Ring the Alarm
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| "Ring the Alarm" | |
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| Song |
"Ring the Alarm" is an funk/R&B song written by Beyoncé Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett for Knowles' second solo album B’Day (2006). Co-produced by Knowles, and Swizz Beatz, the song premiered on August 8, 2006 to radio outlets in the United States and eventually debuted at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100, making the single her highest entry on the official American singles chart and the second highest debut of 2006 behind only Taylor Hicks's "Do I Make You Proud". It previously debuted at Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles at number seventeen.
Song information
 | This article possibly contains original research. (September 2007) |
The song is one of a total of four tracks Swizz Beatz originally recorded with Knowles for B’Day and the pair's second single after "Check on It" (2005). In opposition to her past efforts the overall feel of "Ring the Alarm" shows a more angry and explosive side of the singer, a fact supported by a loud and roared vocal performance and the use of a screaming alarm. Beyoncé considered the song one of her favorites on the album "because it's honest. I think people will be surprised, 'cause it shows a lot of vulnerability for a woman to say, 'Yeah, I don't want you, but somebody else is gonna step in and benefit from all of the things I taught you.'"[1]
Aggressive and emotionally ambiguous, the song explores the feelings of a woman who knows she should get rid of her man because of how he is treating her, but who's also worried that he's found someone else, making her jealous, turbulent and verging on psychotic. The thought of another woman benefitting from what she has taught her man, and also exploiting his wealth, makes her 'ring the alarm' because she'll be 'damned' if she sees another chick on his arm. There's no solace here: this is an elemental performance of unbridled anger and new territory for the singer. Some have suggested that this song is incredibly abrasive.[citation needed]
The song was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards 2007.
Chart performance
"Ring the Alarm" was released as the second single in North America from B’Day. The song debuted at number-twelve on the Billboard Hot 100, the second highest debut of 2006 and the highest debut of Beyoncé's career. However, the song peaked at number-eleven, which would be known as Beyoncé's lowest peaking single until "Get Me Bodied" (the song peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100). Critics and fans speculate it was the song's structure of rock influences and strong vocals that hurt the song's radio play.[citation needed] However, the single's remix "Ring the Alarm (Freemason Club Mix)" claimed the number-one spot on the Billboard Dance/Club Singles chart. The Tranzformas Remix feat. fellow label mate Collie Buddz, was charted in the Netherlands and Germany.
The song was released in several markets outside the U.S. including Brazil, Canada, Japan and the Philippines.It reached the top twenty in three of these markets, but became Knowles's first single not to make an appearance on the Canadian Singles Chart. In the UK, the video was used along with the availability of the download in order to increase sales of B’Day. Elsewhere "Irreplaceable" was the second single. Interestingly though, the song managed to chart at number 112 on the Official UK Download Charts (the full Top 200), but only the songs which have reached the Top 40 is considered officially charted for download sales chart (unlike the Official UK Singles Chart which considers Top 75 as official, combining both physical and download sales).[2] Several weeks after falling off the Hot 100 the single made a re-entry in 2007 at number 81.
Music video
The music video for "Ring the Alarm" was the second Knowles video to be directed by Sophie Muller. Primarily filmed in New York On July 21, 2006. The video premiered at Yahoo! Music on August 16, 2006 and made its debut on MTV's Total Request Live at number ten on August 22. The video remained on the show for thirty-five days and seemed poised to retire until it was replaced by "Irreplaceable".
The video starts with Beyoncé on a table in an interrogation room set in a milieu similar to the one in the film Basic Instinct, lit with a bright red flashing light. Further perpetuating the comparison to the film is the image of a body covered with a white sheet, suggesting perhaps Beyoncé's character is being investigated for murdering someone. She wears a white skirt and turtleneck also made to resemble Sharon Stone's wardrobe from the movie. The scenes cut between her dancing violently on the table shouting out the lyrics and her sitting on a chair wearing a coat. There are scenes of her at her beachside home and then dancing in a corner wearing army camouflage clothing. She is also seen crying towards the bridge of the video.
Formats and track listing
These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Ring the Alarm".
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Charts
| Chart (2006)[3][4] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil Hot 100[5] | 1 |
| The Polish National Top 50 | 46 |
| Sweden Singles Top 60 | 56 |
| UK Official Download Chart | 112 |
| United World Chart | 37 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 21 |
| U.S. Singles Top 40 | 9 |
| World R&B Top 30 Singles | 3 |
References
| This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK2006.HTM Zobbel.de
- ^ www.musicsquare.net/. World singles chart. Since July, 2006.
- ^ www.allmusic.com/. U.S. Billboard charts. Since July, 2006.
- ^ [2]
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