Listen (song)

"Listen"
Single by Beyoncé Knowles
from the album Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture, B'Day and Irreemplazable
Released January 29, 2007 (US)
February 19, 2007 (UK)
Format 7", CD, digital download
Recorded The Underlab
(Los Angeles, California)
Sony Music Studios
(New York City, New York)
Genre Soul, contemporary R&B
Length 3:37
Label Music World, Columbia
Writer(s) Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, Beyoncé Knowles
Producer The Underdogs Matt Sullivan, Randy Spendlove
Beyoncé Knowles singles chronology
"Upgrade U"
(2006)		 "Listen"
(2007)		 "Hollywood"
(2007)
Dreamgirls (2006) chronology
"One Night Only"
(2006)		 "Listen"
(2007)		 "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
(2007)

"Listen" is a 2006 R&B, soul song recorded by American singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Knowles, and produced by The Underdogs Matt Sullivan and Randy Spendlove for the soundtrack to the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls. "Listen" is one of four compositions written specifically for the Dreamgirls film. In the film, Knowles' character Deena Jones sings the song to assert independence over her controlling husband.

The track was released as the lead single from film's soundtrack album on December 5, 2006 in the United States, appeared as a hidden track on international editions of Knowles' second solo studio album, B'Day, and also appeared on the Deluxe Edition of Knowles' second LP. The Spanish version of the song "Oye" was released on the EP Irreemplazable and on the second disc of the Spanish Deluxe Edition release of B'Day. "Listen" was a critical success, and it won Best Original Song at the 2007 Annual Critics' Choice Awards. It was also nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Song.[1]

Contents

Context

In the film version of Dreamgirls, Knowles portrays the character of Deena Jones, a pop singer who is heavily inspired by 1960s Motown star Diana Ross. The story explores the life of The Dreamettes, a fictional 1960s group of three female singers—Effie White (American singer-actress Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson (American singer-actress Anika Noni Rose)—who are shaken when they discover their manager is manipulating their personal and professional relationships.[2]

At the film's halfway point, Effie, who first had a relationship with their manager, discovers he is betraying her; Effie has her crescendo scene when she sings "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", a song popularized in 1982 by American singer-actress Jennifer Holliday.[3] During the second half of the film, Curtis and Deena argue at dinner over Deena's desire to make her film debut in an urban film instead of the Cleopatra prequel that Curtis is producing. An angry Curtis asserts his creative and psychological control over his wife, informing Deena that he would not let anyone else "handle" her, because, in his words, "no one knows you the way I do". Contrasting her with Effie, Curtis tells Deena that he put Deena as lead singer of the Dreams because her voice "had no personality. No depth. Except for what [he] put in there".[2]

In the context of the film, "Listen" is a 1975 song that Deena records on Rainbow Records, a recording empire established by Curtis. Like most songs in the movie Dreamgirls, this song serves two purposes. She is actually recording the song in a booth as a track, but the song also reveals Deena's growing disgust (as the chorus lyrics slightly change during the song,) at being considered merely Curtis' property.[3][4] Used in the film as a last-minute recording by Deena before leaving Curtis "to find her own voice as a newly independent woman",[5] co-writer Anne Preven called "Listen" a song which "Deena is exclaiming, 'You don't know who I am, and I know I do.'"[6]

Composition

Upon reading the script for Dreamgirls, director Bill Condon felt the second half of the film needed a song.[3] The "emotional punch" of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" led him to ask the musical team for Dreamgirls "to create a new and equally moving song to energize the second act".[5] Led by Henry Krieger, the composer of the original 1981 Broadway musical version of Dreamgirls, the song was written with help from Scott Cutler, Preven, and Knowles. The track was produced by the R&B-pop production duo The Underdogs.[7] "Listen" is one of four songs written for the film version of Dreamgirls.[8]

"Listen" is a soul song with ballad influences,[4][8][9] performed in a moderately slow pace. Set in common time, it is composed in the key of B major.[10] The lyrics are written in the traditional verse-chorus form. A bridge follows after repeating the pattern and ends in another chorus. The music of the song takes its instrumentation from the bass, celli, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, violas, and violins.[7]

Release

Knowles performing "Listen" during The Beyoncé Experience concert tour.

"Listen" was released as the lead single off the soundtrack album Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture. Knowles recorded an introduction to "Listen" entitled "Encore to the Fans", and the song and introduction are featured as bonus tracks on international editions of Knowles' second solo album B'Day.[11] In the United States, "Listen" was released as a CD single on January 29, 2007, featuring its album and instrumental versions.[12] A Spanish version of the song, "Oye", was produced and released on the deluxe edition of B'Day.

In 2009 "Listen" has been covered by Italian singer Valerio Scanu.

Critical reception

Knowles scored positive reviews for "Listen", most of which complimented her vocal performance. A reviewer from Pitchfork Media stated that "when Beyoncé belts out the chorus, the inspiration is real, tangible, and contagious".[13] Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine writes, "Beyoncé delivers the performance of her career in 'Listen', another defining moment in the brilliant flick [besides Hudson's 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going']. In this devastatingly beautiful ballad, she shimmers with evocative emotion, rising to new heights alongside a golden melody with spellbinding, rafter-raising production".[14] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine noted that the song "adds grit and touching gravity to Deena".[15] Jody Rosen's review for Entertainment Weekly was less impressed, describing "Listen" as "gloopy" and "an inspirational ballad about 'the song in my heart', which builds to an enormous schlock-opera climax".[16]

"Listen" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2006 International Press Academy Satellite Award[17] and in 2007 at the Golden Globe Awards and at the Academy Awards.[1][18] Also in 2007, Dreamgirls received seven nominations at the 12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards, where the film won four awards, including Best Original Song for "Listen".[19]

At the Academy Awards, Knowles was not listed as one of the honorees. She is officially one of the four writers of the song, but as per Academy Rule 16, only three major contributors of a song are eligible. The executive committee of the organization had determined, during their meeting in December of the same year, that Knowles' contribution was the smallest.[20][21]

Music videos

The first music video premiered on MTV's Making the Video on November 28, 2006.[22] The other music videos were released online and through the Dreamgirls DVD special features. All together "Listen" has had a total of 3 official different music videos.

Performance Version

This video, which was directed by Diane Martel, features Knowles walking through a performance hall in modern-day street clothes, performing the song. Once she arrives onstage and at the song's bridge, she appears in costume as Deena, dressed in a 1970s-era gown. Intercut into the video are scenes from Dreamgirls, most of which depict Deena's relationship with Curtis.[23] These clips, however, were taken out in the director's cut version of the video;[24] this version appeared on the B'Day Anthology Video Album. In her first outfit, Beyoncé is seen wearing a Wonder Woman t-shirt. Beyoncé has stated before that she would love to play Wonder Woman.[25]

Vogue Shoot Version

The music video, directed by Matthew Rolston, features Knowles wearing a modern-day tank top, performing the song against a blank white background. Interspersed are some scenes from a Vogue magazine photo shoot. These scenes are replaced with a photo shoot within her film Dreamgirls for the broadcast version.[26] In this version, Knowles is seen posing for a photoshot in which she wears very outlandish clothing. As the shoot progresses it becomes more and more evident that Knowles is not happy with the direction of the shoot and when she is handed a bird to pose with she becomes fed up, walks away and strips down to the black tank top and shorts underneath. She then climbs the staircase of the building to the rooftop and finishes singing the song. This version appears on the Dreamgirls DVD release with the original photo shoot replaced by scenes from the movie.

Vogue Shoot Version Director's Cut

Matthew Rolston released a directors cut of his music video that features Knowles wearing a modern-day tank top, performing the song against a blank white background. Interspersed are some scenes from a Vogue magazine photo shoot instead of scenes from Dreamgirls.[27] In this version, Knowles is seen posing for a photoshot in which she wears very outlandish clothing. Interspersed are some scenes of Knowles singing against either a black or a white background. As the shoot progresses it becomes more and more evident that Knowles is not happy with the direction of the shoot and when she is handed a bird to pose with she becomes fed up, walks away and strips down to the black tank top and shorts underneath. She then climbs the staircase of the building to the rooftop and finishes singing the song.

Chart performance

"Listen" has entered and left the UK Top 40 on three separate occasions, firstly in February 2007 it entered at 31 before leaving and eventually peaking at number 16 in March the same year. In December 2008, Alexandra Burke performed the song in the final 5 week of The X Factor,' causing the song to re-enter the UK Singles Chart at number 53, which is a higher position than it reached in the United States on initial release, where it peaked at 61. In the final of The X Factor, Burke, who would become the winner, performed "Listen" as a duet with Knowles. On December 21, 2008, the song climbed to number 8 on the chart, with high sales of 28,000 copies. The following week Listen fell to 30 and remained in the top forty for a further two weeks. Sales of the single now stand at close to 120,000 copies.[28]

Track listing

US CD single
  1. "Listen" (Album version)
  2. "Listen" (Instrumental)
International CD single[29]
  1. "Listen" - 3:40
  2. "Irreplaceable" (DJ Speedy Remix) - 4:21
Belgium CD single[30]
  1. "Listen" - 3:40
  2. "Irreplaceable" (Maurice Joshua Remix Edit) - 4:04

Chart history

Chart [31][32][33] Peak
position
Austria Top 75 32
German Singles Top 100 18
Irish Singles Chart 6
Italian Singles Chart 3
Swiss Singles Top 100 10
US Billboard Hot 100 61
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 23
US Billboard Pop 100 56
UK Singles Chart 8

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "79th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/nomswins.html. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Condon, Bill - Director. (2006-12-15). Dreamgirls. [Motion picture]. United States: DreamWorks SKG. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Reid, Shaheem (2006-12-13). "Beyonce Wants End To Drama Over New Drama 'Dreamgirls'; Sets Tour". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1547863/20061212/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Scott, A. O. (2006-12-15). "Three-Part Heartbreak in Motown". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/movies/15drea.html. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ulmer, James (2006-09-10). "After Conquering 'Chicago,' It's On to Motown". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/movies/moviesspecial/10ulme.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=Listen%20by%20Beyonce&st=nyt&scp=6. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  6. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2006-01-02). "In the mix: The Oscar song race rocks a who's who list of top stars". Variety. Reed Business. http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117956539.html?nav=news&categoryid=1983&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 (2007) Album notes for B'Day deluxe edition. Sony Music BMG Entertainment.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Corey, Moss (2006-08-01). "New Beyonce Single — And Eddie Murphy Singing — Featured In 'Dreamgirls'". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1537576/20060801/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
  9. ↑ Gardner, Elysa (2006-08-31). "Beyoncé, raising her voice". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-08-30-beyonce-bday_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  10. ↑ "Listen". Sheet Music Plus. http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_inside.html?item=17262200&page=01&cart=34158372279377457. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  11. ↑ Orzeck, Kurt (2006-09-05). "New Releases: Beyonce, Audioslave, Iron Maiden, Alice In Chains, Kinky, Sebadoh, Black Ice, Hem & More". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1539838/20060830/knowles_beyonce.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  12. ↑ "Listen". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/more.jsp?tp=singles&pid=317670&aid=829214. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  13. ↑ "Pitchfork: Track Reviews - Listen". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/track_reviews/Beyonc%C3%A9_Listen#40231. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  14. ↑ Taylor, Chuck. "Listen". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/singles/e3iacXfgBSOlsp4gfuAfQjyFw%3D%3D. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  15. ↑ Travers, Peter (2006-11-21). "Dreamgirls". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/9141695/review/12625995/1015_dreamgirls. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  16. ↑ Rosen, Jody (2007-09-01). "Music Review: B'Day (2006)-Beyonce Knowles". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1516025,00.html. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
  17. ↑ "2006 11th Annual SATELLITE Awards". The International Press Academy and The SATELLITE Awards. http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2006.shtml. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  18. ↑ ""Nominees for the 2007 Golden Globe Awards in full". Times Online. 2006-12-15. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article754715.ece. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
  19. ↑ "Film critics honour The Departed". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-01-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6258389.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
  20. ↑ O'Neil, Tom (2007-01-02). "Oscars won't 'Listen' to Beyonce; she's disqualified in song race". Los Angeles Times. http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2007/01/beyonce_disqual.html. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  21. ↑ Montgomery, James (2007-01-04). "Oscars Snub Beyonce Over 'Listen'". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1549220/20070103/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  22. ↑ "Video Premiere: Beyoncé". MTV. 2006-11-28. http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1546765&vid=122243. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  23. ↑ Martel, Diane - Director. (2006). Listen. [Music video]. United States: Sony BMG. 
  24. ↑ Matel, Diane - Director. (2006). Listen (Director's cut). [Music video]. United States: Sony BMG. 
  25. ↑ LA Times - Beyoncé wants to lasso the role of Wonder Woman: Nov 7 2008
  26. ↑ Rolston, Matthew - Director. (2006). Listen. [Music video]. United States: VH1. 
  27. ↑ Rolston, Matthew - Director. (2006). Listen. [Music video]. United States: VH1. 
  28. ↑ Sexton, Paul (2008-12-22). "Alexandra Burke Is 'X Factor' On U.K. Charts". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/alexandra-burke-is-x-factor-on-u-k-charts-1003924373.story. Retrieved 2008-12-22. 
  29. ↑ "iTunes Store - Beyoncé - Listen - single". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  30. ↑ "iTunes Store - Beyoncé - Listen - single". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  31. ↑ "Artist Chart History - Beyoncé". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=317670&model.vnuAlbumId=1097735. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  32. ↑ "Beyoncé's Billboard Singles Chart Performances". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=BEYONCE&sql=11:axfuxq8jld6e~T51. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  33. ↑ "Beyoncé - Listen". αCharts.us. http://acharts.us/song/11767. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
Beyoncé singles
Discography · Videography · Songs · Awards and nominations · Tours
Dangerously in Love
#1's
"Check on It"
B'Day
"Déjà Vu" · "Ring the Alarm" · "Irreplaceable" · "Beautiful Liar" · "Get Me Bodied" · "Green Light"
I Am... Sasha Fierce
"If I Were a Boy" · "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" · "Diva" · "Halo" · "Ego" · "Sweet Dreams" · "Broken-Hearted Girl" · "Video Phone"
Featured singles
"I Got That" · "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" · "What More Can I Give" · "Hollywood" · "Amor Gitano" · "Until the End of Time" · "Love in This Club Part II" · "Just Stand Up!" · "Telephone" · "Put It in a Love Song"
Soundtrack singles
"Work It Out" · "Fighting Temptation" · "Summertime" · "One Night Only" · "Listen" · "At Last"
Other songs
"Dangerously in Love 2" · "Upgrade U" · "Suga Mama" · "Radio" · "Why Don't You Love Me"
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