Ring the Alarm

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This article documents a current single.
Information is likely to change as the song remains in the charts.

"Ring the Alarm"

Single by Beyoncé
from the album B'Day
Released	October 17, 2006 (U.S.)
Format	CD single
Recorded	Sony Music Studios, New York City
Genre	R&B
Length	3:23
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Beyoncé Knowles, Sean Garrett
Producer(s)	Beyoncé Knowles, Swizz Beatz
Chart positions
#10 (Philippines) #11 (U.S.) #3 (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) #13 (Brazil) #16 (Japan)
Beyoncé singles chronology
"Deja Vu" (2006)	"Ring the Alarm" (2006)	"Irreplaceable" (2006)

"Ring the Alarm" is an R&B song written by Beyoncé Knowles, Swizz Beatz and Sean Garrett for Knowles's second solo studio album, B'Day (2006). Produced by Swizz Beatz, the song premiered on August 8, 2006 to U.S. radio outlets 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. Despite the extremely high debut on the Hot 100, it became Beyoncé's first single since "Work It Out" to miss the top ten on the chart, falling fast on the chart and leaving the Top Forty by only its ninth week.

Outside the United States "Ring the Alarm" was released only in Japan and Brazil; for other markets, "Irreplaceable" was the second single released instead. With the music video being aired on UK music channels such as The Box and The Hits, there were rumors saying that the single would be the third UK single and many saying that it would not. It was later revealed that it was to be released on October 23. http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=831933][1][2]

1 Song information
2 Music video
3 Track listings
4 Charts
5 Official remixes
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Song information

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.'" [3]

There are two versions of the song: the version featured on the album and one version currently available on her MySpace page that has a lot more bass and acoustic with no mid section in the beat. Lyrically the song explains the feelings of a woman who knows she should get rid of her man because of how he is treating her, yet she is worried that he will find someone else and this thought makes her jealous. The thought of another woman benefitting from what she has taught her man causes her to 'ring the alarm' because she'll be 'damned" if she sees another chick on his arm.

[edit] Music video

Beyoncé in the music video

The music video for "Ring the Alarm" was the second Knowles video to be directed by Sophie Muller. Primarily filmed in Los Angeles, 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 remianed on the show for thirty-five days, a week before her "Irreplaceable" video debuted.

The video starts with Beyoncé on a table in an interrogation room set in a milieu tentatively 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 dress also made resembling Sharon Stone's. 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.

[edit] Track listings

Single

Album version
Instrumental

Maxi-single

Karmatronic remix
Migtight remix
Tranzformas remix (featuring Collie Buddz)
Jazze Phe remix
Grizz remix

[edit] Charts

Chart (2006)^[1]^[2]	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
Japan Top 20	16
Brazil Hot 100 [4]	13
Quaday Hot 100 Singles Philippines	10
UK Official Download Chart	114
United World Chart	37
World Dance Chart	1