"Beautiful Surprise" is a song by
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
recording artist
Tamia
Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development dea ...
. It was written by
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
,
Salaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...
and the singer herself for her
same-titled fifth album (2012), while production was overseen by Remi. The last song to be recorded for ''Beautiful Surprise'', the
R&B song has a breezy mid-tempo groove that is structured around a smooth synth. Lyrically, the song is an ode to her family, husband
Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...
and her two daughters Myla and Lael, on which she sings about how happy she is to have experienced an unexpected but fulfilling love with a man.
The track was released as the album's lead single in the United States on March 2, 2012. It received a mixed to positive reception from music critics, who complimented Tamia's vocals on "Beautiful Surprise" as well as the joyful nature of the song. "Beautiful Surprise" reached number 24 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
and entered the top five of the
Adult R&B Songs
The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...
, peaking at number four. It received a nomination for
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
at the
55th Annual Grammy Awards
The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...
, held in February 2013. A music video for "Beautiful Surprise" was directed by Ryan Pallotta.
Background
"Beautiful Surprise" was written by Tamia,
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
, and
Salaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...
, while production was helmed Remi.
The trio hunkered down in the Chalice Studios in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to work on material for Tamia's fifth album, with
"Beautiful Surprise" becoming the last song to be recorded for the project.
According to Kelly they were "just kicking ideas around and we wanted to have a romantic song but an underlying message of what she is about. Obviously, she is married to
Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...
and they both have working schedules. And we said… 'Let’s celebrate the marriage and what it’s like to come off the road and surprise you. Let’s do ‘Beautiful Surprise.'”
The song was finished in about 45 minutes.
Critical reception
In his review for the same-titled parent album, Jon Caramanica found that "Beautiful Surprise" was out of several tracks on the album that nod "at the dance floor while never really stepping onto it. Of these, the title track
..hits hardest, juxtaposing restrained boom-bap against Tamia’s pretty fluttering."
Mark Edward Nero from
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...
remarked that the song was "a prime example of how underrated her vocal strength is." It had Tamia singing "sweetly" over "a moderately uptempo beat."
Richard Spadine, writing for ''DJBooth'', felt that the "track finds Salaam Remi serving up a smooth synth beat as Tamia expresses her joy at finding herself in the arms of the man she loves upon waking up in the morning." He called it "one of many quality tunes to be found on the singer's fifth studio album."
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
cited "Beautiful Surprise" as "one of the album's shortcomings," calling it "lukewarm."
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Beautiful Surprise" was directed by Canadian filmmaker Ryan Pallotta.
Filmed at a mansion in
Malibu, it was shot along with the photography for the album artwork of parent album ''Beautiful Surprise''.
A plotless performance video that consists of several editorial shots, is deptics Tamia in different locations of the house, dressed in "simple, sexy and chic" fashion.
The video co-stars her husband Grant Hill who depicts a ghost-like entity.
On their decision to include him in the video, she commented: “After twelve years of marriage, he finally made it into one of my videos. I told him, ‘This is your chance, boo.’"
Track listing
;Digital download
*"Beautiful Surprise" – 3:37
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Beautiful Surprise''.
*Ben Chang – engineering
*Tamia Hill – backing vocals, writer
*
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...
– backing vocals, writer
*
Manny Marroquin
Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work.
Life and career
M ...
–
mixing
*
Salaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...
– production, writer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2012 singles
Tamia songs
Songs written by Salaam Remi
Songs written by Claude Kelly
Song recordings produced by Salaam Remi
2012 songs
Songs written by Tamia