"Heated" 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, ...

. It is the eleventh track on her seventh studio album, ''Renaissance'' (2022), which was released on July 29, 2022, through Parkwood and Columbia.

Composition and lyrics

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'' writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd described the song as an "a pulsing

afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

track". Michaelangelo Matos of ''

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'' described as a "neo-dancehall form over a slinky, wood-block-heavy groove". The song also features elements of

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 histori ...

music. "Heated" referred to Beyoncé's "Uncle" Jonny, her

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

Uncle who introduce the singer to post-1970s Black

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and

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, concept of ''Renaissance.'' The song was considered a tribute to "Uncle" Jonny, who helped raise her until his death during the

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. The song contains a sample of "Where to Land", written by Travis Garland, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray Charles McCullough II and performed by Travis Garland.

Controversy

The song was met with criticism online for its use of the word " spaz" in its lyrics, which disability advocates said is an

ableist Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against physically or mentally disabled people. Ableism characterizes people as they are ...

slur. Other users online said that "spaz" has a different meaning in

African-American English African-American English (AAE) is the umbrella term for English dialects spoken predominantly by Black people in the United States and, less often, in Canada; most commonly, it refers to a dialect continuum ranging from African-American Vernacu ...

and is synonymous with "freaking out". Beyoncé announced the following day that the word would be removed from the song, with the word soon being replaced with "blast".

Live performance

Beyoncé first performed "Heated" in

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on the opening night of the

Renaissance World Tour The Renaissance World Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. Her highest-grossing tour to date, it was staged in support of her seventh studio album, ''Renaissance (Beyoncé album), Renaissance'' (2022). The to ...

, including it on the setlist for the duration of the tour. The robot arms from the "Cozy" performance returned to the stage holding mechanical fans, referring to the line "I gotta fan myself off." Pyrotechnics went off throughout the song. Beyoncé retained "Heated" for the

Cowboy Carter Tour The Cowboy Carter Tour (full title Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour) is the ongoing tenth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé, in support of her eighth studio album, ''Cowboy Carter'' (2024). An all-stadium ...

in 2025. It immediately followed "Cuff It" and has her returning to the main stage on a flying, glowing horseshoe. The song is mashed with " Boots on the Ground" by 803Fresh, continuing the connection to fans with the "Where them fans at?" line.

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Beyoncé songs Beyoncé songs 2022 songs Obscenity controversies in music Song recordings produced by Beyoncé Song recordings produced by Boi-1da Songs written by Beyoncé Songs written by Boi-1da Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Sevn Thomas