“If I Were a Boy” is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was written by Toby Gad and BC Jean and produced by Gad and Knowles for her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008). Alongside “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, the song was released as the album’s lead single to U.S. radios on October 8, 2008. The CD single was released November 11, 2008.

Background

“You can hear with ‘If I Were A Boy’, it’s not a traditional R&B song,” Beyonce explains. “It’s difficult to grow and to break out and do new things because people have strong expectations. I feel like at this point, I wanted people to hear songs with stronger lyrics and songs that made you feel. I love singing ballads because I feel like the music and the emotion in the story is told so much better. It’s a better connection because you can hear it and it’s not all these other distractions. I really wanted people to hear my voice and hear what I had to say.”

A Spanish version of the song titled “Si Yo Fuera un Chico” is included on the version of the album sold on iTunes Spain A remix has been released featuring R. Kelly.

Promotion

Knowles performed the song on many shows, including: The Oprah Winfrey Show, World Music Awards 2008, Saturday Night Live, MTV Europe Music Awards 2008, Strictly Come Dancing, Total Request Live, BET’s 106 & Park, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Today Show, and The Tyra Banks Show.

Critical reception

Billboard magazine reviewer Chuck Taylor gave the song a very positive review, writing: “‘If I Were a Boy’ is Beyoncé’s most affecting offering since ‘Listen’ from Dreamgirls. Her vocal performance is breathtaking: exquisitely emotive, mournful and mature. Lyrically, the stunning ballad is a tome of torment, as she offers, ‘If I were a boy,’ I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl/I swear I’d be a better man. Boy, Beyoncé delivers. This is the kind of all-encompassing song that exudes the fragrance of a Grammy Award nod.” Bill Lamb of About.com, stated that: “Stylistically, the pair ['If I Were a Boy'/'Single Ladies'] are very distinctive from each other, but both are pure Beyoncé. To my ears, ‘If I Were a Boy’ sounds like an ‘Irreplaceable’ size smash. However, that is only if it doesn’t get overshadowed by the power bounce of ‘Single Ladies,’ an extension of the style of ‘Get Me Bodied’ from B’Day.” In a separate review, Lamb continued to praise the song: “‘If I Were a Boy’ is her greatest achievement yet, and that is certainly saying something.” Lamb also said that the song is “Beyonce’s best effort yet. The song is one which fits perfectly into her growing repertoire and features a stellar vocal performance. … Beyonce’s controlled but emotional vocal performance is the stuff of which award-winning records are made. ‘Irreplaceable’ was defeated when nominated for the Record of the Year Grammy. It’s quite possible that ‘If I Were a Boy’ could bring the trophy home. This is a song and recording for the ages.

Julian Marszalek of Dotmusic gave a mixed reception to the song, writing “It’s an interesting enough conceit for a ballad and one that’s been previously tackled by no less an authority on the foibles of human nature than William Shakespeare himself. So with this in mind, Beyonce’s single is a bit like Twelfth Night but without the jokes, mistaken identity and cross-dressing. But despite her best intentions to find out how men are, she’d be best advised to leave the differences between the genders as a sweet little mystery, before the guys decide to find out what it would be like if they were a girl and she finds that her pantyhose are too big to fit even them.”

Controversy

She collaborated with hit record-producer Toby Gad on the song “If I Were A Boy”. Fox News ran an article claiming that the song was written by BC Jean. Jean was reportedly unaware that Knowles had recorded the track, contrary to rumors that Knowles had “stolen” the song. Neither Jean nor Gad have released statements concerning this matter.

Music video

The music video for “If I Were a Boy”, directed by Jake Nava, was shot in black and white and portrays Knowles as an NYPD officer. It begins with Knowles and her husband reciting words such as “intimacy”, “honesty”, and “commitment” and problems in the bedroom. The song starts as her husband prepares breakfast and Knowles takes off. It later shows Knowles on patrol with her male partner. Knowles and her male partner form a close relationship throughout the song. Her husband is unaware and is singled out since she constantly ignores his calls while with her male partner. She is then shown at a party dancing with her male partner, when she sees her husband watching them. She and her husband return home and confront each other. The characters switch lines and it is revealed that Knowles had been acting out her husband’s day and how he mistreats her and never takes her call. The video ends with the couple now acting out their real roles in life.

Chart performance

“If I Were a Boy” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 100, solely based on airplay.[when?] The following week, the song climbed 32 places to number 68 and then it rose considerably in its third week, as the digital download counterpart had been released, jumping 65 spots to number three due to high digital download which totaled to 190,000 eventually making it her tenth top-5 single on the Hot 100 as a solo artist. It then fell to number five, but then resumed its number three position. On the following week If I Were A Boy came back to top hot digital songs with 170,000 copies sold. The single has sold over 500,000 units, and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. On the following week it fell to number two on digital sales as it was beaten by beyonce’s own single “Single Ladies” with 204,000 copies sold, while “If I Were A Boy” gained 160,000 copies, bringing her to a new total of 974,000 copies sold in five weeks of release. Beyonce became the seventh female to have two songs in the top five positions.

On October 26, 2008, “If I Were A Boy” was the highest debut of the week, and Beyonce’s second highest debut ever, debuting at number 12 on the Australian Singles Chart based solely on downloads. In its second week of physical sales, the single went to number one on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart. The song debuted at number eight in New Zealand on October 27, 2008, and has so far peaked at number two. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart with 64,554 downloads; the highest download only figures for a single in the history of the UK chart. In its second chart week, the song fell to number three with sales of 57,917, on the third week “If I Were a Boy” has climbed to number one on November 23 selling 47,949 copies, making it Knowles’ fourth number-one single in the United Kingdom as a solo artist and her sixth counting her career with Destiny’s Child. Moreover, this is her first single to be at number one, without having other featured artist in a single.

Other Information

• Artist: Beyoncé
• Album: I Am… Sasha Fierce
• Released: October 21, 2008 (2008-10-21) (digital), November 11, 2008 (2008-11-11) (CD single), November 10, 2008 (2008-11-10) (UK)
• Format: CD single, maxi single, download
• Genre: Pop
• Length: 4:10
• Label: Columbia
• Writers: BC Jean, Toby Gad
• Producer: Toby Gad
• Certification: Gold (RIAA)

Tags: Beyonce, Beyonce Knowles, billboard hot 100, billboard magazine, I Am… Sasha Fierce, If I Were a Boy, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), world music award