Jake Nava, director: Initially, Beyoncé had been talking about a minimal, Herb Ritts-y simplicity for “If I Were A Boy.” Me and my writing partner, Ben Cooper, had been thinking about that and getting together references. With “Single Ladies,” the trick was to update Fosse in a manner fit for Queen Bey - and that’s where Gatson’s classical appreciation for vintage musical glamour met Knight’s Southern affinity for J-setting, where one dancer’s steps are then replicated by the crew behind them en masse (see: Beychella). A mash-up of Fosse’s wife, Gwen Verdon, performing the “Mexican Breakfast” dance sequence and Unk’s “Walk It Out” went viral and had caught Beyoncé’s attention. Gatson had introduced Fosse’s work into Beyoncé’s repertoire before “Single Ladies”: The “Get Me Bodied” video is a direct tribute to the mod “Rich Man’s Frug” scene from Sweet Charity, and shades of the musical’s stand-out “Big Spender” number made it into her live show as well. The white, panoramic field initially intended for “If I Were A Boy” found a home on the second video shoot set, which would focus on putting a modern twist on Bob Fosse’s choreography. Though their experiences differ, they’re unanimous on two points: that Beyoncé is a genius, and that “Single Ladies” is a testament to not just that genius, but also her ability to cultivate it.
Billboard also spoke to Ebony Williams, the dancer who completed the trio with Beyoncé and Everett Lorraine Schwartz, the designer behind Beyoncé’s bionic glove and Bobby Moynihan, who wrote and performed in one of the most affectionate (and hilarious) tributes to the song on Saturday Night Live.
Perhaps most importantly, it set the precedent for an artist who’d go back to the drawing board, only to flip it over and stun her fans, long before setting the titanium standard for the visual album as a format.īelow, Nava, Gatson and Knight all speak on “Single Ladies,” their contributions to the visionary visual and its lasting imprint on pop as we know it. It showcased a pop star wielding the music video as a revolutionary medium on a level her peers couldn’t touch while reviving the form during a low point of relevance in the process. It served as the jumping-off point for some of her most formative creative partnerships. “If I Were A Boy” is a standout in her videography and puts her acting chops to work, but the seismic impact of “Single Ladies” went on to dwarf it as a cultural phenomenon. Premiered alongside “Boy” on MTV’s Total Request Live in October 2008, “Ladies” cemented Beyoncé’s status as a triple-threat who can marry the grace of a ballerina and the formidable bombast of a J-setting dance corps with a body roll.
The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century: Critics' Picks
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