Halo (Beyoncé song)

"Halo"
Song

"Halo" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). Columbia Records released the song as the fourth single of the album, to mainstream radio in the United States on January 20, 2009. It was composed by Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, and Knowles in three hours. The track was inspired by Ray LaMontagne's song, "Shelter". A pop power ballad containing R&B undertones, "Halo" is written in a moderate tempo of eighty-four beats per minute in the key of A major. Its instrumentation essentially consists of a piano, and keyboards and synthesizers. The music is further amplified by soul claps and step stomps. Thematically, the lyrics to "Halo" describe a sublime love.

The song was originally written by Tedder and Bogart for Knowles, but it was rumored by media to be intended for Leona Lewis. Kelly Clarkson, who worked with Tedder in 2008 for her album All I Ever Wanted, claimed that Tedder used the same musical arrangement of "Halo" in her song "Already Gone", which was released by her record label against her will. "Halo" received positive reviews by music critics, experiencing comparisons to Lewis' "Bleeding Love". The song was also praised for its production as well as Knowles' emotion-filled vocals, which were noted to be reminiscent of Céline Dion's work. "Halo" won "Best Song" at the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards, where it was also nominated for Record of the Year.

The track topped the singles charts of Brazil, Norway, and Slovakia, and it reached the top five in numerous other countries, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It has been certified triple-platinum in Australia and double-platinum in Spain and the United States. The accompanying music video for "Halo" premiered on the iTunes Store on December 23, 2008. Directed by Philip Andelman and featuring American actor Michael Ealy, the video portrays a fictional relationship between Knowles and Ealy. An alternative music video, which shows Ealy escaping from the police at night through a forest, was leaked in May 2010. The first version was ranked at number seventy-nine on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.

The lyrics to "Halo" have been changed twice in live versions: first into a tribute to Michael Jackson following his death, and secondly into a tribute to the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Knowles sang the second version on the television broadcast Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, which featured Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin on the piano. Its live version from her CD/DVD I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards. "Halo" has been covered by many artists since its release, including Florence and the Machine in 2009 and Westlife in 2010. It was also shown on the television show Glee, where the song was mashed-up with "Walking on Sunshine", by Katrina and the Waves.

Production and release

Knowles, Bogart, and Tedder (pictured) composed "Halo" in Tedder's music studio, in California

"Halo" was composed by Evan "Kidd" Bogart, Ryan Tedder, and Beyoncé Knowles. It was produced by Tedder and Knowles in 2008 at Manfield Studios in Los Angeles, California and at Germano Studios and Roc The Mic Studios in New York City, New York. In an interview with HitQuarters, Kidd said that one of the original inspirations for the song was singer Ray LaMontagne. During the writing sessions, he said to Ryan Tedder, the lead vocalist of OneRepublic, "We should write a Ray LaMontagne 'Shelter' kind of song for Jay-Z and Beyoncé." After the lyrics were written, the song was composed and completed in Tedder's studio within three hours.

Tedder, with assistance from Christian Baker, was in charge of the instrumentals, arrangement, and recording of the single. Vocal recordings were in the hands of Jim Caruana, and "Halo" was mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent with assistance from Matt Green. The single was released on January 20, 2009, in the United States to mainstream radio by Music World Entertainment and Columbia Records; however, in France and Germany, the single was available via digital download on March 20, 2009. It was released in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2009, and in Canada, it was available on 12" and maxi singles the following day.

Composition

"Halo" is a contemporary down-tempo power ballad which, according to the music sheet published at Musicnotes.com, features an R&B and pop production, a view shared by Christian Williams of Billboard magazine. Also containing elements of gospel music and soul, the song is composed using common time in the key of A major with a moderate tempo of eighty-four beats per minute and has a sequence of A–Bm–F♯m–D as its chord progression. It is written in the common verse-chorus form and features backing vocals. Knowles' vocal range goes from C♯₃ to F♯₅. "Halo" is instrumentally complete with a piano, keyboards, a synthesizer undercurrent, and stirring strings. The piano sound is amplified by the claps and step stomps. As noted by Darryl Sterdan of the Canadian website Jam! and Joey Guerra of Houston Chronicle, "Halo" is essentially built on a stomp-clap beat, and it consists of "[a] flood of symphonic swells and electronic accents with open-hearted emotion".

Several music critics have highlighted the similarity to Rihanna's "Umbrella" (2007). Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that "Halo" has the same "icy synths, drivetime rock dynamic, and a similar repetitive chorus", a view echoed by Brent DiCrescenzo of Timeout and Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News while Nick Levine of Digital Spy described the "Halo" as a "muscular hybrid" of "Umbrella" and Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" (2007). Levine also compared Toni Braxton's song "Yesterday" with "Halo", writing that the former "shares too much of [the latter's] DNA". Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media noted that Knowles appears to be both strident and exposed while singing the lyrics in a way which is reminiscent of Céline Dion's style.

Lyrically, "Halo" finds Knowles as the female protagonist professing her all encompassing love to her "heavenly lover", as stated by Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media and Darryl Sterdan. As commented by Spence D. of IGN Music, the song opens with the lines, "Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they’re tumbling down", with Knowles' voice dipping in and out of vibratos - (a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch) - and trills, which are musical ornaments consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes. He commented that the shaking effect showcases of feelings such as pain in Knowles voice, further demonstrated in the pre-chorus lines, "Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace, baby I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace". Concerning the composition of "Halo", Knowles elaborated as follows:

'Halo'... I feel like it is angelic, you know, it feels like you can see angels when you hear it and anyone, it's just like you see their face instantly when you hear it ... 'Halo', it's very simple but it has a lot of strings and it also has interesting drums ... it is a great mixture of hip hop and R&B and it is basically saying that you know I had these walls built up about love and you completely tore that down and you know when I look at you I see your halo, it's really beautiful.

Controversies

Kelly Clarkson (pictured) alleged that Tedder used the same musical arrangement on both songs, "Already Gone" and "Halo"

According to Simon Cowell, the writers originally intended "Halo" for his client, the British singer Leona Lewis. However, Tedder commented that Cowell was upset that the single's writing was intended for Knowles, and Knowles eventually claimed the song. David Balls, editor of the British media website Digital Spy, interviewed Tedder about the rumor. Balls asked Tedder if "Halo" was originally penned for Leona Lewis, and Tedder answered that he had only tentatively offered the track to Lewis after Knowles took a long time to record it. He commented about:

There was this huge scandal that originally 'Halo' was meant to go to Leona. That was never the case ... That song was written for Beyoncé. What happened was that Beyoncé waited long enough to record that song ... I thought this would be a brilliant first single for Leona, which it would have. ... What I did was foolishly say to Leona's camp, 'I have it on hold for another A-list artist and I'm pretty sure they'll take it, but if they don't, I just want to know if you like it enough to consider it'. I sent it to them and they flipped on it. They loved it and instantly said they wanted to do it. I was like, 'Wait, wait, wait, no, it's not free yet!'"

Soon after, Tedder worked with Kelly Clarkson on her fourth studio album, All I Ever Wanted (2008), and one of the songs they wrote together was "Already Gone". Clarkson later accused Tedder of using the same arrangement on both "Already Gone" and "Halo", claiming that people would assume she was stealing it from Knowles.

Ryan and I met each other at the record label, before he was working with anyone else... We wrote about six songs together, four or five of them made the album. It was all fine and dandy. I'd never heard of a song called 'Halo'. Beyoncé's album came out when my album was already being printed. No-one's gonna be sittin' at home, thinking 'Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyoncé and Kelly the same track to write to'. No, they're just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said, 'I don't understand. Why would you do that?'

In response to Clarkson's dissatisfaction, Tedder commented that he would not give any artist the same musical arrangement: "'Already Gone' is one of the best songs I've written or produced since 'Bleeding Love' and stands tall on its own merits apart from 'Halo'. They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically, and lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyoncé into recording over the same musical track, the idea is both hurtful and absurd. I think when people hear 'Already Gone' they will hear what I hear – one of the greatest female vocalists on Earth giving her most haunting and heart-breaking performance on a song she helped write. I challenge people to listen and form their own opinions."

Clarkson tried to discourage her label, RCA, from releasing the song as a single because she respected Knowles, but they went against her will and released it. Clarkson commented on it, saying: "In the end, they're releasing it without my consent. It sucks, but it's one of those things I have no control over. I already made my album. At this point, the record company can do whatever they want with it. It's kind of a shitty situation, but...you know, you learn."

Critical reception and awards

Christian Williams of Billboard wrote: "[The song's pop sound] should carry it to the top of the charts. Comparisons could be made to Leona Lewis' 'Bleeding Love', but [Tedder] hangs high on its own merits." Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly commented, "'Halo', an absolutely glorious and perfectly produced track that should be as big a hit as 'Irreplaceable' and 'Crazy in Love' ". James Reed of The Boston Globe said that the song is "by far the most evocative power ballad Beyoncé has ever recorded. It's a hulking, epic love song that sounds like it has Phil Spector working his 'Wall of Sound' magic on the mixing board. Never mind the garden-variety lyrics; this one is all about build-up, starting with a pre-chorus that climaxes with Beyoncé's voice ricocheting the word 'halo'." While reviewing the album I Am... Sasha Fierce, Leah Greenblatt of the magazine Entertainment Weekly concluded that on the I Am disc there were some "lovely ballads" including the "soaring 'Halo'".

Nick Levine of Digital Spy said in his review of the album that "Halo sounds like a muscular hybrid of 'Umbrella' and 'Bleeding Love' ". When the song was released as a single in the UK, a separate review was made by Balls, for the same website: 'Halo' is a contemporary power ballad in the 'Bleeding Love' mould: modish beats, a simple piano melody and loads of emotion. 'Everywhere I'm looking now / I'm surrounded by your embrace / baby, I can see your halo / you know you're my saving grace', Beyoncé sings over Tedder's bombastic production. Could Lewis have pulled this off better? Well, that's a matter of opinion of course, but Mrs. Jay-Z doesn't leave much room for improvement." Matos Michaelangelo of The A.V. Club wrote that "Beyoncé has a real flair for grandeur, and the big, wide melodies of 'Halo' and 'Ave Maria' give her enough to work with that it's easy to forgive a line like 'Baby, I can feel your halo.'" James Montgomery of MTV News praised "Halo" and Knowles' other song "If I Were a Boy" (2008), saying that their "tear-jerking power" reveal "sides of Beyoncé we never knew existed." In another review, Montgomery described the songs as "big, ballad-y stuff."

On July 17, 2009, the song was nominated at the 2009 Urban Music Awards in the category of "Best Single". It also was nominated for "Best Love Song" at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards. "Halo" won "Best Song" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2009. The single was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards, in the categories of Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, winning the latter on January 31, 2010. "Halo" also won the "Best Foreign Song" at the Croatian Porin Awards, in 2010. The live version of "Halo", which is featured on I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas, was nominated at the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized "Halo" as one of the most performed songs of 2009 at the 27th ASCAP Pop Music Awards. On the occasion of Knowles' thirtieth birthday, Erika Ramirez and Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine placed the song at number 18 on their list of "Beyoncé's 30 Biggest Billboard Hits".

Chart performance

"Halo" debuted at number 93 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart issue dated February 7, 2009. The song peaked at number five on the chart issue dated May 23, 2009. With this feat, Knowles achieved more top 10 singles on the Hot 100 chart than any other female artist that 2000s decade. Spending thirty weeks in the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart, "Halo" last charted on August 29, 2009. It also peaked at number five on the US Pop Songs chart, at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and at number 16 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 5, 2010. As of mid-July 2010, the song had sold 2,518,000 digital downloads in the United States.

"Halo" debuted at number 40 on the New Zealand Singles Chart on February 2, 2009, peaking at number two three weeks later. On February 15, 2009, "Halo" debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The single, which peaked at number three, left the top forty on August 11, 2009. "Halo" was certified triple-platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipment of 210,000 copies. On the Spanish Singles Chart, the song debuted at number forty-five on January 25, 2009, but it fell off the chart the following week. However, it re-entered the chart four months later on May 3, 2009, at number forty-four, ascended the chart, and peaked at number five on October 11, 2009. "Halo" was certified double-platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE), denoting shipment of 80,000 copies.

The song initially charted for one week at number 107 in the United Kingdom shortly after the album's release on November 29, 2008. After its announcement as a single, "Halo" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number ninety-eight on February 27, 2009, and over a period of six weeks, it climbed to number four on April 4, 2009. Having spent almost a year on the UK Singles Chart, it was last seen on the chart forty-two weeks after its debut, in late February 2010. "Halo" was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipment of 400,000 copies.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Halo" premiered exclusively on the US iTunes Store along with the music video for "Diva" on December 23, 2008. Philip Andelman directed the music video, which was shot in late November 2008. It features actor Michael Ealy as Knowles' love interest. According to Ealy, he worked with Knowles because "once [he] heard the song, [he] had to do it", and he added "It was [his] second time being asked to do a Beyoncé video. The first was 'Irreplaceable'—where the singer explains that her lover is indeed replaceable—but [he]didn’t want to do that. [He] said, 'Call me when you have a hero role.'"

The video begins with Knowles standing against a wall being illuminated by light, which passes through a window. As the video progresses, the scenes vary in different parts of the house. In one scene, Knowles is dancing to some choreography in a leotard while her love interest is looking down at her from a balcony. During the climax, Knowles is seen underwater moving slowly upwards dressed in white clothing. When the chorus begins, Knowles opens her eyes. The last scene is played with Knowles lying down with Ealy above her with only their faces visible. Knowles commented about the video that "[It] is very intimate, romantic and the house in which [they were] shooting is beautiful. And [she] was trying to make sure that [they] can get to the pool because [she thought] it could be really beautiful." The video ranked at number seventy-nine on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown. Jennifer Cady of the website E! Online said that the "bright shiny lights" in the video "make her [Knowles] look like an angel". She further added that the video is "nice and chill, perfect for some kind of romantic mixtape." Alison Maloney of The Sun gave a positive review for the video praising the love scenes and Knowles' "amazing figure."

An alternate version surfaced online in late May 2010, as an explanation of the reason for which Knowles was remembering her love interest in the original version. It begins with the view of the night sky and several trees, Knowles appears driving a car, and her love interest is being chased by the police and police dogs through a forest. As the video progresses, Knowles parks her car on the side of the road while her love interest is still being chased. Throughout the video, various scenes of the original version are shown. A dog eventually catches him and attacks him vigorously. An open bag full of stolen money is then shown with the money being spread by the wind. At the end of the video, Knowles finds him in the forest lying lifelessly on the ground.

Live performances

Knowles performing "Halo" at the O2 Arena, in London, England

Knowles' first live performance of "Halo" was at the 2009 NAACP Awards on February 12, 2009. She also performed the song at The Late Show with David Letterman after an interview on April 22, 2009. The next day, she performed it at NBC's Today. The song was later added to the set list of her I Am... Tour in 2009–10. The track was performed during the concert's encore. After Knowles finished her "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" performance, she began to play the song. Her act consisted of her singing the song on stage, but later, she descended from it to shake hands with everybody in the front rows. The song was included on her CD/DVD live albums I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas on 2009, and I Am... World Tour, in 2010. Knowles most recently performed the "Halo" live at the Glastonbury Festival in front of more than 175,000 fans on June 26, 2011 . It served as the closing song of the festival.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died while Knowles was touring, prompting her to pay tribute to him at some of the venues of the tour, including Atlanta, Georgia on July 1, 2009; and New Orleans, Louisiana on July 3, 2009. During the tribute, an image of Jackson appeared on the main screen. She changed the lyrics to "Michael I can see your Halo. I pray your music won't fade away." On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. A charity telethon called Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief was organized on January 22, 2010, where many artists, including Knowles, participated. During that time, she performed "Halo" with Coldplay's Chris Martin playing the piano. During her performance, she modified the lyrics, singing "Haiti, we can see your halo / You know you're my saving grace / You're everything I need and more, it's written all over your face / Haiti, we can see your halo / I pray you won't fade away." This version later was included on the live album Hope for Haiti Now.

Cover versions and usage in media

"Halo" was covered by Florence and the Machine in the Live Lounge on BBC Radio 1 in 2009. Additionally, the song was blended with "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves on the Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) television show Glee, in the episode "Vitamin D". The single peaked at number four on the Irish Singles Chart, nine on the UK Singles chart, ten on the ARIA Chart, twenty-eight on the Canadian Hot 100, and forty on the Hot 100. It was certified gold in Australia. The mash-up was included on the set list of their debut concert Glee Live! In Concert!. In 2009, elementary school group PS22 chorus, covered "Halo" and Knowles' other song "Single Ladies" during Billboard's annual Women In Music luncheon held at The Pierre in New York City.

During the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards, American singer Katy Perry performed a mash-up of "Halo" and the other nominees for Best Song at the same ceremony. In 2010, "Halo" was performed by Westlife on their Where We Are Tour, mixing it with the band's own song "How to Break a Heart". The single has been covered by other musicians, including ceo, Harper Blynn, and Major Lazer together with Elephant Man. American singer Mike Posner also covered the song with different lyrics and placed it on his album A Matter of Time (2009). According to a writer of MTV, "his shimmering, beat-heavy rendition of Beyonce's break-up song is such a refreshing take on the original". The single was included in the international soundtrack of India – A Love Story, an Emmy-winning Brazilian soap opera. Also, it is featured on the British compilation album Now! 73.

Track listing

• Australian single

1. "Halo" – 4:21
2. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (RedTop Remix Radio Edit) – 3:32

• CD single

1. "Halo" – 4:22
2. "Diva" – 3:21

• European premium CD

1. "Halo" (Album Version) – 4:22
2. "Diva" (Album Version) – 3:21
3. "Halo" (Dave Audé Remix – Radio Edit) – 4:10
4. "Halo" (Enhanced Video) – 3:44

• UK single EP

1. "Halo" (Olli Collins & Fred Portelli Remix) – 6:58
2. "Halo" (The New Devices Remix) – 5:49
3. "Halo" (My Digital Enemy Remix) – 6:33
4. "Halo" – 4:21

• US single and remixes – EP

1. "Halo" (Radio Edit) – 3:44
2. "Halo" (Dave Audé Club Remix) – 8:54
3. "Halo" (Gomi Club Remix) – 8:57
4. "Halo" (Karmatronic Club Remix) – 7:13
5. "Halo" (Lost Daze Club Remix) – 8:02

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
ARIA Singles Chart	3
Austria Top 75 Singles	6
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	18
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	15
Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay	1
Canadian Hot 100	3
Czech Republic Airplay Chart	2
Danish Singles Chart	15
Dutch Top 40	9
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	4
French Digital Singles Chart	9
German Singles Chart	5
Greek Singles Chart	2
Hungarian Airplay Chart	17
Irish Singles Chart	4
Italian Singles Chart	4
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
New Zealand Singles Chart	2
Slovakian Airplay Chart	1
Spanish Singles Chart	5
Swedish Singles Chart	8
Swiss Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart	4
UK Airplay Chart	1
US Billboard Hot 100	5
US Hot Dance Club Songs	1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	16
US Pop Songs	2

Certifications

Region (provider)	Certification
Australia (ARIA)	3× Platinum
Canada (CRIA)	Platinum
Germany (BVMI)	Gold
Italy (FIMI)	Gold
New Zealand (RIANZ)	Platinum
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	2× Platinum
Switzerland (IFPI)	Platinum
United Kingdom (BPI)	Gold
United States (RIAA)	2× Platinum

Year-end charts

Chart (2009)	Position
ARIA Singles Chart	7
ARIA Urban Singles Chart	4
Austria Top 75 Singles	35
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	72
Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay	1
Canadian Hot 100	12
Danish Singles Chart	40
Dutch Top 40	57
European Hot 100 Singles	33
German Singles Chart	18
Hungarian Airplay Chart	87
Irish Singles Chart	18
Italian Singles Chart	28
New Zealand Singles Chart	8
Spanish Singles Chart	9
Swedish Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	18
UK Singles Chart	25
US Billboard Hot 100	24
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	79
US Pop Songs	18
Chart (2010)	Position
Australian Urban Singles Chart	39

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–09)	Position
ARIA Singles Chart	39
Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay	1

Other versions

"Halo" (live version)

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Canadian Hot 100	58

"Halo" featuring Chris Martin

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Swedish Singles Chart	23

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 2009 (U.S.)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2009 (Brazil)
• List of number-one pop hits of 2009 (Brazil)
• List of number-one songs in Norway of 2009