Beyonce as a Baby Beyonce Cover of Independent Woman
30. The Closer I Become to You (feat Luther Vandross) (2003)
Every bit far removed as you tin get from the innovations of the Beyoncé album or Lemonade, The Closer I Get to Yous is a slick encompass of a 1977 Roberta Flack-Donny Hathaway duet, with Luther Vandross filling the Hathaway function. It's lovely: a great vocal, beautifully sung, with Beyoncé admirably uncowed by the presence of a soul titan.
29. If I Were a Male child (2008)
As audio-visual-guitar-driven, powerfully sung mainstream R&B power ballads become, If I Were a Boy is an impressively original instance of type. Beneath its heartbroken lyrics about a failed human relationship lurks a subtle, sad excoriation of what would now be called male privilege, the lyrics smartly switching between exploring the topic and suggesting how it might be altered.
28. Don't Hurt Yourself (2016)
Don't Injure Yourself's co-author Jack White compared Beyoncé's phonation to that of Betty Davis, and there'south a definite hint of Davis'due south raging rock/funk hybrid about Lemonade'due south nearly ambitious track. The live version on Homecoming amps things up fifty-fifty further, stirring Led Zeppelin's Kashmir into the mix.
27. Dangerously in Love (2003)
On one level, Dangerously in Love – previously recorded by Destiny's Kid – is a decent, standard-issue R&B ballad, nothing like every bit distinctive as Beyoncé'south greatest songs. But it'due south all about the vocal operation on her solo version, its switches from intimacy and vulnerability to full-throttle power always maintaining a hint of rawness.
26. Drunkard in Beloved (feat Jay-Z) (2013)
Drunk in Beloved feels symbolic of a distinct loosening up of Beyoncé'south expertly choreographed image. A song most the messy cocktail of booze and sexual practice, its lyrics are filled with gleeful double entendres – "park it in my lot", "ride information technology on my surfboard" – while its music is equal parts woozy and euphoric.
25. Déjà Vu (feat Jay-Z) (2006)
A Jay-Z guest slot, diggings brass and a distinct one-time-school funk feel, but Déjà Vu is more than merely Crazy in Love 2.0. There'southward an argument that, while less hooky, it'southward a melodically stronger song than its more than famous sibling, and the intro, where Beyoncé gradually introduces each instrument over an urgent bassline, is spectacularly exciting.
24. All Night (2016)
A low-fundamental delight amid Lemonade's attention-grabbing hell-hath-no-fury, All Night is, in its ain fashion, as striking every bit annihilation on the album. A beautifully written song almost the seldom-explored topic of long-term monogamy, its musical setting nods towards 60s southern soul, lent extra ability by the emotional delivery in her voice.
23. Diva (2008)
Audibly similar to Lil Wayne's A Milli, only none the worse for that, Diva's brilliance lies in the way information technology snappily reclaims an insult hurled at women, especially successful ones. "A diva," announces Beyoncé's drag-queen-inspired alter ego Sasha Tearing, "is a female version of a hustler".
22. Freakum Dress (2006)
A song that belatedly provoked a TikTok meme, quite why Freakum Apparel wasn't released as a single from B-Day remains an enduring mystery. Information technology'due south electrifying from start to terminate: the see-sawing organ part, the pounding drums, the explosive backing vocals, the unexpected melodic climb into the chorus.
21. The Carters – Apeshit (2018)
Jay-Z and Beyoncé'south collaborative anthology, Everything Is Love, paled a little by comparison to their preceding solo releases, specially Lemonade, only it had its moments, not to the lowest degree the trap-infused Apeshit, which proved what Savage later underlined: that Beyoncé is pretty cracking at rapping.
20. Freedom (2016)
Interest in Lemonade tended to focus on what it revealed about the state of the Carter-Knowles marriage, but it was as musically adventurous equally it was soul-bearing, every bit evidenced by Freedom, a flatly amazing explosion of 60s psychedelia, Alan Lomax field recordings, punishing beats and ferocious Kendrick Lamar guest appearance.
19. Me, Myself and I (2003)
The negative image of Crazy in Love, Me, Myself and I moves seamlessly from heartbroken to screw you – "come up selection up your clothes" – to sing-information technology-with-me-girls empowerment over a super-cool G-funk-ish trounce. And the vocal is spectacular – check out the improvisation panning between left and right speakers at 3min 36sec.
18. I Care (live) (2019)
The original version of I Care is great, a maelstrom of drums and floating, ambient synth over which Beyoncé does her wronged-woman affair with style, only the live version on Homecoming turns everything – rhythm track, emotional intensity – upwards to total, and throws in marching band horns for added urgency.
17. Daddy Lessons (2016)
Always smart in her choice of collaborators, Beyoncé'due south pairing here with Nashville refuseniks the Chicks is particularly inspired. She appends their country sound with old-fashioned New Orleans jazz-infused R&B, a stunning human activity of creative dot-joining and prove of a genuinely original, eclectic musical mind.
16. Band the Alarm (2006)
"You ain't never seen a fire like the ane imma cause," warns Ring the Alarm's protagonist to her cheating partner. The bursts of distortion on her vocals, and the strong backing of aggressive beats, morse code-similar electronics and wailing sirens amplifies the impression her ex is going to rue the solar day he crossed her.
xv. Party (feat André 3000) (2011)
Sunlit, 808-driven, 80s R&B-influenced synths, a sample from Doug East Fresh and Slick Rick's landmark old school rap anthem La Di Da Di, a rare guest appearance from André 3000 – on super-precipitous form, discussing everything from sexual prowess to changing generations in hip-hop – and a luxuriant, relaxed Beyoncé performance. Party'southward got the lot.
14. Mood 4 Eva (feat Oumou Sangaré, Jay-Z and Childish Gambino) (2019)
The nigh interesting thing about The King of beasts King: The Gift was that Beyoncé's role was as much curator as artist – she regularly ceded centre stage to lesser-known artists. That said, she was on imperious form hither, towering over a supporting cast that included Jay-Z and Oumou Sangaré. "Why would you try me, why would you bother? / I am Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter".
13. XO (2013)
The first single from Beyoncé'south eponymous 2013 album was the most obviously anthemic thing on it, a vast, echoing, surging, gospel-choir-assisted declaration of undying dear that never sounds trite. Co-author Ryan Tedder rightly suggested it was "a bigger, meliorate song" than her previous striking in the same vein, Halo.
12. Run the World (Girls) (2011)
I striking thing about Beyoncé is how effortlessly she imposes her own identity on songs, regardless of her choice of collaborators. Run the World is substantially Major Lazer's Pon De Floor with her vocal added, but she – to apply The X Cistron cliche – makes it her own, turning it from minimal dancefloor banger to fierce rallying cry.
11. Hold Up (2016)
It's hard to dissociate Concur Up from its accompanying video, featuring Beyoncé wielding a baseball bat, only fifty-fifty without the diverting visuals, Hold Upwards is a stunner, a vocal in which the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Maps meets samples of Andy Williams and Soulja Male child, plus a vocal that simmers with acrimony before breaking out into a rap.
10. Irreplaceable (2006)
Incredibly, the most successful song of 2007 in the Us – 10 weeks at No 1 – nearly didn't make it on to B-Twenty-four hours amidst worries it didn't fit the album'due south club-focused mood and was too poppy for R&B radio. Beyoncé's vocal reading of its failed-human relationship-leads-to-empowerment theme ultimately and understandably quelled those fears.
9. Partition (2013)
A song in two superb parts. The first is redolent of co-producer Timbaland'southward visionary golden-era work – the beats created by banging on a bucket and decorated with smears of atonal synth; the 2d is sultry, minimal electro featuring Beyoncé in well-nigh Prince-esque dirty-minded mode: "He Monica Lewinskyed all over my gown".
eight. Love on Height (2011)
Beyoncé at her most pop-facing, Love on Top is a joyous 80s pop-soul confection, lent a power and edge that shifts it far by homage or pastiche by her vocal, apparently inspired by playing the "unapologetic, bold and strong" Etta James in the 2008 motion-picture show Cadillac Records.
vii. Black Parade (2020)
"Made a lookout sign off your lookout man fence – take it every bit a warning". The death of George Floyd and the subsequent global protests inspired a rash of artists to write songs, only Beyoncé'due south might be the most commanding. It's simultaneously an African-history lesson, a paean to blackness achievement and a righteous blast of insurrectionary fury.
6. Go Me Bodied (2006)
The best thing on Beyoncé's unfortunately named second anthology, B-Day. Go Me Bodied has a tough Swizz Beatz-produced backing comprised of nothing merely drums and chanting voices and a Beyoncé vocal to match, its rawness sounding closer to prime number-time Tina Turner than 00s diva. The six-minute extended mix is the version of choice.
five. Deplorable (2016)
The line near Becky with the proficient pilus broke the internet, merely Lamentable is full of killer lyrics, an expression of cold rage at a partner's infidelity. More than a canny manipulation of prurient interest in her private life, Sorry is a fantastic song, its thin echoing electronics as icy every bit the vocalizer's mood.
4. Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) (2008)
Single Ladies' success was preordained – clearly it'southward destined to soundtrack hen nights and wedding ceremony discos for the residuum of time – but its greatness lies in the fact that information technology never sounds craven. The hooks are irresistible, the backing – clattering drums, sparse pocket-size-key synths – is deliciously off-beam.
3. ***Flawless (feat Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) (2013)
Beyoncé at her most commanding, Flawless offers the unlikely sound of a trap-inspired lodge banger with a message that goes beyond catchy lyrical soundbites – "I woke up like this", "bow down bitches" – into something deeper, thanks to the sample of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's potent We Should All Exist Feminists speech.
two. Crazy in Dear (feat Jay-Z) (2003)
If yous're going to embark on a solo career, this is the mode to announce it: by releasing one of the most impermeable popular singles of the 21st century, a song in which everything is and so inarguably great – vocal, rap, Chi-Lites sample – that it almost immediately goes beyond hit status and just becomes a fact of life.
1. Formation (2016)
Beyoncé's solo catalogue is rich and diverse, and she has kept her standard set to high. Even without recourse to the oeuvre of Destiny'southward Child, you could easily replace half the tracks in this list with others without denting the quality of what'due south there. Information technology makes picking the No 1 a thankless task, but Formation does everything you might feasibly want a Beyoncé song to do in three and a half minutes. The music is adventurous, but besides functions as pop; the lyrics balance the personal and political – information technology's a powerful argument of black resilience and a tribute to the fabulousness of Beyoncé – and her vocal is perfect, slipping between playfulness and determination. A masterpiece.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/19/beyonce-30-greatest-songs-ranked
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