"Bigger" (stylized in uppercase) is a song by American singer
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
The song was penned at a writing camp at Beyoncé's studio and was created due to a bond with British singer-songwriter Raye and US songwriter Stacy Barthe. Raye told BBC Newsbeat: "I remember we were both in a really dark, sad place and we wanted to create something to empower ourselves. We spent maybe two or three hours on it. It was 3 a.m. and I remember Beyoncé's team came in and heard what we'd created so far and just completely freaked out. It was incredible." Raye also told Official Charts: "I wrote a lot of songs - I put a shift in. But eyoncéfell in love with Bigger." Beyoncé informed Raye that "Bigger" would be the first song on the album at the 2019 ''The Lion King'' European premiere, and her reaction, as caught on video, went viral. Raye tweeted "Beyoncé told me I’ve written Track 1 on the new album ... it’s called Bigger . I can’t I can’t."
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Bigger" is preceded by "Balance", a Mufasa interlude voiced by
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
, which samples his "Circle of Life" speech from the 2019 film. The two tracks segue into each other. '' Dazed'' described this shift as "tying in nicely with the track’s lyrics." According to ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', "Bigger" has an overarching theme of "
royal succession
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.ecological and existential" aspects of the "Circle of Life." Matzav Review described "Bigger" as an "ode to the natural riches of the
African continent
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
" whilst also serving as a tribute to Beyoncé's children, showing them the paraphrased "power of collective knowledge."
Music video
A music video was released on July 19, 2019, as the second part from an extended edition of the music video from "Spirit", the lead single from the album.
A second music video was released in ''Black Is King''. It features snippets of the original video with new footage filmed specifically for the movie.