"Energy" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American singer
Beyoncé featuring Jamaican rapper
Beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
* Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
** Laser beam
* Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...
. It is the fifth track on the former's seventh studio album
''Renaissance'' (2022), which was released on July 29, 2022, through
Parkwood and
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
. The song serves as an interlude between "
Cuff It
"Cuff It" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her seventh studio album, '' Renaissance'' (2022). The song was written and produced by Beyoncé, Nova Wav, Morten Ristorp, Raphael Saadiq and The-Dream, with additional writing by Nile Rodg ...
" and "
Break My Soul
"Break My Soul" is a single by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on June 20, 2022, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records as the lead single from Beyoncé's seventh studio album, ''Renaissance'' (2022). Th ...
".
Controversy
American singer and songwriter
Kelis
Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perfor ...
, whose 2003 single "
Milkshake
A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mix ...
" was interpolated on "Energy", criticized Beyoncé for not notifying her in advance, calling its use a "theft" and saying that she felt "disrespect and utter ignorance" were displayed both by Beyoncé and by
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...
and
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...
of
the Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...
. Both Williams and Hugo were credited on "Energy" for writing and producing "Milkshake". The interpolation of "Milkshake" was later removed from the song on streaming services following Kelis' unhappiness about not being notified about the use of "Milkshake" in "Energy".
Kelis subsequently stated that she was "actually
appy Appy may refer to:
* Christian Appy (born 1955), professor of history
* Appy, Ariège, a commune in the Ariège department of southwestern France
* Appy Awards, for popular applications for mobile devices
* Appy Entertainment, American videogame ...
with that outcome. Other artists who were sampled on the album thanked Beyoncé for referencing their contributions, particularly emphasizing the album's role in honoring
Black queer and trans culture. They include
Ts Madison
Ts Madison Hinton (born October 22, 1977), also known as Maddie, is an American reality television personality, actress, and LGBT activist. With the reality show ''The Ts Madison Experience'', she became the first black trans woman to star in and ...
, whose viral video clip "Bitch, I'm Black" is sampled on "Cozy";
Robin S.
Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and "Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bill ...
, whose 1990
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
hit "
Show Me Love" is credited on lead single "Break My Soul";
Kevin Aviance
Kevin Aviance (born Eric Snead on June 22, 1968) is an American drag queen, club/dance musician, fashion designer and nightclub personality. He is a personality in New York City's gay scene and has performed throughout North America, Europe and ...
, whose song "Cunty" is sampled on "Pure/Honey"; and
ballroom
A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic ma ...
commentator
Kevin JZ Prodigy, whose chants are borrowed from the 2009 DJ
MikeQ
Michael Cox, known by the stage name MikeQ, is an American DJ, musician, music producer, and prominent figure in the ballroom community. He is the founder of the record label Qween Beat. In 2020 MikeQ was the DJ for HBO's Legendary.
Early life ...
track "Feels Like" on "Pure/Honey".
Critical reception
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' critic Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that lyrically the song is "
minimal and
onomatopoeic
Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...
" and the words are "in service to the vibe, a melodic extension of
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
".
Kyle Denis of
''Billboard'' found that it is "a support beam for neighboring songs, and still a grand ole time in its own right" thanks to "one of the most talked-about lyrics on the album" for the phrase "Cause them
Karens
The Karen, kjp, ပ်ုဖၠုံဆိုဒ်, my, ကရင်လူမျိုး, , th, กะเหรี่ยง ( ), also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group of Sino-Tibetan language� ...
just turned into terrorists". ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' writer Tara Joshi selected "Energy" as the example of the "flow as a continuous mix" of the album.
Commercial performance
After the release of ''Renaissance'', "Energy" debuted on the ''
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 advertis ...
''
Hot 100 chart at number 27 and on 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 at number 12.
Live performance
Beyoncé first performed "Energy" on the
Renaissance World Tour (2023), with the opening night taking place in
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm () is the capital and most populous city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately
1 million people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 millio ...
. The song was performed during the "Motherboard" act of the tour, following "
Cuff It
"Cuff It" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her seventh studio album, '' Renaissance'' (2022). The song was written and produced by Beyoncé, Nova Wav, Morten Ristorp, Raphael Saadiq and The-Dream, with additional writing by Nile Rodg ...
". The "Wetter" remix of "Cuff It" served as a transition between the two songs, with it being sung over the instrumental of "Energy", which included elements of "
End of Time" and "
Love You Down
"Love You Down" is the title of an R&B song written by Melvin Riley Jr. Riley's former band, Ready for the World, originally recorded the song in 1986 and released it as the lead single from their second album, '' Long Time Coming'' produced by ...
". Beyoncé's dancers are seen walking down in poses, before strutting down the catwalk towards the secondary stage. Before the chorus, when Beyoncé sings the lyric "look around, everybody on mute", the music goes silent for a couple seconds, leading fans to make a challenge to see which tour date's audiences could stay "on mute" the longest. This would be referred as the "mute challenge".
At the end of the performance, the original interpolations of "Milkshake" are heard before the song seamlessly transitions into "
Break My Soul
"Break My Soul" is a single by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on June 20, 2022, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records as the lead single from Beyoncé's seventh studio album, ''Renaissance'' (2022). Th ...
" like it does on the album.
Personnel and credits
Samples
* contains an interpolation of "
Ooh La La La", written by
Mary Brockert
Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...
and Allen McGrier and performed by
Teena Marie
Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...
* contains a sample of "Explode", written by
Freddie Ross and Adam Piggot and performed by
Big Freedia
Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by his stage name Big Freedia ( ), is an American rapper and performer known for his work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popu ...
.
* contains an interpolation of "
Milkshake
A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mix ...
", written by
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...
and
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...
and performed by
Kelis
Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perfor ...
(later removed on digital and streaming versions).
Recording locations
* The Juicy Juicy (Los Angeles, California)
* Kings Landing West (Los Angeles, California)
* Parkwood West (Los Angeles, California)
Personnel
Performers
* Vocals by Beyoncé and Beam
* Additional vocals by Big Freedia
* Beam – drums
* Al Cres – drums
*
NovaWav – additional synths
*
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
– drums
Technical credits
* Beam – production
* Beyoncé – production, vocal production
* Matheus Braz – assistant engineering
* Chi Coney – engineering
* Al Cres – production
* John Cranfield – engineering
* Brandon Harding – engineering
* NovaWav – additional production
* Andrea Roberts – engineering
* Skrillex – production
*
Stuart White – mixing, recording
Charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy (Beyonce song)
2022 songs
Beyoncé songs
Sampling controversies
Songs written by Beyoncé
Songs written by Chad Hugo
Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Songs written by Skrillex
Songs written by The-Dream
Song recordings produced by Beyoncé
Song recordings produced by Skrillex