"Green Light" is a song recorded by American singer
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
. The song was written by Beyoncé,
Sean Garrett
Garrett Robin Hamler (born March 30, 1979), known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is known his songwriting work on a series of commercially successful R&B and hip-hop songs, beginning with Ush ...
, and
Pharrell
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...
for Beyoncé's second solo studio album, ''
B'Day'' (2006). Produced by
the Neptunes
The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...
, it was released as the fourth UK and sixth overall single on July 27, 2007 through
. "Green Light" is an R&B-
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
song with lyrics detailing a break-up song in which the female protagonist gives her
love interest
(; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...
the permission to move out. The song also finds Beyoncé using a fairly aggressive tone. A remix of the song features American rapper
Young Buck
David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), better known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 1997, formed the hip hop collective UTP with Juvenile and Soulja Slim in 2000, and j ...
, and was produced by
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...
.
"Green Light" was well received by music critics who universally praised the beat, bass, groove, and angry tone used by Beyoncé in the song. The single performed moderately on charts, peaking at number twelve on the
UK Singles Chart and at number 46 in Ireland. The
Freemasons
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
remix of the track peaked at number eighteen on the
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...
chart. The single's accompanying music video was directed by
Melina Matsoukas
Melina Matsoukas (born January 14, 1981) is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner for her "We Found Love" and " Formation" music video ...
and co-directed by Beyoncé. It is inspired by
Robert Palmer
Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...
's 1985 music video "
Addicted to Love". Beyoncé considered the video (which is her second to feature her all-female tour band
Suga Mama
"Suga Mama" is a song by American singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, ''B'Day (Beyoncé album), B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison, and Makeba Riddick, and produced by Harrison and Knowles. "Suga Mama" is i ...
) her toughest shoot. The song was a part of the
set list
A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance.
A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
on her world tour
the Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé, in-support of her sophomore studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). The Beyoncé Experience consisted of 96 shows in 2007, spread-out over five legs. Fan club t ...
(2007).
Background and release
After filming ''
Dreamgirls
''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...
'' in which Beyoncé landed a major role, she went on a month-long vacation. On the break she went to the studio to start working on her second solo album, ''
B'Day''.
She was inspired by her role and she "had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas".
Beyoncé contacted American singer-songwriter
Sean Garrett
Garrett Robin Hamler (born March 30, 1979), known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is known his songwriting work on a series of commercially successful R&B and hip-hop songs, beginning with Ush ...
, who had worked with her in
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...
and on her 2006 single "
Check on It
"Check on It" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. It was written by her, Swizz Beatz, Sean Garrett, Angela Beyincé and Slim Thug, and produced by Swizz Beatz. Serving as the main theme of the 2006 film ''The Pink Panther'', in whic ...
".
Together with
Pharrell
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...
, who had also previously collaborated with Beyoncé, Garrett was booked to
Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhat ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, each had studio to work in.
The track was co-produced by Beyoncé and
The Neptunes
The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...
, along with "Kitty Kat", and was recorded by Jim Caruana and mixed by Jason Goldstein at the same studio.
In June 2006, Beyoncé invited Tamara Coniff 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 advertis ...
'' magazine to a New York recording studio.
There she premiered several songs from the album including "
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett. Columbia Records released "Ring the Alarm" as the second sin ...
" (2006) and "
Freakum Dress" (2006), which both were cited as possible second singles, to be released in the United States only.
At the same time, she revealed that "Green Light" and "
Get Me Bodied" (2007), were planned to be released as the next two international/third US singles from ''
B'Day'', following the release of the
lead single
A lead single (or first 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.
A similar term, "debut ...
"
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has
lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...
" (2006).
However, she ultimately opted for "
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett. Columbia Records released "Ring the Alarm" as the second sin ...
" (2006) as the second single to be released in the United States only while "
Irreplaceable
"Irreplaceable" is a song by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, ''B'Day'' (2006). The song was written by Ne-Yo, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Espionage (production team), Espen Lind, Amund Bj� ...
" (2006) was officially serviced as the album's second international/third US single.
"Green Light" was released later in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on July 30, 2007 as the seventh overall single, following the international release "
Beautiful Liar
"Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer Beyoncé and Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Bey ...
" (2007).
Along with the release of the single, a
digital EP featuring remixes from the English production team
Freemasons
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, was made available on July 27, 2007 as an online digital download.
Music and lyrics
"Green Light" is an
R&B-
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
song performed with "vivace"
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
.
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
EMI Music Publishing
EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing.
In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...
, the song is written in the
key of
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
The A natural minor scale is:
Changes needed for the melodic ...
with a moderate
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
...
of 132
beats per minute
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
.
The chord follows the Fm-G♭ key series with an occasional shift to additional B♭m
7.
Beyoncé's vocals range from the note of
C4 to
F5.
The song is built on a ripping
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, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...
and features "a more organic"
beat
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
.
Green Light" features "uh-huh huh huh" vocals and uses brassy stabs which a reviewer from ''
Guardian Unlimited
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' found to be a "direct echo to '
Crazy in Love
"Crazy in Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé featuring guest vocals from American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Rich Harrison, and produced by the last two. "Crazy in Love" is a pop, hip hop, and ...
'." According to ''
The London Paper
''The London Paper'' (stylised as ''thelondonpaper'') was a free daily newspaper, published by NI Free Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International (who also own the companies that publish ''The Sun'' and ''The Times''). It was available fr ...
'', the "uh-oh-oh-oh-oh" vocals in "Green Light" is an "imitation of
Amerie
Amerie Mi Marie Rogers Nicholson (born January 12, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and writer. She has released four studio albums to date: '' All I Have'' (2002), ''Touch'' (2005), '' Because I Love It'' (2007), '' In Love & W ...
's performance" in her 2005 single "
1 Thing". "Green Light" also displays
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
percussion as well as sampled
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
horns
Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (anatomy)
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...
,
and uses a fairly aggressive tone.
Conforming to Jon Pareles of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "Green Light" is a break-up song in which the female protagonist gives her love interest the permission to move out. This is shown in the lines of the
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
: "Go! Go!"
The lyrics are constructed in the traditional
verse-chorus form. The song starts with an intro in which Beyoncé sings, "Give it to mama".
Jaime Gill of
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008.
Pro ...
commented that "Green Light" seems to be all "slink and minimalism before a surging come-on of a
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in whic ...
."
It follows the verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus pattern giving way to the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
.
Beyoncé repeats the chorus, ending the song.
Critical reception
"Green Light" received highly positive reception from critics. Eb Haynes of
AllHipHop
''AllHipHop'' is a hip-hop news website founded by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur in 1998.
History
The website was founded in 1998 by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur. In 1997, Watkins registered the allhiphop.com domain to promote the artist ...
referred to "Green Light" as a "classic Pharrell-Neptunes groove".
Andy Kellman of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
described the track as an "ambitious, fleet-footed number that continually switches tempos and sounds".
Spence D. of
IGN music
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former edi ...
stated, "'Green Light' brings things back down to pseudo earthiness; both with the slightly more organic sounding Neptunes beat."
He felt that the "rippling bassline sounds really familiar, like it's been used in other Neptunes' produced tracks before"....
Jaime Gill of
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008.
Pro ...
said that "Green Light" is "the best thing Pharrell and co have done in a long, long while."
Roger Friedman
Roger Dattyres Friedman (born June 11, 1957) is an American journalist and gossip blogger. of
Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
considered "Green Light" as his second choice as the song having the greatest potential to become a massive hit after "
Irreplaceable
"Irreplaceable" is a song by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, ''B'Day'' (2006). The song was written by Ne-Yo, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Espionage (production team), Espen Lind, Amund Bj� ...
" (2006). Thomas Inskeep of
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
gave a mixed review for the song commenting that it's one of the "tired random-percussion tracks
..that goes nowhere."
Commercial performance
With the album version of the song being available digitally as soon as the album was released, "Green Light" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 152 after the video aired in early July 2007,
and then rose to number seventy-eight on July 28, 2007. Because of heavy radio airplay of the Freemasons remix, as soon as it was available, the song climbed sixty places from number seventy-seven to number seventeen on August 11, 2007, and then to number twelve,
giving Beyoncé her eleventh top twenty hit in the United Kingdom. "Green Light" became Beyoncé's highest charting single on downloads alone on the UK Singles Chart without a prominent featured artist. The UK commercial CD single was cancelled at the last minute, which means it did not receive a physical release. This explains why the single failed to reach a higher position.
"Green Light" stayed on the chart for nine weeks.
In
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the single debuted at number forty-six on August 23, 2007, and dropped off the chart a week later. The Freemasons remix of the track debuted at number thirty on the
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...
chart on September 8, 2007. It propelled to number nineteen, and peaked at number eighteen on September 29, 2007.
It remained on the chart for six weeks. On the other hand, the album version of "Green Light" peaked at number twenty on the Dutch
Mega Single Top 100
The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutc ...
on September 22, 2007.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Green Light" was directed by
Melina Matsoukas
Melina Matsoukas (born January 14, 1981) is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner for her "We Found Love" and " Formation" music video ...
and co-directed by Beyoncé. Filmed in early 2007, it was one of the videos shot in two weeks for the ''
B'Day Anthology Video Album'' (2007) and was one out of eight previously unseen clips. "Green Light" was the third video shot during the sessions.
The clip was inspired mainly by
Robert Palmer
Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...
's 1985 music video "
Addicted to Love" with its "stone-faced models pretending to play guitars".
"Green Light" was considered by Beyoncé as a modern version of the video because they used the instruments as props.
Beyoncé also revealed that the scenes reminded her of
Vanity 6
Vanity 6 was an American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégées of musician Prince. Led by singer Vanity, they are known for their song " Nasty Girl". Vanity left in 1983 and the band was reformed as ...
.
A short "
Kitty Kat
Katharina Löwel (born 22 January 1982), better known under her stage name Kitty Kat or Kitten Ket, is a German rapper and singer. She became famous as an Aggro Berlin member, where she was signed from 2006 to 2009.
Biography
Katharina Löwel ...
" clip opens the "Green Light" video. Beyoncé considered "Green Light" the "toughest video" to shoot.
Besides the latex rubber clothing, she and her back-up dancers had to wear
ballet-pointe heels.
The shoes blistered her feet and gave muscle spasms due to the 18-hour session.
Beyoncé invited her all-female tour band,
Suga Mama
"Suga Mama" is a song by American singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, ''B'Day (Beyoncé album), B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison, and Makeba Riddick, and produced by Harrison and Knowles. "Suga Mama" is i ...
, to make their second appearance in a video after their debut performance on the music video for "
Irreplaceable
"Irreplaceable" is a song by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, ''B'Day'' (2006). The song was written by Ne-Yo, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Espionage (production team), Espen Lind, Amund Bj� ...
" (2006).
The video was posted on the
MTV Overdrive
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
on March 28, 2007.
Live performances
On September 6, 2006, Beyoncé promoted the album ''
B'Day'' with a performance of "Green Light" on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
''. On April 2, 2007 she also appeared on the ''
Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
'', to promote the deluxe edition of ''B'Day'', which was released the following day.
Beyoncé sang the Spanglish version of "Irreplaceable" and "Green Light".
The song was included as a part of her
set list
A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance.
A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
on
The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé, in-support of her sophomore studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). The Beyoncé Experience consisted of 96 shows in 2007, spread-out over five legs. Fan club t ...
. On August 5, 2007, Beyoncé performed the song at the
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, wearing a sparkly silver dress with a long train.
For the performance, Beyoncé also brought out her squad of six female dancers.
According to Shaheem Reid of
MTV News
MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...
, all the women moved with the precision "of a Navy Seal strike force", slaying the crowd with their synchronized dances.
Jon Pareles of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised the performance, stating: "Beyoncé needs no distractions from her singing, which can be airy or brassy, tearful or vicious, rapid-fire with staccato syllables or sustained in curlicued melismas. But she was in constant motion, strutting in costumes
...
According to Tonya Turner of ''
The Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
'', the performance of "Green Light", "moved fans to screams of endearment." In Los Angeles, Beyoncé gave a full-length performance of the song, dressed in a sparkly silver dress with a long train. It was executed with several female backup dancers, and live instrumentation. "Green Light" was included as on her live album ''
The Beyoncé Experience Live
''The Beyoncé Experience Live'' is the third live and fourth video album by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released through Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment on November 16, 2007. It was filmed at the Staples Cent ...
'' (2007).
Track listings and formats
*Digital download
# "Green Light" – 3:29
# "Green Light" (Freemasons Remix) – 3:19
# "Green Light" (Remix featuring
Young Buck
David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), better known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 1997, formed the hip hop collective UTP with Juvenile and Soulja Slim in 2000, and j ...
) - 4:19
*UK Freemasons Digital EP
# "Green Light" (Freemasons Remix) – 3:19
# "
Beautiful Liar
"Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer Beyoncé and Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Bey ...
" (Freemasons Club Remix)
(featuring Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
) – 7:31
# "
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has
lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...
" (Freemasons Radio Mix)
(featuring Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
) – 3:15
# "
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett. Columbia Records released "Ring the Alarm" as the second sin ...
" (Freemasons Club Mix Radio Edit) – 3:26
Credits and personnel
Credits are taken from ''B'Day''s
liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards.
Origin
Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
.
*Andrew Coleman – assistant recording
*Jim Caruana –
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, re ...
*
Sean Garrett
Garrett Robin Hamler (born March 30, 1979), known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is known his songwriting work on a series of commercially successful R&B and hip-hop songs, beginning with Ush ...
–
writing
Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...
*Jason Goldstein –
mixing
*Rob Kinelski – assistant recording
*
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
– writing,
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
*
The Neptunes
The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...
– production
*Steve Tolle – assistant mixing
*
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...
– writing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Light (Beyonce Knowles song)
2006 songs
2007 singles
Beyoncé songs
American funk songs
Music videos directed by Melina Matsoukas
Song recordings produced by the Neptunes
Songs written by Sean Garrett
Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Songs written by Beyoncé
Columbia Records singles
Song recordings produced by Beyoncé
American contemporary R&B songs