''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter

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 was released on November 12, 2008, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and

Music World Entertainment Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé a ...

. In its original release, ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was formatted as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

, intending to market Beyoncé's

dichotomous A dichotomy () is a partition of a set, partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothi ...

artistic persona. The first disc ''I Am...'' contains slow and midtempo

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and R&B

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s, while the second, ''Sasha Fierce''—titled after Beyoncé's on-stage

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

—focuses on more uptempo beats that blend

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

and

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

elements. In composing the songs' lyrics, Beyoncé worked with writers, with each session accompanied by live orchestration. She credited both her husband—rapper

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 ...

—and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

for inspiring her to push the limits of her songwriting and artistry. Musically, ''I Am...'' drew inspiration from

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, while blending acoustic guitar elements into contemporary ballads, and its tracks were written and produced by Beyoncé, during collaborative efforts with

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

Tricky Stewart Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. Stewart, a five-time Grammy Award recipient, began producing music in 1992 and has contributed to unit s ...

The-Dream Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant ('' né'' Youngdell Nash; born September 20, 1977), known professionally as The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for having written or co-produced songs for artists in ...

and

Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...

. Meanwhile, ''Sasha Fierce'' boasted production from Darkchild and

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 ...

. ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' received mixed to positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart with first-week sales of 482,000 units and earning Beyoncé her third consecutive US number-one solo album. The album has earned one diamond and over thirty platinum certifications in separate worldwide markets, being certified seven-times 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) after shipping over seven million units in the United States. ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' has sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. The album garnered seven

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations at the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...

ceremony (2010), including a nomination for Album of the Year, winning five. With a sixth win during the ceremony, Beyoncé broke the record for most awards won in one night by a female artist. The album was marketed with the release of several singles, including " If I Were a Boy" and "

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her third studio album, '' I Am... Sasha Fierce'' (2008). Columbia Records released "Single Ladies" as a single on October 8, 2008, as a double A-side alongside " If I ...

", both of which charted highly internationally. The former topped the charts in over ten countries and reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with the latter becoming her fifth number-one single on the Hot 100 chart. "

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

" and " Ego" were released exclusively in the United States, while "

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

" and " Sweet Dreams" were promoted internationally as the third and fourth singles, respectively. "

Broken-Hearted Girl "Broken-Hearted Girl" is a song by American singer Beyoncé for her third studio album '' I Am... Sasha Fierce'' (2008). Written by Beyoncé, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and production duo Stargate, it was initially a classic rhythm and blues s ...

" was released internationally as the fifth single, while " Video Phone" was released in September 2009 as the overall eighth, and " Why Don't You Love Me" was released in July 2010 as the ninth and final single. To further promote the album, Beyoncé made several award show and televised appearances across Europe and America, and embarking on the worldwide I Am... Tour (2009–10).

Recording and production

The recording of the album took place over a nine-month period. Beyoncé recorded the album in sessions at Bangladesh Studios,

PatchWerk Recording Studios Patchwerk Recording Studios is a recording studio located at 1094 Hemphill Avenue, West Midtown in Atlanta, GA. It was established in 1993 by former NFL offensive tackle Bob Whitfield of the Atlanta Falcons, and is currently owned and operated ...

, Silent Sound Studios and Tree Sound Studios in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

;

Chung King Studios Chung King Studios was a recording studio that operated in New York City under that name from 1986 to 2015. It was founded by producer John King and engineer Steve Ett with financial backing from the Etches brothers, occupying three different loca ...

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

, Roc the Mic Studios and Strawberrybee Productions 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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

; GAD Studios in

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

; Mansfield Studios and The Campground in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

; South Beat Studios in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

; and The Boom Boom Room in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

. Beyoncé either co-wrote or co-produced all material on ''I Am... Sasha Fierce''. She collaborated with several

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

s, including

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

(production duo composed of Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen),

, Darkchild,

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She expressed an interest in music from an early age and had temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, which featured her older sister ...

Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), known professionally as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer and songwriter from South Florida. He has produced for numerous musical artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayn ...

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisco ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Ian Dench Ian Alec Harvey Dench (born 7 August 1964) is an English songwriter and musician. He is the guitarist and principal songwriter for EMF, who scored a major international hit reaching number 1 in the United States with " Unbelievable" in 1991. I ...

Dave McCracken Dave McCracken is a British songwriter and music producer. He has produced Ian Brown's solo albums: '' Golden Greats'', '' Music of the Spheres'', '' Solarized'', and ''My Way''. Additionally, he produced Phoebe Green's second album, ''Lucky Me ...

Wayne Wilkins Wayne Wilkins is a British record producer, songwriter, record engineer and record mixer. He has produced and written for artists such as Rick Astley ("Cry for Help"), Natasha Bedingfield (" These Words", " Single" and " Love Like This"), Bey ...

and

Blac Elvis Elvis Williams (born April 12, 1981), better known as Blac Elvis, is an American record producer, musician, and songwriter. Career He rose to fame in 2005 co-producing alongside Polow da Don, producing hits for Ludacris, Ciara, Kelly Rowland, F ...

. Beyoncé also collaborated with some musicians she had never worked with in the past, such as

Toby Gad Tobias "Toby" Gad (born 28 March 1968) is a German music producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He is known for co-writing songs including John Legend's biggest hit, " All of Me", the fifth-highest certified single in RIAA history, and for ...

and

BC Jean Brittany Jean Carlson (born April 22, 1987), better known by her stage name BC Jean, is an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing the song " If I Were a Boy" with which Beyoncé would later achieve worldwide commercial suc ...

on " If I Were a Boy"; she also worked again with

Amanda Ghost Amanda Louisa Gosein-Cameron (born 10 July 1974), known professionally as Amanda Ghost, is a British entertainment executive, songwriter and singer. She was the president of Epic Records from 2009 until 2010. Ghost is a three-time Ivor Novello A ...

on "Disappear". For the ''I Am...'' disc, Beyoncé was influenced by

and

genres, while incorporating other instruments she had not normally used previously, such as the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

. Tedder specifically assisted Beyoncé with crafting the album's

balladry A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

. The ballads were crafted in a way to combine "the best elements" of

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, while simultaneously "expanding the possibilities of both genres". Beyoncé attempted something different as people had strong expectations from her; she experimented with stronger lyrics. Beyoncé worked with Ghost to re-write

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

" after having co-written "Disappear" in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Ghost told ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' that they were both inspired by their then-recent marriages and had walked down the aisle to "Ave Maria". The song "Smash Into You", featured on the deluxe edition of the album, was originally slated to appear on Jon McLaughlin's sophomore album OK Now under the name "Smack Into You", but was cut from the finalized tracklist after it was leaked online and was subsequently given to Knowles. During the nine-month period between November 2007 and August 2008, Beyoncé recorded over seventy songs and decided during the editing process that she did not want to reconcile the two approaches into one disc. If a song was meaningless to her, she would cut it off during the process of elimination for the final track listing. After a process of elimination, twelve tracks were selected to be placed on the standard edition of the album, while five additional tracks were chosen to make the final cut for the deluxe edition of the album. Beyoncé later revealed that songs from established producers like

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 ...

and Danja were not able to make the final cut.

Music and lyrics

In an interview for ''

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, Beyoncé described ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' as a

. She said, "One side has songs that are more mainstream and another has my more traditional R&B songs for my fans who've been there the whole time. Some of it sounds like

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and early drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard. Wi ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

around the 1970s." Music writer 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 ...

viewed its first disc as "essentially a small set of

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

ballads. Acoustic guitars, pianos, strings, contemplative soul searching, and grand sweeping gestures fill it out, with more roots in ' 90s

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

than

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 ...

." The second disc, ''Sasha Fierce'', contains consistent electronic influences, which are displayed in songs like "

Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

" and " Sweet Dreams". Kellman said in his review that "

" resembles ''B'Days "

Freakum Dress "Freakum Dress" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her second solo studio album '' B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Rich Harrison, Angela Beyincé and Makeba Riddick. "Freakum Dress" received comparisons to Destiny's Child son ...

" or "

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 ...

" in terms of audacity. Despite being on the ''Sasha Fierce'' disc, " Ego", " Why Don't You Love Me" and "Scared of Lonely" were noted to be a meeting ground between the album's halves. According to Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News, they resemble ''Sasha Fierce'' musically, but thematically and lyrically, they are vulnerable like Beyoncé on the ''I Am...'' disc. The album formally introduces Beyoncé's

Sasha Fierce. She revealed that Sasha was born during the making of her hit single "

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 ...

" (2003). In an interview with Emmet Sullivan of ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' magazine, Beyoncé affirmed that her alter ego is strictly for the stage, with the editor describing Sasha Fierce as the singer's sensual, aggressive alter ego. " If I Were a Boy", the first single of ''I Am...'', stands as the only song on either disc that Beyoncé did not co-write.

, who wrote most of the song's lyrics, took inspiration from a poor relationship. Beyoncé explained in ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'' that "If I Were a Boy" is different from her previous songs in the sense that it is not a traditional R&B song. Music critics remarked that the song seemed to be a mixture of her hit single "

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), Fergie's single " Big Girls Don't Cry" (2007), and

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

's single " Like a Boy" (2007).

Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and popular music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also written for other publicat ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' saw the song's theme of female empowerment as an expansion on that of "Irreplaceable". Musically, "Single Ladies" is an

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

and R&B song, and features

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and bounce influences. According to Jonah Weiner of ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'', the song makes a clear reference to marriage while

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 an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' felt that the lyrics had a connection with "post-breakup". "

", composed by

and

Evan Bogart Evan Kidd Bogart (born January 23, 1978) is an American songwriter, music publisher, record executive and television producer. He is the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and former KISS manager Joyce Bogart Trabulus. Bogart has won a ...

, was initially intended for Beyoncé but was almost recorded by

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

due to Beyoncé's schedule. According to Christian Williams of ''Billboard'', "Halo" has a mainstream pop sound, with subtle R&B undertones. "Ave Maria" samples Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria". Critics noted "

" as a variation on

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's "

A Milli "A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released April 23, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth studio album, '' Tha Carter III''. Background The original version of th ...

" and coined it as its female counterpart. "Diva" carries a stuttering beat. " Sweet Dreams" was critically acclaimed for its use of electronic

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 ...

, which some critics compared to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones, and co-produced by Jackson. Jones encouraged Jackson to ...

" because of its

sound. "Sweet Dreams" is derived from

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

and incorporates influences from the classic 1980s

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 ...

. "

" is a midtempo

piano ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ballad ...

. Its production and melody is backed by

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

beat. According to Spence D. of

IGN ''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 e ...

Music, "Hello" comes off like another ballad that "populate the first part of the album." It contains the ''

Jerry Maguire ''Jerry Maguire'' is a 1996 American sports comedy-drama film directed and written by Cameron Crowe. It was produced by Crowe and James L. Brooks for Gracie Films and distributed by TriStar Pictures. It stars Tom Cruise as the titular spor ...

'' line – "You had me at hello" – as part of its chorus. It essentially consists of "sweet guitar-picking and delicate harmonies." According to critics, " Video Phone" contains lyrics that are in reference to "a celebration of Skype sex and putting on a solo show, on camera, for a guy you just met at the club". The remixed version featured both Beyoncé and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

trading verses with one another. Musically the song consists of simple lyrics, with hidden

innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, 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 in ...

s, and is backed by thin-spread beats; Beyoncé and Gaga uttering gasps and groans while singing the song. "Disappear" consists of "sweet guitar-picking and delicate harmonies". "That's Why You're Beautiful" is a slow-tempo soft rock and rock power ballad, which consists of a "grungy" guitar riff and stuterring drums. Critics compared the song with the materials by

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

and Jill Scott. The platinum edition of the album also included a cover version of

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

's song "

Honesty Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtue, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: Good faith, earnestness), along with the ...

" (1979).

Title and artwork

The album was titled ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' to showcase the difference between Beyoncé and her alter ego Sasha Fierce; the first disc is titled ''I Am...'' while the second is titled ''Sasha Fierce''. Making comparisons to a magazine, Beyoncé elaborated that ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was a double album and it had two covers. The ''I Am...'' cover artwork, described as "underneath all the makeup", is a portrait of Beyoncé with no visible clothing or makeup on, while the ''Sasha Fierce'' cover artwork shows Beyoncé wearing heavy makeup, a leotard, tall pointed heels, and a "cyborg"-esque metallic glove. The

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...

works for the standard, deluxe and platinum editions of ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' were all shot by German photographer

Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh (born Peter Brodbeck; 23 November 1944 – 3 September 2019) was a German fashion photographer and film director. He had studied arts in Berlin and Krefeld, and exhibited his works before graduation. In 1971, he turned to phot ...

. In a 2021 interview for ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'', Beyoncé revealed that she based the entire project on

black and white photography Monochrome photography is photography where each position on an image can record and show a different ''amount'' of light ( value), but not a different color ( hue). The majority of monochrome photographs produced today are black-and-white, ei ...

after being told in a meeting discussing analytics that a research discovered that her fans did not like when her photography was black and white, stating, "It pissed me off that an agency could dictate what my fans wanted based on a survey." She pointed out that she was "so exhausted and annoyed with these formulaic corporate companies" and highlighted the album's subsequent commercial success.

Release and promotion

Beyoncé promoted ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' through various televised appearances and awards ceremonies by performing songs featured on the album from late 2008 until early 2010. Beyoncé's father and then-manager

Mathew Knowles Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé a ...

held a listening party for the album in New York City on October 22, 2008. Beyoncé first promoted "

" in a concert organized by the

Power 105.1 WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while its transmitter is loca ...

radio station on October 29. Beyoncé first performed " If I Were a Boy" on October 31, on the Japanese music television program ''

Music Station , stylised in all caps, is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently sy ...

''. She later performed “If I Were a Boy” on November 6, at the

2008 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2008 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, on 6 November 2008. It was hosted by Katy Perry. This was the second time the awards have taken place in England. Nominations Winner ...

. Soon after, she sang "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on November 9, at the 2008 World Music Awards in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. She then took to the stage of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' to perform "If I Were a Boy" on November 13. She appeared on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' on November 15, where she sang "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". On November 16, Beyoncé sang a medley of "If I Were a Boy", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", and "

" during the final episode of ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

''. ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was released in the United States on November 18, 2008, and previously in Japan on November 12, in Australia and Germany on November 14, and in France and the United Kingdom on November 17; deluxe edition of the album was released simultaneously with the standard edition. Beyoncé performed "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' on November 18, at the 2008 American Music Awards on November 23, on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' on November 25, on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' the following day, and on ''

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

'' with two male dancers, on January 9, 2009. Beyoncé's first live performance of "Halo" was at the 40th NAACP Image Awards on February 12, 2009. She later performed the song on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' after an interview on April 22, 2009. Beyoncé performed "Sweet Dreams" at the

2009 MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 took place in Berlin, Germany at the O2 World and Brandenburg Gate on 5 November 2009. The awards ceremony was presented by Katy Perry for a 2nd consecutive year. It was the fourth time that the MTV Europe Music A ...

on November 5. Beyoncé performed "If I Were a Boy" on January 31, 2010, at the

ceremony, along with a cover of

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

's song "

You Oughta Know "You Oughta Know" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released as the lead single from her third studio album, ''Jagged Little Pill'', on July 10, 1995. After releasing two studio albums, Morissette left MCA Records, MCA Re ...

" (1995). In February 2010, the bonus track "Why Don't You Love Me" from the album's multiple reissues, climbed up the US

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

, eventually taking the top spot and becoming Beyoncé's thirteenth number-one hit on the chart. On May 4, 2010, a full-length music video appeared online after its release as a promotional single. On June 16, 2009, '' Above and Beyoncé: Video Collection & Dance Mixes'' was released, composed of a CD of dance remixes to the singles from the album, including the remix of " Ego" with rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, and a DVD featuring music videos previously released for those singles, as well as

behind-the-scenes https://www Googlefinans.co= In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...

footage. Beyoncé was due to perform " Sweet Dreams" at the

2009 MTV Video Music Awards The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was ...

on September 13; however, she only performed the bridge from the song at the beginning of her performance, before switching to "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". The platinum edition of ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was released in Australia on Beyoncé's twenty-eighth birthday on September 4, 2009, and in the United States on October 20, 2009; it included a cover version of

's song "

" (1979), as well as a DVD containing various music videos from the album's singles. The deluxe edition of ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was reissued in the United States on November 23, 2009, including all of the previously released songs in addition to the new songs "

Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

" and the remix of " Video Phone" with

. An

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) titled ''I Am... Sasha Fierce – The Bonus Tracks'' was released the same day for digital download in the United States, featuring the latter songs, along with " Why Don't You Love Me". To further promote the album, Beyoncé embarked on the I Am... Tour, which started in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Canada on March 26, 2009. The European leg of the tour started on April 26 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia, and ended on June 9 in

, England. On June 21, she began the third leg of the tour in the United States and finished in August with the '' I Am... Yours'' four-day revue at

Encore Las Vegas Encore Las Vegas (also called Encore at Wynn Las Vegas or simply Encore) is a luxury resort, casino and hotel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort is connected to its sister resort, Wynn Las Vegas, located directly so ...

on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

. Starting on September 15, 2009, the fourth leg began in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia and finished on September 24 in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia. Beyoncé then went on to perform in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the United Kingdom, before finishing the 2009 portion of the tour on November 24 in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The tour had its final leg in February 2010, visiting Latin America. Starting on February 4 in

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

, Brazil, she visited five other places before ending in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

on February 18. According to

Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. ''Pollstar'' holds an annual award ce ...

, the 2010 shows earned $17.2 million, which added to the total of $86 million for the first 86 concerts in 2009, bringing the tour total to $103.2 million for 97 shows. The ''I Am... Yours'' residency at the Encore Theater in Las Vegas was recorded on August 2, 2009, and later released as a DVD, audio CD and television special in late November 2009 titled '' I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas''. Various performances on the tour were filmed worldwide for a live DVD, '' I Am... World Tour'', which was released on November 30, 2010.

Singles

On October 8, 2008, Beyoncé premiered two

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 ...

s from the album. " If I Were a Boy" peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topped eight charts worldwide and reached the top ten on many other charts. "

" was the second lead single and peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Beyoncé's fifth number-one single, and was also successful in other international markets, peaking within the top ten around the world. The singles were certified double platinum and quadruple platinum, respectively, by the

(RIAA). "

" was released exclusively in the United States and peaked at number nineteen on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Beyoncé's twelfth top-twenty single, and at number three 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 ...

. It was certified gold by the RIAA. The next single, "

", was released internationally and peaked at number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, proving to be commercially successful and reaching top ten around the world. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA on January 5, 2010. Following announcements of the I Am... Tour two more singles were initially lined up, namely "

" and " Sweet Dreams"—though they switched order to become the sixth and seventh singles, respectively. "Sweet Dreams" reached the top ten in most countries, including the United States, managing to top the New Zealand Singles Chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA on January 5, 2010. "Broken-Hearted Girl", the seventh single, reached the top forty on charts around the world, despite never being certified nor released in the United States. " Video Phone" was released as the eighth single from ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' on September 22, 2009, with an accompanying

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 ...

and digital download release, taking form as an extended remix featuring American recording artist

. Like its predecessor, it reached the top-forty on charts around the world, peaking at number sixty-five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also became Beyoncé's fourteenth number-one on the US

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

. " Why Don't You Love Me" was released as the ninth and final single on July 2, 2010, and peaked atop the US Hot Dance Club Songs, before its official single release. As of July 2010, the digital tracks from the album had sold a combined total of 12.3 million units in the United States; and according to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

the album has sold fifteen million digital singles worldwide.

Critical reception

''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' received mixed reviews from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 62 (indicating "generally favorable reviews"), based on 24 reviews. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

''s Sal Cinquemani wrote that the album's "strength" is "its individual songs ... a testament to Beyoncé as one of today's most reliable singles artists", but felt that "the real disparity is her inability to reconcile the adult-contemporary schmaltz of ''I Am'' with the more modern, edgy sounds of ''Sasha Fierce''." Adam Mattera of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' felt that both discs lack depth, observing that the first is "too busy chasing radio formats to expose any genuine soul", and criticizing the second disc's "succession of independent woman anthems such as 'Single Ladies' and 'Diva', which will no doubt inspire drag queens the world over but leave most others bemused."

's Andy Kellman called its double-disc "gimmick" "flimsy" and favored its second disc's "decent, if easily forgettable, upbeat pop." He expressed that on the ''I Am...'' disc, "Beyoncé ''feels'' each line to the fullest extent, which almost rescues the set's staidness." In his consumer guide for ''

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

named it the "dud of the month", indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought". He found its "split-personality bit" to be "deeply vapid", only observing "three good songs on this 11-track artifact". Jonah Weiner of ''

'' commented that "Beyoncé is still a beauty-shop feminist, quick with the smack-downs, and she still describes the rattling rush of love with preternatural poise". Stacey Anderson of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' commented that its first disc "meanders over ..down-tempo cuts" and called ''... Sasha'' "an intriguing but diluted direction". ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''s Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond felt that the ''I Am...'' disc lacks cohesion, but complimented "''Sasha Fierce'' as "brassy, big-headed, confrontational, and witty," and stated, "each incendiary track challenges you to leave your inhibitions at coat-check." Christian Hoard of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted that its slow songs are "full of bland self-affirmation and saggy lines", but wrote that "the "Sasha" disc boasts Beyoncé's most adventurous music yet".Hoard, Christian. (November 18, 2008
Review: ''I Am... Sasha Fierce''
. ''

''.

Wenner Media Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American businessman who co-founded the popular culture magazine ''Rolling Stone'' with Ralph J. Gleason and is the former owner of ''Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free Sp ...

. Retrieved on February 28, 2011. Colin McGuire of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

called the album "a little rough around the edges at times" and viewed its ''Sasha Fierce'' disc as "a far more compelling trip down dance-lane". Leah Greenblatt of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' wrote that the album offers "two compelling sides" of Beyoncé and stated: "The collection might have been better served had she edited it down to one disc, rather than belabor what ultimately seems like a marketing gimmick. And while fans will surely speculate, there's little in the lyrics that feels more revealing than previous emotional fire-starters."

Sasha Frere-Jones Alexander Roger Wallace "Sasha" Frere-Jones ( né Jones; born 1967) is an American writer, music critic, and musician. Frere-Jones was pop critic of the ''New Yorker'' from 2004 to 2015. In January 2015, he left the ''New Yorker'' to work for ' ...

from ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' found the album to be "something of a mess", mostly because the alter ego "trips on the idea of redefinition".

Accolades

Leah Greenblatt of ''

'' ranked ''I Am… Sasha Fierce'' at number two on her list "10 Best CDs of 2008", stating that "' If I Were a Boy' and '

' are undoubtedly album highlights; still, the surprise here is how consistently satisfying the rest of it is – even the less showy tracks blossom on repeated listening." Mark Edward Nero of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

ranked it at the ninth place on his list of the Best R&B Albums of 2008. Christian Gerard of NBC Washington placed ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' on his list of "Honorable Mentions" while writing the list "Best Albums of 2008". Agence France-Presse, as reported by

ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ''ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs''), is the news and current affairs division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. The division is the coun ...

, recognized ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' as the twelfth best-selling album of 2008. On ''

''s

Pazz & 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 ...

year-end lists, ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was ranked at numbers three-hundred-and-thirty-three and five-hundred-and-eighty in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The album was ranked at number twelve on the list of the best albums of the 2000s decade in ''

''s Reader's Poll. The writers of ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' at number eight on their list "10 Best Albums of the Decade". ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' won a

Soul Train Music Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of ''Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...

for Best Album of the Year at the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards. Beyoncé won the

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the

American Music Awards of 2009 The 37th Annual American Music Awards took place on November 22, 2009 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The nominees were announced on October 13, 2009. For the first time in history, there was no host for the year's cer ...

, while ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' garnered a nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Album. Beyoncé also won a

BET Award The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annu ...

for Best R&B Artist at the

BET Awards 2009 The 9th BET Awards took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on June 28, 2009. The awards recognized Americans in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Comedian, singer, actor Jamie Fox ...

. However, she lost the same award to

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

at the following ceremony. Similarly, Beyoncé was nominated for Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist at the

2009 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2009 was the 29th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court in London, and was broadcast live on ITV on 18 February at 8pm (GMT). Duffy became the first femal ...

, for a Meteor Music Award for Best International Female at the 2009 Meteor Awards, and for

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs was an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards were held every year from 1985 to 2020, except for 2017, when the ...

for Best Artist (Solo) and Best R&B/Urban Dance Track for " Sweet Dreams" at the 25th Annual International Dance Music Awards (2010). At the MOBO Awards 2009, Beyoncé won the

MOBO Award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Bant ...

for Best International Act and ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was nominated for Best Album. Beyoncé won an

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

for Best Female, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" won Best Video and "Halo" won Best Song at the

. ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' was nominated for the

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Album at the 40th NAACP Image Awards (2009), and for an

NRJ Music Award An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisio ...

for International Album of the Year at the NRJ Music Awards 2010. Beyoncé was also nominated for a

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the Fan (person), fans and Public, general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined us ...

for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite R&B Artist at the 36th People's Choice Awards (2010), as well as winning a

Teen Choice Award The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

for Choice Music: R&B Artist at the

2010 Teen Choice Awards The 2010 Teen Choice Awards ceremony was held on August 8, 2010, at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California. Several new categories were introduced, separated into "Movie", "TV", "Music", "Summer", "Fashion" and "Other". The ceremony ...

, and being nominated for World's Best R&B Artist at the 2010 World Music Awards. ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' and its singles earned Beyoncé seven

nominations at the

(2010), including Album of the Year. She won five Grammy Awards out of those seven nominations, as well as a record-breaking sixth for her rendition of the classic

song "

At Last "At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film ''Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US ''Billboard'' pop ...

", from the ''

Cadillac Records ''Cadillac Records'' is a 2008 American biographical drama film written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-compa ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

. Her wins made her the most decorated female artist in one night in Grammy Award history.52nd Grammy Awards: Nominees
Grammy.com
Archived
on January 12, 2010.

Commercial performance

''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 482,000 copies in its first week and giving Beyoncé her third consecutive number-one album in the United States, fourth overall, including

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 ...

's ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

'' (2001). With this, Beyoncé became the third female artist of the 2000s to have her first three solo albums debut atop the US ''Billboard'' 200. Having sold 1,459,000 copies in six weeks of release by the end of 2008, ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' emerged as the tenth best-selling album of the year according to ''Billboard''. With this achievement, Beyoncé eventually equaled

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

, and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

for placing an album in

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

's year-end top ten for the fifth time. The album later emerged as the second best-selling album of 2009 in the United States itself. It has been certified six-times platinum by the

(RIAA). As of July 2022, ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' has sold 8.12 million album-equivalent units in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number ten on November 29, 2008, becoming Beyoncé's lowest-debuting album despite having higher first-week sales than her previous album, '' B'Day'' (2006). Following her performance at ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' fifth season finale with winner

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...

, the album moved up to number nine on December 27, 2008. Due to the success of its singles in the United Kingdom, particularly "Sweet Dreams", ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' rose from number five to its highest peak of number two in its thirty-ninth week on the chart, which was the week of August 16, 2009. It is her best-selling album in the United Kingdom, having sold over 1.5 million copies. It was certified six times platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

. In Australia, ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' debuted at number nine on November 24, 2008 and climbed to number eight on January 5, 2009. Following the success of singles "Sweet Dreams" and "Broken-Hearted Girl", the album rebounded to a new peak of number three on two separate occasions in October 2009. It was later certified quintuple platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) in 2023. In New Zealand, the album debuted at number sixteen on November 24, 2008 and initially peaked at number six on March 2, 2009. After growing popularity of its singles, especially "Sweet Dreams", the album upped to a new peak of number three on September 21, 2009. The album was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

(RIANZ) on April 26, 2009 (after twenty-three weeks on the chart), shipping over 15,000 copies to retailers. In Spain, the album debuted and peaked at number seven on November 26, 2008, and was certified double platinum by the

Productores de Música de España Productores de Música de España (; shortened as Promusicae) is the national organisation responsible for the music charts of Spain. it is a trade association that represents more than 90% of the Spanish recorded music industry. It is the Inter ...

(PROMUSICAE) for shipments of over 160,000 copies. The album was also the best-selling international album of 2009 in Turkey. The album experienced massive success in Brazil, topping the country's year-end chart and being certified double diamond for sales in excess of 500,000 copies by

Pro-Música Brasil Pro-Música Brasil (PMB), previously Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) ( English: Brazilian Association of Record Producers), is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market. H ...

. The album has sold over ten million copies worldwide. As of February 2017, the album has generated over 1 billion streams.

Track listing

''I Am...'' (disc one)

Track-listing variants * Japanese platinum edition includes the nine tracks listed above, plus "If I Were a Boy (

Maurice Joshua Maurice Joshua (born in Chicago, Illinois), usually credited under the name Maurice, is an American record producer. His single " This Is Acid (A New Dance Craze)" (1988), reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in April ...

Mojo UK Remix)", "If I Were a Boy (Maurice Joshua Mojo UK Remix)" and "Broken-Hearted Girl (Catalyst Remix)". * iTunes Store and international digital standard editions also include "Save the Hero". * Latin American standard edition includes "Si Yo Fuera un Chico", the Spanish version of "If I Were a Boy". * iTunes Store deluxe edition includes the music video for "If I Were a Boy" .

''Sasha Fierce'' (disc two)

Track-listing variants * Japanese platinum edition includes the nine tracks listed above, plus "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Remix; Club Version)", "Diva (Karmatronic Club Remix)", "Ego (OK DAC Remix)", "Sweet Dreams (Harlan Pepper & AG III Remix)" and "Ego (Remix featuring

)". * United States

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

standard edition also includes "Why Don't You Love Me". * iTunes Store deluxe edition includes the music video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".

Single-disc releases

Track-listing variants * International digital platinum edition includes "Ego (Slang "Big Ego" Club Mix)" and "Diva (Karmatronic Club Mix)". * International iTunes Store platinum edition includes "Sweet Dreams (Steve Pitron and Max Sanna Club Remix)".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''I Am... Sasha Fierce''. *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, background vocals (track 2.08); A&R, executive producer,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

, audio production (tracks 1.01-06, 1.07–08, 2.01–08); vocal production (tracks 1.06, 2.01) *

– A&R, executive producer * Max Gousse – A&R * Juli Knapp – A&R administration * Alexandra Velella – A&R coordination * Jake McKim – artist coordination * Beyoncé –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

* Quincy S. Jackson –

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

* Tim Blacksmith –

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

* Danny D – management *

– background vocals (2.04), audio production, vocal production (2.02, 2.04) * Jim Caruana – background vocals (1.04); recording engineer (tracks 1.03, 1.08, 2.04, instrumental: 1.06, 2.02), mixing (track 1.08); Jim Caruana (tracks 1.01-02, 1.06–07, 2.01–03, 2.05–08, Additional- 1.04) * Fusako Chubachi –

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corset ...

–

clothing design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer ...

Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fol ...

– clothing design * Kimberly Kimble – hair stylist * ilovedust – logo design * Francesca Tolot – make-up * Manicurist – Lisa Logan – manicurist *

– photography * Ty Hunter – stylist *

Jens Gad Jens Gad is a German Record producer, producer, songwriter and guitarist of Denmark, Danish parents. He started making music at a young age. Gad produces music for many artists (Sandra Cretu / Sandra Gambino) and was previously co-producer for the ...

– drums (live-track 1.01) * Steven J. – drums (1.07) *

Syience Reginald "Reggie" Perry, better known as Syience, is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, record producer and musician from Flint, Michigan. He has worked with a number of recognizable and respected artists, including Beyoncé, Cheryl Col ...

– drums, guitar (1.01) *

– guitar (track 1.05); audio production (1.03, 1.07) * Philip Margiziotis – additional horns (track 2.07) * Donald Hayes –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

(track 2.07) * Dontae Winslow –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

(track 2.07) *

– other instrumentation, recording engineer, production (1.04-05) *

– instrumentation (1.01); arrangement (track 1.01); recording engineer (instrumental: 1.01); production * Andrew Hey – instrumentation, recording engineer (1.08); production * Darkchild – instrumentation, production, mixing (2.08) *

– arrangement, engineer, instrumentation and audio production (1.02) *

– audio production (1.06, 2.01) *

– audio production (1.03, 1.07) *

– audio production, mixing (2.04) *

– audio production (2.03, 2.05) *

– audio production (1.06, 2.01) * D-Town – audio production *

– audio production * Kuk Harrell – recording engineer (1.06, 2.01) *

– recording engineer (instrumental: 2.02); mixing, production (2.04) * Miles Walker – recording engineer (instrumental: 2.03, 2.05) * Brian "B Luv" Thomas – recording engineer (instrumental: 1.06, 2.01) * Marcos Tovar – recording engineer (1.03, instrumental: 1.07) * David Quiñones – recording engineer (instrumental: 2.06) * Mack Woodard – recording engineer (instrumental: 2.07) * Mike "Handz" Donaldson – recording engineer (instrumental: 2.08) * Roberto "Tito" Vasquez – recording engineer (instrumental: 2.08) * Radio Killa – recording engineer * Kory Aaron – assistant engineer (tracks 2.03, 2.05) * Christian Baker – assistant engineer (1.02) * David Boyd – assistant engineer (1.08) * Michael Miller – assistant engineer (2.03, 2.05) *

Johntá Austin Johntá Moore Austin ( ; born June 28, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his production and songwriting work on hometown native Jermaine Dupri's record label, So So Def Recordings during the mid-2000s. As a recordin ...

– assistant engineer *

– assistant engineer * Tom Coyne – mastering *

Matt Green Matthew Green may refer to: *Matthew Green (British politician) (born 1970), British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Ludlow and subsequently for Shropshire South *Matthew Green (Canadian politician) (born 1980) NDP Member of Parliament f ...

– mixing * Dave Pensado – mixing (2.01) *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran, ...

– mixing (1.01-05, 1.07, 2.02–03, 2.05–08) * Andrew Wuepper – mixing, mix assistant (2.01) * Randy Urbanski – mixing, mix assistant (2.01) *

Jaycen Joshua Jaycen Joshua is an American audio engineer based in California. He won three Grammy Awards: the first for mixing ''Growing Pains'' for Mary J. Blige in 2007, followed by '' El mal querer'' for Rosalía in 2018, and ''Hyperspace'' for Beck in ...

– mixing (2.01) * Matt Green – mix assistant (tracks 1.01-05, 1.07, 2.02–03, 2.05–08) * Bama Boyz – producer * Harold Lilly – production (2.07) * Ramon Owen – production (2.06) *

– production (2.07) * Radio Killa – production * Lisa Logan – other contributions

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notes

References

External links

Recording and production

Music and lyrics

Title and artwork

Release and promotion

Singles

Critical reception

Accolades

Commercial performance

Track listing

''I Am...'' (disc one)

''Sasha Fierce'' (disc two)

Single-disc releases

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also

Notes

References

External links