"Partition" is a song recorded 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 ...
for her
self-titled fifth studio album released in 2013. Beyoncé co-wrote and co-produced the song with
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
,
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 ...
,
Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon,
Dwane "Key Wane" Weir, and
Mike Dean, with extra writing from
The-Dream
Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, "Ride ...
and extra production from
Jordy "Boots" Asher. The song was sent to
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
on February 25, 2014 as the second
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
from ''Beyoncé'' by
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
.
The song consists of two parts, individually titled "Yoncé" and "Partition". "Partition" has been described as "electro-R&B" that moves "from a sweet, girl-group pop sound to Dirty South hip-hop". Its production musically consists of a sparse
synthesized arrangement, a thrusting
bassline
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
and a heavy
drumbeat
A drum beat or drum pattern is a rhythmic pattern, or repeated rhythm establishing the meter and groove through the pulse and subdivision, played on drum kits and other percussion instruments. As such a "beat" consists of multiple drum strokes ...
. Exploring the deep, sexual nature of ''Beyoncé'', "Partition" depicts sexual intercourse in the back of a limousine. The closing minute of the song features a spoken word interpolation taken from the French dub of the 1998 film ''
The Big Lebowski
''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken i ...
'', a speech originally spoken by
Julianne Moore
Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...
.
Following the album's release, "Partition" picked up airplay on United States urban contemporary radio stations. It has since peaked at number 23 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, number nine 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 ...
chart and number one on the US
Hot Dance Club Songs
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart.
Accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s for "Yoncé" and "Partition" were released on December 13, 2013, on ''Beyoncé''. The former clip was directed by Ricky Saiz and filmed on the streets of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, while the latter was directed by
Jake Nava
Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co.
Early life and ed ...
and shot at the
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
club,
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by wh ...
. Both "Yoncé" and "Partition" were added to the setlist and performed live during the second European leg of
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Beyoncé. Announced in February 2013 with initial dates in Europe and North America, the tour contained seven legs and 132 shows. It began in Belgrade, Serbia on April ...
(2013–14) and later during the
On the Run Tour (2014) and
The Formation World Tour
The Formation World Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer Beyoncé in support of her sixth studio album, ''Lemonade'' (2016). The all-stadium tour was announced following her guest appearance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. T ...
(2016). Both of the songs were performed at the
2014 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them ...
as part of a medley of the singer's eponymous album.
Conception and release
![Justin Timberlake Cannes 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Justin_Timberlake_Cannes_2013.jpg)
"Partition" was written by
Terius Nash,
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
,
Timothy Mosley
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Jerome Harmon,
Dwane Weir, Charisse Hill and
Mike Dean.
The production was handled by Timberlake, Beyoncé, Dean,
Jordy "Boots" Asher as well as Mosley, Harmon and Wane under their stage names Timbaland, J-Roc and Key Wane respectively.
"Partition" was conceived as a two-part song, the first part of which is called "Yoncé".
The latter's original
drumbeat
A drum beat or drum pattern is a rhythmic pattern, or repeated rhythm establishing the meter and groove through the pulse and subdivision, played on drum kits and other percussion instruments. As such a "beat" consists of multiple drum strokes ...
was created by Timberlake on a
bucket
A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical Cylinder (geometry), cylinder or Truncation (geometry), truncated Cone (geometry), cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom, attached to a semicircular carrying handle (grip), handle called ...
.
Mike Dean then added the dropping 808's lead synths, claps and strings. Beyoncé described the sound that he created as "organic" and said, "It reminded me of being in middle school during the lunch breaks, when you just start free-styling."
The trio decided to keep the buckets as Beyoncé wanted an organic production.
Then The-Dream started writing some of the lyrics including, "Yoncé all on his mouth like liquor".
Beyoncé found it awkward at the beginning but she soon loved the phrase, which led to the birth of her new
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
, Yoncé.
The singer revealed that she was "embarrassed" after she recorded "Partition" because of its overtly sexual lyrics.
Speaking about how the other part of the song materialized, Beyoncé said:
It takes me back to being in my car as a teenager. It takes me back to when me and my husband first meet, and he tries to scoop me and he thinks I'm the hottest thing in the world. I kinda had this whole fantasy of being in the car, and this whole movie played in my head. I didn't have a pen and paper. I got to the mic, I'm like, 'Oh, press Record.'
The song was produced at the
Jungle City Studios
Jungle City Studios is a recording studio owned and operated by Ann Mincieli, Alicia Keys's longtime engineer and studio coordinator. Located in Chelsea, Manhattan, it was designed by John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group.
Recordings at Ju ...
and
Oven Studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Once the musical arrangements were done by the production team, the music was
recorded by Stuart White, Chris Godbey, Ann Mincieli and Bart Schoudel.
White and
Tony Maserati
Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen ...
mixed the track while the
audio engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
ing was carried out by James Krausse and Matt Weber with assistance from Justin Hergett, Chris Tabron and Matt Wiggers; the
second engineer
A second engineer or first assistant engineer is a licensed member of the engineering department on a merchant vessel. This title is used for the person on a ship responsible for supervising the daily maintenance and operation of the engine depar ...
was Ramon Rivas.
The
audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...
was done by Tom Coyne and Aya Merrill.
Timberlake and Timbaland served as
backing vocalist
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
s and recorded the vocals of Beyoncé.
The spoken section towards the end of "Partition" was recorded by Hajiba Fahmy, one of Beyoncé's dancers.
"Partition" officially impacted US
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
radio on February 25, 2014 as the third single from ''Beyoncé''.
"Partition" also officially impacted radio stations in Italy on March 28, 2014.
Composition
"Partition" has been described as "
electro-
R&B" that moves "from a sweet, girl-group pop sound to Dirty South hip-hop".
It builds on a slinky Caribbean
groove
Groove or Grooves may refer to:
Music
* Groove (music)
* Groove (drumming)
* The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s
* The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station
* Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station
* ...
and spacey heavy beats provided by
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...
toms and
bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
s.
The track also musically consists of sparse
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
pulses
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
, little swoops and
finger snaps.
The lyrics are candidly sexual;
Melissa Locker of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine wrote that "Partition" leaves no sexual
innuendo
An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
unturned.
Commenting on Beyoncé's vocal styles and experimentation on the track,
Annie Zaleski
Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author.
Career
Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won firs ...
of ''
Las Vegas Weekly
''Las Vegas Weekly'' is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada, covering Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. ''Las Vegas Weekly'' is published by Greenspun Media Group. The paper was founded in 1992 by James P ...
'' noted that she displays much attitude through her lines and ornaments her singing with
trills—rapid alternations between two
adjacent notes, usually a
semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
or
tone apart.
[ Zaleski further wrote that Beyoncé adopts a ]doo-wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
vocal-based style to sing some of the lyrics and even utters occasional purr
A purr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids and two species of genets. It varies in loudness and tone among species and in the same animal. Felids are a family of mammals that belong to the order Carnivora and are infor ...
s—murmuring sounds expressive of pleasure.
The song begins with a short call-and-response
Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...
audio clip from The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Beyoncé. Announced in February 2013 with initial dates in Europe and North America, the tour contained seven legs and 132 shows. It began in Belgrade, Serbia on April ...
, May 31, 2013 Antwerp leg, as Beyoncé asks the crowd "Lemme hear you say 'Hayyy Ms. Carter!'". It then transitions into what Andrew Hampp of ''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 ...
'' magazine called the "lady thug anthem" of "Yoncé". Beyoncé delivers half-rapped verses on the first half of the song, in which the female protagonist teases male subjects in a club as she turns heads. In the first verse
Verse may refer to:
Poetry
* Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry
* Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza
* Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme
* Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...
, she warns the other women in the club, "Every girl on here gotta look me up and down / All on Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
cake by the pound". The singer adds on the second verse, "I sneezed on the beat and the beat got sicker." "Yoncé" closes with the bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
as Beyoncé sings repeatedly, "Yoncé all on his mouth like liquor", while an ascending siren
Siren or sirens may refer to:
Common meanings
* Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies
* Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology
Places
* Siren (town), Wisconsin
* Siren, Wisc ...
echoes over a staccato
Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...
bass that hits heavily and uniformly in the background.
The second part, titled "Partition", is preceded by the sound of paparazzi
Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
camera clicks and a window whirring up, which separates it from the first part "Yoncé". "Partition" has a fractured production and is lyrically about the female protagonist having sex with her romantic interest in the backseat of a limousine. Caitlin White, writing for '' The 405'', highlighted that the song details a romantic relationship in which women do not act as sexual objects during sexual intercourse but rather use "the physical act of love as a form of agency", from which they derive pleasure. "Partition" gained significant attention for its explicit lyrics, with frequent references made to the opening lines of the first verse in which Beyoncé asks her driver to put up the partition.
On the hook lines, Beyoncé adopts whispery vocals, singing that she wants to please her man, "Take all of me /
I just wanna be the girl you like, girl you like". The closing minute of the song features a French spoken word interpolation, which translates roughly as: "Do you like sex? Sex. I mean, the physical activity. Coitus. Do you like it? You're not interested in sex? Men think that feminists hate sex, but it's a very stimulating and natural activity that women love". David Haglund and Forrest Wickman of ''Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' magazine noted undeniable similarities between this spoken section and a quote by actress Julianne Moore
Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...
in 1998 film ''The Big Lebowski
''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken i ...
''. In May 2014, during an interview with ''Vanity Fair'', Lewinsky addressed the lyrics of the song mentioning her, saying, "Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we're verbing, I think you meant 'Bill Clinton'd all on my gown'".
Critical reception
Glenn Gamboa of ''Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' wrote that Beyoncé "channels her inner Prince, moving from a sweet, girl-group pop sound to Dirty South hip-hop". Michael Cragg of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' highlighted that Beyoncé gives the best explanation of the album's ''raison d'être'' through the line, "Radio say speed it up / I just go slower". He further commended the way Beyoncé half-raps "with a delicious snarl" in the first part of the song. Many critics, including Una Mullalay of ''The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' and Greg Kot
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' welcomed Beyoncé's rapping on "Partition" and compared it to the work of British recording artist M.I.A. Andrew Barker of ''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), ...
'' magazine highlighted that among the songs that discuss sexuality on ''Beyoncé'', "none hold a candle to the absolutely scorching 'Partition'". He also praised how Beyoncé "toss soff a few old-school battle rhymes" with the line, "I sneezed on the beat, and the beat got sicker", being a standout. Similarly, Miles Marshall Lewis of ''Ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...
'' magazine noted that lines like, "I sneezed on the beat and the beat got sicker / Yoncé all on his mouth like liquor", would make listeners smile. He praised how Beyoncé "spills lyrics ... in a confident flow" and concluded, "As a singing rapper, she's still way more precious than ferocious."
Andrew Hampp of ''Billboard'' magazine commended the memorability of the lyrics and wrote that "'Partition' is yet another 'gettin' freaky with my baby' jam, with some of Bey's most frankly sexual lines yet." Similarly, Eliana Dockterman of ''Time'' magazine hailed the lyrical content of "Partition"; she noted that it suitably exemplifies "embodiment of modern feminism for a generation that has been reluctant to claim the word" and further praised how Beyoncé "express sher desire to please er partnerwhile still projecting a fierce, independent persona". Melissa Locker, also writing for ''Time'' magazine, suggested that Beyoncé should work with Timbaland more often as "his sultry beats paired with her R-rated lyrics and the catchy chorus 'It took 45 minutes to get all dressed up / And we ain’t even gonna make it to this club', make a captivating combination". Chris Bosman of the same publication wrote an extensive review of the song:
But Beyoncé is far from being all sentiment. Because a large part of being Beyoncé in America in 2013 is being a sexual creature and not only being unafraid of that fact, but reveling—and reveling confidently—in it. The amorphous, shifting Houston-trap-meets-Noah Shebib trunk rattler 'Partition' exemplifies this particular sentiment. On the track, the Queen Bey tells her driver to put the partition up because 'I don't need you seeing 'Yoncé on her knees'; uses Monica Lewinsky as a euphemism for her man finishing on her clothing; reveals that 'he like to call me Peaches when we get this nasty'; and repeats that it took her '45 minutes to get all dressed up / and we ain't even gonna make it to this club'. And in maybe the wildest moment in an album full of bold moves, Beyoncé actually slips in the French translation of Julianne Moore's 'Feminists love sex' monologue from ''The Big Lebowski''.
Ryan B. Patrick of ''Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'' noted that songs in the vein of "Partition" effectively display genre diversity, Beyoncé's vocal range and "a penchant of musical experimentation". Matthew Perpetua of BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
praised the French spoken section on "Partition", comparing it to the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ( ; born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' as "the most prominent" of a "procession of criticall ...
sample on " Flawless" as she added: "It's good that these ideas aren't directly expressed by Beyoncé herself – in context, these bits are like reblogged quotes that frame her artistic intentions – because she knows she doesn't need to be so didactic when she's actually singing about sex, and to do so would defeat her point about owning her pleasures." Caitlin White of '' The 405'' wrote extensively of "Partition" as a song that effectively shows that Beyoncé "catapults herself out of her very femininity into personhood by positioning female sexuality as a powerful, amorphous construct--one that transcends the female body even while uplifting it." White concluded that the singer does not exalt herself to become "the highest sex object or an egotistical pop princess" but anoints herself "as sexual goddess, she is at once desiring and desired, fulfilled and fulfilling". Mikael Wood of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that "the spooky, almost perversely stripped-down 'Partition' reflect eyoncé'sdetermination, rare among superstars, to keep pushing creatively".
Recognition
In the annual Pazz and Jop
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2013, "Partition" was ranked at number 124. In July the following year, the writers of ''Spin'' magazine placed it at number four on the list of the 57 best songs so far, with a writer of the publication noting something "intensely gratifying about all the raunchiness on the strip-tease, booty-dropping banger" and added that it "oozes stunty swag and immediately became a coy anthem for pop-loving women; a song to flash and strut and snap to, and not only because the beat does too". Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
listed the song 26th on its year-end list for 2014. ''Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'' editor Eliza Thompson ranked "Partition" as the Best Song of 2014 on her year-end list. ''Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' considered Partition the 62nd best song of the 2010s.
Chart performance
On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Partition" debuted at number 86 for the week ending January 25, 2014 without being released as a single. Following several weeks of spending different positions on the chart, it moved from 97 to its peak position of 23 for the week ending March 15, 2014 in its eighth week of charting. The song spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart and it was last seen at the position of 44. "Partition" became Beyoncé's tenth number-one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...
chart, extending her record for the most leaders among women. It also became Beyoncé's twentieth number-one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart for the issue dated May 17, 2014, making her the third artist with the most number-ones on the chart, behind Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
(43) and Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
(22). In August 2022, it was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) denoting sales and streams of 4,000,000 units in that country.
In the United Kingdom, "Partition" entered 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 ...
and the UK R&B Chart
The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...
, at numbers 90 and 15 respectively on March 8, 2014. The following week, it moved to 74 and 12 on the charts respectively, which eventually became its peak positions. In Ireland, the single entered the Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
at its peak position of number 57 for the week ending March 13, 2014. The next week, which also marked its last, it fell to the position of 83 spending a total of two weeks on the chart. Elsewhere, "Partition" charted on the Ultratip
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...
charts in both regions of Belgium, (Wallonia and Flanders), in France and in South Korea.
Music videos
Music videos for "Yoncé" and "Partition" were released on December 13, 2013 on ''Beyoncé'' through the iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
. The video for "Partition" was uploaded to Beyoncé's official Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
account on February 25, 2014 while the one for "Yoncé" was uploaded on November 24, 2014 to coincide with the release of '' Beyoncé: Platinum Edition''.
"Yoncé"
Background and concept
The video for "Yoncé" was directed by Ricky Saiz, and features fashion and video models Chanel Iman
Chanel Iman Robinson (formerly Shepard) (born December 1, 1990) is an American model best known for her work as a Victoria's Secret Angel. ''Vogue Paris'' declared her as one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.
Early life
Iman was born in Atla ...
, Jourdan Dunn
Jourdan Sherise Dunn (born 3 August 1990) is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was t ...
and Joan Smalls
Joan Smalls Rodriguez (born July 11, 1988) is a Puerto Rican supermodel and actress. In 2011, she became the first Latina model to represent Estée Lauder cosmetics. In 2013, she entered ''Forbes'' magazine's "World's Highest-Paid Models" list ...
. Filming took place on the streets of Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. The director wanted to add "a raw, kind of lo-fi, very New York kind of grimy, dark aesthetic" to the video. Through the clip, Beyoncé introduces viewers to her new alter ego Yoncé, whose preferences include Brooklyn, her grill, and "being the hottest girl in the club". Beyoncé was inspired by the visuals of the 1990 David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
-directed video for George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
's "Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
" and she conceptualized of a "contemporary, street version" of the clip for "Yoncé". "Freedom" similarly featured the lip-sync performance of several contemporary supermodels.
Saiz wanted to keep the video mostly in the moment without much narrative; he said, " wanted it to be more about the girls, doing the performance with Beyoncé taking a backseat as a kind of madam character"; in order to convey that idea, the singer does not sing the song's lyrics in the video. He envisioned the clip as being "sexy and provocative, but not so overt", leaning to more sophisticated visuals. In an interview with ''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazine, Saiz affirmed that there are many references to 1990s eroticism and the 1995 video for "Human Nature
Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
" by American singer Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
in the clip for "Yoncé". Elaborating further on the video shoot, Saiz told BuzzFeed, "The girls were incredible. Everyone kind of checked whatever ego at the door and we were all there to make something fun and special." He described the cast as being "spontaneous and not at all contrived". Joan Smalls revealed during an interview that the crew did not follow a certain script while filming and added it was "up for interpretation" - she mentioned the scene where she licks Beyoncé's breast as her own idea, getting inspiration from the song's lyrics.
Synopsis and reception
The video for "Yoncé" opens with a close-up shot of a woman's mouth. Beyoncé and the models are dressed by Karen Langley in leather, fishnets, and straps as they pose against a brick wall, with cameras showing flashes of skin, close-ups of lips, and erotic tongue flicks. During one point in the video, Smalls is seen licking the singer's chest. In one scene, Beyoncé sports a molded bodysuit by Yves Saint Laurent with pierced nipples. During another scene, she is seen with denim shorts, a leather jacket with leopard-print sleeves and a necklace by All Saints Valtari. She is also seen wearing a cut-out orange bodysuit by Hervé Leger
Hervé is a French masculine given name of Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinization was ''Charivius''. Anglicized ...
with a coat and heels. The clip ends with the singer walking on a runway with photographers taking pictures of her and shouting her name. The final scene was meant to be in line with the lyrics "Welcome to Paris" and help it transition to the song's second part, "Partition".
Allison Davis of ''New York'' magazine described the video for "Yoncé" as a "contemporary, gritty and voyeuristic" with "nineties-era eroticism and subtle sexuality", before summarizing the visual as "two minutes and four seconds of fashion and sex". Michael Zelenko of ''The Fader
''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes.
It is o ...
'' found a "hyper-sexualized vision of ruby-red lips, tongues, booty shorts and fish-net body suits" being presented in the clip. Conor Behan of ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' dubbed "Yoncé" as a "street-wise update" of George Michael's "Freedom! '90". ''Entertainment Weekly'' writer Hillary Busis described the video as "super sexy" further praising the singer's showcased persona. Joanna Nikas from ''The New York Times'' described the look of the character Beyoncé portrayed in the video for the song as " erce". Whitney Phaneuf of the website HitFix
HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
noted its concept to be a street styled runway and concluded "The four women pose in gritty back alleys and against brick walls, projecting a tough and seductive image that matches the song." Nicole James of the website Fuse called the clip very "sexy". Erin Donnelly of the website Refinery29
Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media.
History
Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 i ...
deemed the clip one of the "sexiest offerings" by the singer yet. Lindsey Weber writing for Vulture noted that Beyoncé was hardly outshined by the models in the visual. '' Vanity Fair'' editor Michelle Collins praised the fact that the singer was brave enough to "surround herself with three of the world's most beautiful supermodels". A more mixed review came from Brent DiCrescenzo from '' Time Out'' magazine who remarked that the shooting for the video lasted only several hours.
"Partition"
Background and concept
The video for "Partition" was directed by Jake Nava
Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co.
Early life and ed ...
and was shot at the Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
club, Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by wh ...
, with opening scenes filmed at the Château de Ferrières. Jay Z made a brief cameo in the video. It was filmed quickly as he had to travel to London for a concert after the shooting. In a video commentary to the album, Beyoncé said: "The day that I got engaged was my husband's birthday and I took him to Crazy Horse. And I remember thinking, 'Damn, these girls are fly.' I just thought it was the ultimate sexy show I've ever seen. And I was like, 'I wish I was up there, I wish I could perform that for my man...' So that's what I did for the video." Talking about the video, Nava noted that for the shooting Beyoncé was trying to be "even more risque than she's been in the past". While filming, he further tried to "create and capture a bit of genuine intimacy" between the singer and her husband. During a commentary about the video for the song, Beyoncé revealed her motivation to film it by saying,
"I was 195 pounds when I gave birth... I worked crazily to get my body back. I wanted to show my body. I wanted to show that you can have a child and you can work hard and you can get your body back. I know that there's so many women that feel the same thing after they give birth. You can have your child and you can still have fun and still be sexy and still have dreams and still live for yourself. I'm not embarrassed about it, and I don't feel like I have to protect that side of me because I do believe that sexuality is a power we all have."
Synopsis
The story of the video was meant to illustrate the lyrics of the song. It depicts the sexual fantasies of a rich and bored housewife played by Beyoncé who tries to seduce her man while having breakfast at her house wearing a white robe. The video opens with various shots of a big mansion in which the singer is seen in one of the rooms. She tries to get her man's attention while he reads a newspaper. As he does not notice her, she throws a napkin on the floor and her female servant comes to lift it. The clip transitions to scenes of Beyoncé dressed in a Victorian jeweled outfit with a mask in her hands, lip-syncing the lyrics and dancing to the rhythm of the song. Afterwards, she is seen entering a limousine in which Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
is already inside. Scenes of Beyoncé with a black coat and lingerie walking in front of the car are also intertwined throughout.
The car stops in front of the club Crazy Horse. The following scenes show the singer emerging in a different set with a black background, as well as dancing atop a grand piano. Later, she is seen with female hands on her body as she dances seductively. Other scenes show her wearing lingerie and performing a pole dance with several other female dancers. Shortly afterwards, Beyoncé performs a choreographed chair dance across a purple background as Jay-Z is seen in the audience watching her while smoking a cigar. The end of the video shows the singer dancing with another woman next to her to a projected cheetah print. The last seconds cut to the breakfast table where Beyoncé is seen. For the video, the singer wears an archival corset by Christian Lacroix, lace gloves by Chanel
Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
, and a crystal mask by Atelier Swarovski.
Reception
In a video review, Jon Blistein from ''Rolling Stone'' described it as "extravagant, scintillating", further praising the dance moves. He concluded that the ending was in a classic "it-was-all-a-dream fashion" when the scenes cut back to the beginning. Melinda Newman, writing for HitFix described it as NSFW
Not safe for work (NSFW) is Internet slang or shorthand used to mark links to content, videos, or website pages the viewer may not wish to be seen looking at in a public, formal or controlled environment. The marked content may contain nudity, p ...
, highly stylized and a reclaim of the singer's sexuality. Whitney Phanuef of the same website praised the clip as the best on ''Beyoncé'', further highlighting its "unforgettable song/video combination" accompanied with eroticism and Beyoncé's post-child sexuality. Melissa Locker, writing for ''Time'' stated that the singer went "properly XXX" for the "hot" clip and added that it would make viewers think differently about the word "peaches". Edwin Ortiz of ''Complex'' felt that during the various wardrobe changes, each outfit was better than the previous. Ashley Lee from ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' classified the visual as "ornate" and opined that Beyoncé portrayed an aristocrat
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...
daydream
Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...
ing about affection. Similarly, Michael Zelenko of ''The Fader'' described her character as an aristocrat "in desperate need of physical attention" and noted similarities with the film ''True Lies
''True Lies'' is a 1994 American spy action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. ...
'' in the strip scene. John Boone from E! Online praised the overall sexiness of the video and the singer's look in various scenes. Hailing the video "steamy", Dan Reilly of ''Spin'' noted the variety of revealing outfits worn by Beyoncé and concluded " ere's no nudity, but the video certainly comes close". Writing on behalf of '' Vanity Fair'', Michelle Collins stated in her review, "If you're a fan of gorgeously choreographed burlesque routines, as well as women in their thirties who defy the logic of cellulite, 'Partition' is a good starting off point in your journey through Beyoncé's 'Beyoncé.'" Alice Newbold of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' hailed the explicit nature of the video stating how it showed Beyoncé as "one sassy lady on a mission to show she's back in the game".
Conor Behan of ''The Independent'' qualified the clip as being "effortlessly sexy". Jon Dolan of ''Rolling Stone'' described the video for the song as the most NSFW from the album. Brent DiCrescenzo of ''Time Out'' referred to the clip for "Partition" as a classic MTV video. A more negative review came from ''The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' Trent Wolbe who panned Nava's contribution to the album as uninteresting. ''The Daily Telegraph'' writer Sarah Crompton stated that the video looked suitable for a porn website and described its imagery as "strip club dressed up as a Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...
musical". Crompton went on to call the message the video sent "peculiar" and added that the singer should try to become a better role model for young girls. Vivienne Pattison of Mediawatch-uk
Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was a pressure group in the United Kingdom, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of media content that it viewed as harm ...
commented that such visuals showed that Beyoncé had "sold out" and undermined her position as a "role model" and previous "powerful messages that empowered women and girls". In early March 2014, Bill O'Reilly criticized the video for "Partition" during his show ''The O'Reilly Factor
''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
'' broadcast on Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
. He said that it represented glorification of sex in the back of a limousine and offered critique that teenage girls are influenced by the singer, adding, "Why would she do it when she knows the devastation that unwanted pregnancies... and fractured families ..I think Beyoncé, what she has done here, is inexplicable". In response to these claims, Rutger University's Kevin Allred argues that "Beyonce isn’t sensationalizing her own body and putting it on display for viewers to gawk at. Rather, she performs the historical objectification of black female bodies and replays that objectification in order to point out that, stereotypically, black women have had few means of garnering attention beyond sexual performances. She goes so far as forcing the viewer to be complicit in this objectification by positioning them as the direct viewer of the show she is enacting." The video was nominated in the category for Video of the Year at the 2014 BET Awards. At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them ...
it was nominated in the categories for Best Choreography and Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Y ...
.
Live performances
Both "Yoncé" and "Partition" were part of the setlist of the second European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Beyoncé. Announced in February 2013 with initial dates in Europe and North America, the tour contained seven legs and 132 shows. It began in Belgrade, Serbia on April ...
with the first performance of both tracks taking place in Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
at the SSE Hydro arena on February 20, 2014. During the performance of the songs, Beyoncé performed similar choreographies to the ones seen in the music videos of the songs with her background dancers. The end of "Partition" saw Beyoncé appearing with a silhouette, dancing on a couch. While reviewing one of the concerts of the tour, Robert Copsey from Digital Spy noted that the chair dance performed during "Partition" was the dancing highlight of the show. Graeme Virtue of ''The Guardian'' felt that "Partition" along with "Blow" and "Naughty Girl", "make a persuasive case for Mrs Carter, the unstoppable sex machine". BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
' Mark Savage felt that "her new material rom ''Beyoncé''showcases an unparalleled variety of vocal styles, ranges and phrasing" during the concert, something he noticed in the "urban swagger" of "Yoncé".
"Partition" and "Yoncé" were part of the setlist of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's co-headlining On the Run Tour (2014) where both of the songs were performed separately. The performance of "Partition" opened with a new half-minute explicit rap verse sung by Jay-Z seated as crimson light illuminated him. After he finished his part, Beyoncé appeared on stage in front of a digital screen dancing along with her female dancers on stripper poles. Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
's Alex Young chose the song as one of the particular highlights of the show. A pre-recorded performance from that tour was broadcast at the 2014 BET Awards on June 29, 2014. Lily Harrison of E! Online felt that the pair "certainly brought the house down with their sexy performance" while praising Beyoncé's look and accurately performed choreography. Maurice Bobb on behalf of MTV News felt that the BET Awards "saved the best for last" and described the performance as "exciting" despite being pre-recorded. Adam Fleischer of the same publication felt that the rapper was "sprinkling his classic Jay flair all over" in his verse during the performance. ''Spin'' editor Colin Joyce found the duo's delivery of the song to be "stunning". In 2016, "Partition" and "Yoncé" were part of the setlist during The Formation World Tour
The Formation World Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer Beyoncé in support of her sixth studio album, ''Lemonade'' (2016). The all-stadium tour was announced following her guest appearance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. T ...
.
"Partition" and "Yoncé" were both performed by Beyoncé at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them ...
on August 25 as part of a medley consisting of songs from her fifth studio album; she appeared wearing a bejeweled bodysuit and performed a dance choreography on a pole for the former song; "Yoncé" was performed later during her set. HitFix writer Melinda Newman noted that the performance of "Partition" emulated looks and poses from its clip. Nadeska Alexis from MTV News felt that the singer kept the audience "lifted" with the performance of "Yoncé". In a review of her performance, Hilary Hughes of Fuse noted the performance "elicited nothing but chills and rapturous screams".
Cover versions
On January 9, 2014, Azealia Banks
Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. In 2 ...
posted an unofficial remix of the song to her SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
account, featuring Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
. Their remix of the song has an extended intro lasting 90 seconds with the rappers singing "dirty" bars. Reviewers were critical of Rhymes' contribution to the remix, with ''Spin''s Marc Hogan calling it "conventionally porny", and Hayden Manders of Refinery29
Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media.
History
Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 i ...
suggesting it "take the tease of the original's writing and turn it into sleaze." Banks' effort was contrastingly hailed for "delivering the ratatat wordplay that brought her to acclaim while wisely avoiding trying to beat either of the track's other artists for sheer bawdiness" by Hogan and "working perfectly with the deep, subdued beat of Beyoncé's original" by Carolyn Menyes from the website Music Times.
Upon the release of the album and "Partition", the song has been covered by multiple dance crews on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. Writing for ''Billboard'', William Gruger and Jason Lipshutz thought that the dance videos uploaded to YouTube helped "Partition" to appear on charts such as the Hot 100, although there were no official videos released as well as the audio was not available via digital retailers such as Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
or Pandora. They further compared "Partition" to " Harlem Shake", which performed well on charts due to viral videos, later created the meme with the same name. However they also noted the differences that "Partition" was mostly covered by professional choreographers, unlike "Harlem Shake". On March 13, 2014, Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in ''Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006â ...
posted a video where she performed a choreography for "Yoncé" by Michelle "Jersey" Maniscalco, along with four female dancers.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Beyoncé's website.
;Song credits
* 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 ...
– vocals, production, vocal production
* M.I.A. - production
* 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 ...
– production
* Jerome Harmon – production
* Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
– production, background vocals
* Key Wane
Dwane Marshall Weir II (born July 12, 1990) is an American hip hop/R&B producer and songwriter, professionally known as Key Wane. Wane has produced for artists such as Big Sean, Jazmine Sullivan, Beyoncé, Drake, Jhene Aiko, Wale, Lil Wayne, ...
– production
* Mike Dean – additional production
* Boots
A boot is a type of footwear.
Boot or Boots may also refer to:
Businesses
* Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England
* Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom
* The Boot, Cromer Stre ...
– additional production
* Stuart White – recording, mixing
* Chris Godbey – recording
* Ann Mincieli – recording
* Bart Schoudel – recording
* Ramon Rivas – second engineering
* Matt Weber – assistant engineering
* Terius "The Dream" Nash – background vocals
* Niles Hollowell-Dhar
Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988), known professionally as Kshmr (pronounced "Kashmir" and stylized in all caps), is an American songwriter, DJ, music producer, and musician. He was ranked 23rd on ''DJ Mag''s 2015 Top 100 DJs poll and ...
– additional synth sounds
* Derek Dixie
Derek James Dixie is an American musician, record producer, and musical director best known for his work with Beyoncé, Chloe x Halle, and The Carters. He has five Grammy nominations and one Emmy nomination.
Early life and education
Dixie gre ...
– additional synth sounds, mix consultation
* Hajiba Fahmy – spoken words recording
* Tony Maserati
Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen ...
– mixing
* James Krausse – mix engineering
* Justin Hergett – assistant mix engineering
* Chris Tabron – assistant mix engineering
* Matt Wiggers – assistant mix engineering
* Tom Coyne – mastering
* Aya Merrill – mastering
;Video credits
;"Yoncé"
*Featuring: Jourdan Dunn
Jourdan Sherise Dunn (born 3 August 1990) is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was t ...
, Chanel Iman
Chanel Iman Robinson (formerly Shepard) (born December 1, 1990) is an American model best known for her work as a Victoria's Secret Angel. ''Vogue Paris'' declared her as one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.
Early life
Iman was born in Atla ...
, Joan Smalls
Joan Smalls Rodriguez (born July 11, 1988) is a Puerto Rican supermodel and actress. In 2011, she became the first Latina model to represent Estée Lauder cosmetics. In 2013, she entered ''Forbes'' magazine's "World's Highest-Paid Models" list ...
*Director: Ricky Saiz
*Creative Director: Todd Tourso
*Director of Photography: Jackson Hunt
*Executive Producer: Jonathan Lia
*Producers: Christopher Kublan, Tamsin Glasson
*Production Company: Good Company, Colonel Blimp
*Stylist: Lysa Cooper, Karen Langley
*Additional Styling: TY Hunter, Raquel Smith, Tim White
*Art Director: Ruth Crawford
*Editors: Adam "Zuk" Zuckerman, Alexander Hammer
*Brand Manager: Melissa Vargas
*Hair: Nikki Nelms, Neal Farinah
*Make-Up: Francesca Tolot, Sir John
*Color Correction: Tom Poole for C03
*V FX: The Artery
*Photography: Mason Poole, Robin Harper, Yorsa El-Essawy
;"Partition"
*Featuring: Jay-Z, Crazy Horse Paris, and The Crazy Horse Dancers
*Director: Jake Nava
*Director of Photography: Paul Laufer
*Executive Producer: Erinn Williams
*Producer: Benedict Cooper
*Production Company: Cherry Films, Parkwood Entertainment
*Choreography: Svettlana Kostantinova, Philippe Decoufle
*Additional Choreography: Danielle Polanco, Frank Gatson
*Dancers: Dekka Dance, Kim Gingras, Diane De Longchamps, Veus Oceane, Gloria Di Parma, Candy St Louis, Trauma Tease, Fasty Wizz, Zula Zazou
*Stylist: B. Ã…kerlund
*Additional Styling: TY Hunter, Raquel Smith, Tim White
*Art Directors: Arnaud Putman, Renaud Deschamps
*Editor: Alexander Hammer
*Brand Manager: Melissa Vargas
*Hair: Neal Farinah
*Make-Up: Francesca Tolot
*Color Correction: Ron Sudul for Nice Shoes
*V FX: The Artery
*Assistant Editor: Joe Sinopoli
*Photography: Robin Harper
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
* List of number-one dance singles of 2014 (U.S.)
References
External links
*An article on ''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 ...
'' about the impact of "Partition":
{{Authority control
2013 songs
2014 singles
Beyoncé songs
Macaronic songs
Music videos directed by Jake Nava
Music videos shot in France
Song recordings produced by Beyoncé
Song recordings produced by Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon
Song recordings produced by Justin Timberlake
Song recordings produced by Key Wane
Song recordings produced by Timbaland
Songs written by Beyoncé
Songs written by Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon
Songs written by Justin Timberlake
Songs written by The-Dream
Songs written by Timbaland
Songs with feminist themes
Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)
Songs written by Key Wane