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"Survivor" is a song recorded by American group
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 ...
for their third studio album of the same title (2001). It was written and composed by group member
Beyoncé Knowles 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 culturally significant figu ...
, Anthony Dent, and
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 ...
. "Survivor" was inspired by a joke that a radio station had made about the fact that three members had already left the group, comparing the band to the reality game show ''
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 ...
''. Knowles was inspired to take the negative comment and turn it into a positive by writing a song out of it. The song was released as the lead single from ''Survivor'' on March 6, 2001, by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
. It marked the first single released by the trio of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and
Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...
. "Survivor" was a commercial success, peaking at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the charts in Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Critically acclaimed, the song won the
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The 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 th ...
at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards (2002). Its 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 ...
won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video, while the song also won a 2001 Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo. In 2017, ''
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 ...
'' ranked the song at number 40 on their list "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time". Additionally, BET named it the tenth best song of the 2000s.


Background and development

"Survivor" was written by Anthony Dent, Destiny's Child band member
Beyoncé Knowles 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 culturally significant figu ...
and her father
Mathew Mathew is a masculine given name and a variant of Matthew. It is also used as a surname. As a given name Notable people with the given name include: * Mathew Baynton (born 1980), English actor and comedian * Mat Erpelding (born 1975), Americ ...
, while production was helmed by Dent and Beyoncé. The lyrics address the hardships that the band experienced in 2000, when original members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett split from Knowles and Kelly Rowland, and were replaced by
Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...
and
Farrah Franklin Farrah Laron Franklin (born May 3, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She is also a former member of the girl group Destiny's Child. Along with Michelle Williams, she replaced the group's original members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya ...
. Soon afterwards Franklin was also dismissed from the group, leading to more well-publicized personnel changes. According to Knowles, the group was publicly compared to the reality series ''
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 ...
'', which inspired her to "write us out of all that negativity." Dent initially envisioned his instrumental track to be recorded by rapper
Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...
, before Beyoncé used it to pen the lyrics, melody and vocal arrangement for "Survivor." Much of the song was written during a flight to the next city while Destiny's Child was opening for singer
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
during her Christina Aguilera in Concert tour. Knowles later elaborated on the process: "I wrote it quickly because I was frustrated. For me, it was all about what survival means for women, and how hard it is to be one when there are people out there who are trying to bring you down." She further commented on its concept in an interview with
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
in which she stated that "Survivor" was "basically about surviving different situations. Everyone in this world that I know, they've survived something, and I know the song is definitely inspirational. It really makes you feel strong, and it really makes you feel like you can survive anything." Recording of the song took place at the SugarHill Studios in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
in late 2000. "Survivor" was the first song from its parent album ''
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 ...
'' to be recorded. In a promotional 2001 interview with ''
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 ...
'', Williams commented on the recording process: "Words can't describe how we felt when we recorded that song. Some of us were crying, others were jumping up and down ..We prayed before that session, and the energy in that session was so high –— the room was heated." The chanting of the word "what!" in the chorus was Mathew Knowles' contribution to the song and added late into the recording of the "Survivor" after he had walked into the session while the band was recording and felt that a chanting part would suggest audience participation. The group debuted the song live during their RodeoHouston concert on February 18, 2001.


Composition

The song is performed in the key of
G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...
, with a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 81 beats per minute in
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
. In the harmonic minor scale, it follows a chord progression of Gm–Cm–D, and the group's vocals span an octave and a half, from G3 to C5.


Critical reception

''Billboard'' critic Chuck Taylor noted that "Survivor" was "careful not to stray from the well-established formula that has made Destiny's Child the pop act ''du jour'' – a skittish stop- and-start beat, the puissant vocals of co-songwriter/producer Beyoncé Knowles, and a lyric about life in the victory lane when mankind does you wrong." In 2017 ''Billboard'' also named the song #40 on their list of 100 Greatest
Girl Group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
Songs of All Time.
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 ...
editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
found that "Survivor" was "painfully labored, stuttering over a halting melody that Beyoncé Knowles breathlessly pushes to absolutely nowhere, working it so hard that it's difficult to listen."


Commercial performance

"Survivor" debuted at number 43 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it the group's second highest-debuting single to date, behind 2004's " Lose My Breath" at number 30. It quickly ascended through the chart, reaching its peak of number two within a month, remaining at the position for seven consecutive weeks. The song was not released on physical formats until after its airplay had peaked; it topped the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for eight weeks. It also peaked at number five on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart. The single stayed atop the Hot 100 Airplay chart for five consecutive weeks and peaked at number three on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. Its DVD edition peaked at number nine on the US Top Music Videos chart. In the United Kingdom, "Survivor" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, selling 104,000 copies in its first week. It had sold 260,000 copies by the end of 2001, and has sold over 832,000 copies as of April 2021. It also topped the charts in Ireland and the Netherlands, while peaking at number two in Canada and number three in New Zealand.


Music video

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 ...
for "Survivor" was directed by Darren Grant and filmed in various locations throughout
Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...
on January 27–29, 2001. The clip is styled in the sense of three survivors living on an uninhabited island. It also shows a brief prelude to how the trio got shipwrecked. Following their shipwreck, they uncover an island where they change clothes and walk into a waterfall leading to a deserted temple where it transforms into a dance break. It storms on through the dance bridge and the prelude of the shipwreck. After this, a helicopter starts buzzing leading to where the members are racing out of the island for their escape. External shots in the video were filmed at Point Dume State Beach on the coast of Malibu as well as the
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres (51.4 ha), is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains in Arcadia, California, United States. Open daily, it only closes ...
in Arcadia, with the rest of the sequences being filmed at the Los Angeles Center Studios. The final video premiered on MTV's making of documentary series '' Making the Video'' on March 6, 2001. One of Destiny's Child's "most difficult videos" to film due to the unseasonal weather conditions in California in late January 2001, the band was reportedly "sick for days" after shooting beach scenes in their skimpy outfits. The "Survivor" music video was later released on DVD with a live performance of " Independent Women Part I" at the 2001 Brit Awards on May 15, 2001. The release was a standard full-frame transfer that preserved the original aspect ratio of the video, with an English soundtrack rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. It was featured on the DualDisc edition of their greatest hits album '' #1's'' (2005), on the international edition of ''Survivor'' (2001) as an enhanced video, on the
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 ...
-exclusive DVD titled '' Fan Pack'' (2004), and on '' Video Anthology'' (2013). Director Cary Joji Fukunaga got his start in the film industry as a camera production assistant on the video.


Controversy

Former group members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson filed a lawsuit against Knowles, Rowland, and former manager Mathew Knowles; they claimed some of the lyrics in "Survivor", such as "You thought I wouldn't sell without you/sold nine million", violated a previous agreement that prevented either party from insulting the other.


Track listings

* US and Canadian CD single # "Survivor" (remix extended version featuring
Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (née Harris; born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, she began her career in 1992 and signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings two years l ...
) – 4:24 # "Survivor" ( Calderone club mix) – 9:26 # "Survivor" (Calderone Drum Dub mix) – 6:45 # "Survivor" (CB200 Club Anthem mix) – 6:20 # "Survivor" (Azza'z soul remix) – 4:30 * US 7-inch single :A. "Survivor – 4:14 :B. "Survivor" (featuring Da Brat) – 4:24 * US 12-inch single :A1. "Survivor" (Calderone club mix) – 9:26 :A2. "Survivor" (Calderone Drum Dub mix) – 6:45 :B1. "Survivor" (CB200 Club Anthem mix) – 6:20 :B2. "Survivor" (remix extended version featuring Da Brat) – 4:24 :B3. "Survivor" (Azza'z soul remix) – 4:30 * US DVD single # "Survivor" # " Independent Women Part I" (live at The Brits 2001) * European CD single # "Survivor" (album version) # "Survivor" (Azza'z soul remix radio edit) * UK CD1 # "Survivor" (album version) – 4:14 # "Survivor" (Azza'z soul remix radio edit) – 3:56 # "Survivor" (Victor Calderone club mix) – 9:26 * UK CD2 # "Survivor" ( Jaimeson full vocal remix) – 6:19 # "Independent Women Part I" (live at The Brits 2001) – 3:52 # "So Good" ( Maurice's soul remix) – 7:35 # "Independent Women Part I" (live at The Brits 2001 video version) * UK cassette single # "Survivor" (album version) – 4:14 # "Survivor" (Maurice's Soul Survivor mix) – 7:51 * Australian CD single # "Survivor" (album version) # "So Good" (Maurice's soul remix) # "So Good" (Digital Black-N-Groove club mix) # "Independent Women Part I" (Joe Smooth 200 Proof 2 Step Mix)


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''
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 ...
''. *Rich Balmer – assistant engineer *Kerren Berz – strings *Orlando Calzada – engineer * Anthony Dent – engineer, producer, writer *
Beyoncé Knowles 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 culturally significant figu ...
– producer, vocals, writer *
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 ...
– executive producer, writer *Redd – keyboards * Kelly Rowland – vocals *Brian Springer – engineer *
Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...
– vocals


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history

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Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
, , - ! scope="row", France , , - ! scope="row", Germany , , - ! scope="row", Japan , April 11, 2001 , {{hlist, CD , SME , {{center, , - ! scope="row", United Kingdom , April 16, 2001 , {{hlist, Cassette, two maxi CDs , Columbia , {{center, , - ! scope="row", France , May 2, 2001 , CD , Sony Music , {{center, , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2", United States , May 8, 2001 , {{hlist, 12-inch vinyl, maxi CD , rowspan="2", Columbia , {{center, , - , May 15, 2001 , DVD , {{center, {{cite web, url=https://www.amazon.com/Destinys-Child-Survivor-Independent-Single/dp/B00005J74S, title=Destiny's Child – Survivor / Independent Women Part I (Live at the Brits 2001) (DVD Single), location=United States, publisher=
Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...
, date=May 15, 2001, access-date=April 1, 2022


See also

* List of number-one singles of 2001 (Ireland) * List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s * List of UK R&B Singles Chart number ones of 2001 *
List of number-one songs in Norway This list shows the songs which have been number one on the official chart list (VG-lista) in Norway. The single list started in 1958, and the albums list in 1967. The show is broadcast every Wednesday by NRK P3, one of Norwegian Broadcasting ...


References

{{Reflist


External links

* {{YouTube, Wmc8bQoL-J0, Official music video {{Destiny's Child singles {{MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video {{Authority control 2000 songs 2001 singles Columbia Records singles Destiny's Child songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Music videos directed by Darren Grant Number-one singles in Norway Song recordings produced by Beyoncé Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Anthony Dent Songs written by Beyoncé UK singles chart number-one singles