"Independent Women Part I" is a song recorded by American group

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

for the soundtrack to the 2000 film adaptation of the television program ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

''. It was written and produced by production duo

Poke & Tone The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joi ...

, consisting of Samuel Barnes and

Jean-Claude Olivier Jean-Claude Olivier (28 February 1945 – 12 January 2013), often referred to simply as "JCO", was a French motorcycle racer and president of Yamaha Motor France S.A. from 1992 to 2010. He helped launch the careers of many famous French riders i ...

, along with

Cory Rooney Mark Cory Rooney (born 1968) is an American record producer. He has written, produced, and developed various successful records for artists including Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Thalia, Michael Ja ...

, and group member

Beyoncé Knowles 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 later included on the group's third studio album '' Survivor'' (2001). "Independent Women" was Destiny's Child's first single to feature vocals from members Michelle Williams and

Farrah Franklin Farrah Laron Franklin (born May 3, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She is also a former member of the girl group Destiny's Child. Along with Michelle Williams, she replaced the group's original members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya L ...

, though Franklin was no longer in the group when the single was released. Released as the soundtrack's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

in August 2000, the song held the number-one spot on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks from November 2000 to February 2001. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' likened the song's release strategy to being influenced by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's "

Doesn't Really Matter "Doesn't Really Matter" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from the soundtrack to the 2000 film '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' and her seventh studio album, '' All for You'' (2001). It was written and produced by Jackson, Jimmy Ja ...

", saying the group "began planting the seeds for the upcoming release" in a similar vein. ''Billboard'' ranked the song at number 77 on their list "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".

Background

"Independent Women" was used as a lead single for both the ''Charlie's Angels'' soundtrack, and the group's third album, ''Survivor''. It was revealed that Knowles' father and then-manager,

Mathew Mathew is a masculine given name and a variant of Matthew. It is also used as a surname. As a given name Notable people with the given name include: * Mat Erpelding (born 1975), American politician * Mat Kearney (born 1978), American singer-s ...

, submitted the track to the ''Charlie's Angels'' soundtrack without her knowledge.

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in

F-sharp minor F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major). T ...

with a tempo of 96 beats per minute.

Critical reception

The song was nominated for

Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked ...

at the

2001 Grammy Awards The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Several artists earned three awards on the night. Steely Dan's haul included Album of the Year for ''Two Against Nature''. U2 took ...

. It was also ranked at number 85 on the list of Britain's favorite 100 songs, published in May 2002. It was named the 18th most successful song of the 2000s, on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. It was also nominated for Worst Song at the

2000 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The 23rd Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 2001 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 2000. The most nominated film of the year was '' Battlefield Earth'' with nine nominations, wh ...

Commercial performance

"Independent Women Part I" was a chart success in the United States, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single held the top position in the following week, which was seen as buoyed by the strong box office performance of ''Charlie's Angels'' and the

heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...

the song received. The song had massive radio airplay, spending nine weeks atop the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout ...

chart, significantly contributing to the performance of the single on the main chart. Subsequently, the single spent eleven consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top position. During its tenth week at the top spot, the music press had expected that the single would fall off the top position because of strong competition at retail; however, it sustained due to the high sales of the maxi CD released in December 2000. The song was in the 2000–2001 edition of the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' for longest-running number-one song by a female group. "Independent Women Part I" also topped the

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 ...

chart for three weeks, becoming Destiny's Child fourth number-one single on the chart. In the United Kingdom, "Independent Women Part I" debuted at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

the week of December 2, 2000. The

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) has certified the single platinum for sales of over 600,000 copies. The song spent one week at the top and stayed within the top 40 for 11 weeks before dropping out on February 17, 2001. The song was the 25th best-selling single of 2000 in the country. The song also reached the number-one position in New Zealand.

Music video

The music video was shot in Los Angeles from August 27 to September 1, 2000, and directed by

Francis Lawrence Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1971) is an Austrian-born American filmmaker and producer. After establishing himself as a director of music videos and commercials, Lawrence made his feature-length directorial debut with the superhero thrille ...

. Destiny's Child take part of a futuristic ''Charlie's Angels'' boot camp and sit in a classroom to watch footage of ''Charlie's Angels''. They learn from them and try out the challenges in several steps:

agility Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's list of human positions, position quickly and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance (ability), balance, coordination (physiology), coordination ...

(dancing),

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

(

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

(

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

fighting) and speed (

motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

). At the end, the women are greeted by the ever-mysterious "Charlie". The band also performs in a huge disco set in between the scenes. The music video premiered on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Making the Video ''Making the Video'' is an MTV show, consisting of half-hour episodes, which chronicles the process of filming various music videos. Usually the director outlines the concept of the video (or treatment) and the show often includes light-hearted ...

'' and is featured on the

DualDisc The DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including MJJ Productions Inc., EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group an ...

edition of the album '' #1's'' and on the DVD release of ''

''.

Track listings

US and Canadian maxi-CD single # "Independent Women" (Part I—album version) – 3:41 # "Independent Women" (

Victor Calderone Victor Calderone (born March 20, 1967 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States) is an American electronic music producer, Disc jockey, DJ and remixer. Biography Raised in the Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, C ...

drum dub mix) – 5:30 # "Independent Women" (Victor Calderone club mix) – 9:36 # "Independent Women" (

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

's Independent Man remix) – 7:30 # "

8 Days of Christmas ''8 Days of Christmas'' is the fourth and penultimate studio album and the first and only Christmas album by American R&B girl group Destiny's Child, released on October 30, 2001 by Columbia Records. Background The album contains twelve tracks ...

" – 3:29 US 12-inch single :A1. "Independent Women Part I" (Maurice's Independent Man remix) – 7:30 :A2. "Independent Women Part I" (album version) – 3:41 :A3. "Independent Women Part I" (instrumental) – 3:41 :B1. "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone club mix) – 9:36 :B2. "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone drum dub mix) – 5:30 UK CD1 # "Independent Women Part I" (album version) – 3:41 # "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone radio mix) – 4:24 # "Independent Women Part I" (Maurice's radio mix) – 3:54 UK CD2 # "Independent Women Part II" – 3:45 # "

Say My Name "Say My Name" is a song by American group Destiny's Child from their second studio album, ''The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins I ...

" (

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

remix) – 5:01 # "So Good" – 3:14 UK cassette single # "Independent Women Part I" (album version) – 3:41 # "Independent Women Part II" – 3:45 European CD1 # "Independent Women Part I" (album version) – 3:41 # "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone radio mix) – 4:24 European CD2 # "Independent Women Part I" (album version) – 3:41 # "Independent Women Part I" (

Joe Smooth Joseph Lorenzo Jr. Welbon (born May 9, 1964), known by the stage name Joe Smooth, is an American house music producer and DJ who gained international acclaim during the late 1980s and early 1990s. By the new millennium he held the reputation of ...

200 Proof 2 Step mix) – 4:17 # "Independent Women Part I" (Maurice's radio mix) – 3:54 # "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone club mix) – 9:36 Australian and New Zealand CD single # "Independent Women Part I" (album version) # "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone radio mix) # "Independent Women Part I" (Maurice's radio mix) # "Independent Women Part I" (Victor Calderone club mix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of '' Survivor''. * Samuel Barnes – writing, production * Tom Coyne – mastering * Troy Gonzalez –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

– writing, production *

– co-production, vocals, writing *

– writing, production *

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

– vocals * Manelich Sotolongo – recording * Rich Travali – mixing * Michelle Williams – vocals *

– vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000 singles 2000 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Charlie's Angels (franchise) Columbia Records singles Destiny's Child songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Music videos directed by Francis Lawrence Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Beyoncé Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Beyoncé Songs written by Cory Rooney Songs written by Jean-Claude Olivier Songs written by Samuel Barnes (songwriter) Songs written for films UK Singles Chart number-one singles