. During the climax of the video, Beyoncé is shown underwater, dressed in white, moving slowly upwards. As the chorus begins, she opens her eyes; after Ealy kisses the back of her neck, the pair come face to face in the final scene, in which Beyoncé lies in bed, with Ealy above her. Jennifer Cady of E! Online wrote that the bright shiny lights in the video "make [Beyoncé] look like an angel".[52] The video was ranked at number 74 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.[97] By April 2020, the video had received over one billion views on YouTube, becoming Beyoncé's first to achieve it.[98]
An alternative video surfaced online in late May 2010, explaining why Beyoncé's character was remembering her love interest in the original version.[95][99] It begins with a view of the night sky and many trees, as Beyoncé drives a car and Ealy's character is chased by the police through a forest. As the video progresses, she parks her car on the side of the road and scenes from the original version are shown. Police dogs eventually catch Ealy's character and attack him savagely. An open bag reveals stolen money, which is dispersed by the wind. At the end of the video, in the forest, Beyoncé finds Ealy lying lifelessly on the ground.[95]