"A Beautiful Noise" is a song recorded by American recording artists

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

and Brandi Carlile. The song was written by Keys, Carlile,

Brandy Clark Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kace ...

Hillary Lindsey Hillary Lee Lindsey is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Bo ...

Lori McKenna Lorraine McKenna ( Giroux; born December 22, 1968) is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit sing ...

, Hailey Whitters,

Linda Perry Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for ...

and

Ruby Amanfu A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

. It was released as a single on October 29, 2020 through RCA Records. The song was performed live on ''Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy'', and they released the single immediately following the song's premiere on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. The song was also included on the digital reissue of Keys' seventh studio album '' Alicia'' (2020), released on December 18, 2020. The song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Background

"A Beautiful Noise" was recorded to inspire American voters to vote in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. The song was created by an all-female songwriting team consisting of

, Brandi Carlile,

, Hailey Whitters,

and

. Brandy Clark was the first songwriter added to the team, followed by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and so on. The song was passed around between all eight writers with the goal of representing diversity through a variety of views, voices, and perspectives. In a ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' article, Ali Harnell of Live Nation discussed how the song came to be, stating that they had hoped to celebrate women's suffrage in advance of the

2020 Presidential Election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. The year 2020 marks the 100-year anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the song aims to honor these causes according to Harnell. The #ABeautifulNoise Challenge was created on social media inspired by the song to encourage voter turnout via social channels. The #ABeautifulNoice Challenge tasks viewers with sharing how and why they plan to make a beautiful noise in the 2020 election and beyond. Keys commented that "Everyone has the power to make beautiful noise and to lift others up with their voice. And now more than ever, we need to let those voices be heard by voting". Carlile stated that the song "is an important reminder that we all have a voice and that our voices count".

Composition and lyrics

The song is a stripped-down, piano-driven R&B/soul track that lasts for a duration of three minutes and nineteen seconds. It is written in the key of A minor with a time signature and a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 76 beats per minute. Jon Blistein from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' described the song as "straightforward but effective bit of piano balladry". Writer for the website '' PopSugar'' stated that the "powerful track" offers "a dose of inspiration" in lyrics like "It's believing you belong / It's calling out the wrong". In the song, Keys and Carlile assure that "I have a voice", and writing for the website ''Live For Live Music'', Michael Broerman opined that the song "tell the story of marginalized communities finally gaining their birthright to fully participate in society". Sidney Miller from ''Country Queer'' wrote that albeit having "a sense of anger and righteousness", the "calming, melodic" song "masterfully blends both of their piano-playing skills and voices".

Live performance

Alicia Keys hosted CBS' ''Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy'' special alongside

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

and

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featu ...

which is where the song was first premiered. Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile sat at separate pianos across from each other as they performed a live rendition of the song. Keys and Carlile performed with no additional musical accompaniment besides their pianos.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beautiful Noise, A 2020 songs 2020 singles Alicia Keys songs Brandi Carlile songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Linda Perry Song recordings produced by Alicia Keys