REVIEW: "Run The World (Girls)" by Beyonce

With songs like "Diva" and "Upgrade U," Beyonce has the vocal power and swagger strut to translate lyrics on the page into forceful anthems. While it has proven to be a successful recipe for her on number of occasions, "Run The World (Girls)" is not exactly one of them.


The song, which samples the instrumental of Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor," does get some positive points for the beat. With a thumping, marching band style percussion, the energy of the song is largely influenced by the heavy drum rolls and thunderous chants. Add to that an opening chorus of resounding "Girls, we run this mother," Beyonce effectively introduces the songs as equal parts anthem and club banger.

Although the energy-laden chorus presents the song as a strong showing among the other Beyonce greats (a list which includes "Crazy in Love" and "Single Ladies"), the verses are much more lackluster, descending into a breakdown before the reemergence of the chorus that sounds out of place. It's the kind of song where the pieces may work individually but the finished copy sounds incongruous.

The song also lacks the universal crossover appeal many of her previous lead singles have openly embraced. "Single Ladies," "Crazy in Love," and to some extent "Deja Vu" have all possessed a Beyonce stamp of approval that made the song as successful on urban and rhythmic stations as they were on pop radio. This song doesn't immediately reveal that universality and, while a purely urban/rhythmic (and well produced) track could propel Beyonce to even greater heights, this effort has fallen short.

Bottom line, Beyonce's return to music was not nearly as strong as many had hoped. But with almost every album, there are those minor hiccups that do not necessarily reflect the total package from which the song came. Let's just hope that is the case here.

Run The World (Girls) | Beyonce: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (5/10)