Get Me Bodied
"Get Me Bodied" | |
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Song |
"Get Me Bodied" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Knowles, Sean Garrett, Solange Knowles, Angela Beyince, Makeba Riddick, and Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean. The track was produced by Swizz Beatz, Beyoncé and Sean Garrett, for Beyoncé's second solo studio album, B'Day. She took inspiration from her sister (singer Solange) and former Destiny's Child band-mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams during the writing process.
The single was released as the album's seventh and final single for the United States on July 10, 2007. "Get Me Bodied" reached number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's lowest charting U.S.-released single. The song was positively received by contemporary critics. "Get Me Bodied" was nominated by VH1 Soul VIBE Awards Special for Video of the Year. The single's accompanying music video features visual elements and choreography inspired by The Frug from Bob Fosse's film adaptation of the Broadway musical Sweet Charity; the video features Solange, Rowland and Williams.
Background
During a vacation after six months of filming Dreamgirls, Beyoncé went to the studio to begin working on her second solo album B'Day.[1] Beyoncé revealed: "[When filming ended,] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas".[1] She contacted American songwriter-producer Sean Garrett, who co-wrote her 2005 hit single "Check on It", and booked him at the Sony Music Studios in New York City.[2] She also called American hip hop producer-rapper Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean who had co-produced songs for her before. Besides her sister-singer Solange Knowles, Beyoncé enlisted her cousin Angela Beyince, who had been collaborated on her previous album Dangerously in Love, and up-and-coming songwriter Makeba Riddick, who became part of the B'Day production team after co-writing the album's lead single "Déjà Vu".[1]
When I wrote it, I said "three best friends" because I was thinking about them. They make me laugh so hard, and we are so silly together. Like, we're trying to pretend that we're fierce, but in between takes, we're laughing [uproariously] at our inside jokes.
Beyoncé took inspiration from Solange, who helped her writing the song, and former Destiny's Child band-mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. In the song, she mentioned "three best friends" because she was thinking of them while writing.[3]
While working on the lyrics, Swizz Beatz and other producers in the team produced the track. "Get Me Bodied" was produced by Swizz Beatz, Beyoncé and Sean Garrett. It is one of the four songs produced by Swizz Beatz for the album, including "Upgrade U" and "Ring the Alarm", which was produced by the same trio.[1] The song was recorded in the same studio.
Music and structure
"Get Me Bodied" is a moderate R&B and bounce track.[4][5][6] It is composed in the key of G minor and set in common time.[4] The song includes hand-claps and chants of "hey!" and "jump!" in the background and features vocal gymnastics and Texas twang.
The lyrics are constructed in the traditional verse-chorus form. Beyoncé mentions the date of her birthday to 9-4-8-1. A man's voice takes over singing "hey's" and "jump's" for four bar, followed with the first verse. The verses are written like a list where Beyoncé roll calls her missions before going party. It is followed with the chorus, then the second verse. The chorus repeats giving way to the bridge. Beyoncé sings the chorus again, ending the song with "hey!".
Release and reception
"Get Me Bodied" and "Green Light" were planned to be released as the next two singles from B'day, following the lead single "Déjà Vu". Beyoncé aimed the tracks at the international markets; but opted for "Ring the Alarm" as the second single, which charted poorly.[7] Instead, "Get Me Bodied" was released after the album's deluxe edition's "Beautiful Liar" (2007). A two-track CD single was released on July 10, 2007 in the United States containing the radio edit and the extended mix of the song.[8] A "Get Me Bodied" (ringle) was released on October 23, 2007.[9]
"Get Me Bodied" received plaudits from the public. Chris Richards of The The Washington Post referred to the track a "club-hungry come-ons" with a "dexterous melody". He further stated that the "skeletal" track "keeps Beyoncé tethered to the ground".[10] Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly commented that "a piddly home hi-fi can hardly capture the thunderous grandeur of "Get Me Bodied," which sets Beyoncé's harmonies above a pummeling track overseen by rap producer Swiss Beatz".[11] Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media called the track a "percussive, Diwali-esque jam".[12] US Weekly described "Get Me Bodied" a "snappy dance number"[5] and Bill Lamb of About.com called it a "party track".[13] Spence D. of IGN complimented Swizz Beatz for "toss[ing] up a strange click track rhythm that is augmented by 'ayes' and 'yos.'" He was also impressed with Beyoncé, stating that although her "crisp voice seems at odds with the lurching, turgid beats", when it gets muted and overlapped on the chorus it sounds "purely hypnotical".[14] Mike Joseph of Popmatters was unimpressed with the song calling it a "sparse production".[15] Sasha Frere-jones of The New Yorker noted that the song sounds "anxious."[16]
"Get Me Bodied" was nominated at the 2007 VH1 Soul Vibe Awards for VH1 Soul Video of the Year.[17] About.com listed the song as one of the top tracks of B'Day.[13] Knowles earned the R&B and Hip-Hop Song accolade for "Get Me Bodied" at the 2008 ASCAP Awards.[18]
The single charted poorly in domestic charts. Prior to the release of the single, it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 26, 2007 at number ninety-eight while "Beautiful Liar" and "Irreplaceable" were still charting.[19] It was lurking below top fifty approaching its physical release. On August 4, 2007, "Get Me Bodied" peaked at number sixty-eight,[20] and spent a total of eighteen weeks on Hot 100.[21] "Get Me Bodied" reached at number ten on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number eighty-eight on the Pop 100.[22][23]
Music video
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Get_Me_Bodied_Screenshot.png)
"Get Me Bodied" was one of the videos shot during the two-week filming for B'Day Anthology Video Album.[24] The music video was conceptualized by Beyoncé and co-directed by Anthony Mandler.[25] The version used in the video is the extended mix on the Deluxe Edition of B'Day. The shooting went for two days and choreographed by Rhapsody, Todd Sams, Clifford McGhee and Bethany Strong.[24][25] For the shoot, Beyoncé asked former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and sister Solange to appear alongside her in the video. Beyoncé said that it "sets the tone of the video".[3]
Beyoncé's mother and stylist, Tina Knowles created over sixty outfits for Beyoncé and the fifty extras featured in the video.[24] The "instructional" dance-oriented video is inspired by the '60s choreographies. Beyoncé cites influences from the legendary Broadway director-choreographer Bob Fosse, Southern and Jamaican movement and the Frug from the musical Sweet Charity. She said, "It tells you how to do all the dances — it's modern, it's retro, it's vintage, it's stylized, it's all of those things put together."[3] The story moves from a tony party reminiscent of the Jazz Age, followed with dance sequences.
A re-edit of the video was produced for the Timbaland remix featuring Voltio. Although Voltio does not actually appear in the video, unused footages of the original video were replaced during his parts, instead. The re-edited video was posted on the MTV Overdrive on July 26, 2007 and is available on iTunes. The video is also included on the DVD for Irreemplazable.
Track listings and formats
- CD single
- "Get Me Bodied" (Radio Edit) – 4:00
- "Get Me Bodied" (Extended Mix) – 6:18
- CD Maxi Single
- "Get Me Bodied" (Extended Mix) – 6:21
- "Get Me Bodied" (Timbaland Remix featuring Voltio) – 6:17
- "Get Me Bodied" (Timbaland Remix featuring Fabolous) – 4:50
Charts
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
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Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[26] | 42 |
US Billboard Hot 100[27] | 68 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] | 10 |
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[29] | 89|}
References
External links
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