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Beautiful Liar
"Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé and Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Beyoncé for the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's second solo studio album, B'Day (2006). The mixing of the song was done by Gustavo Celis. "Beautiful Liar" was released on February 12, 2007, through Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment as the only single from the deluxe edition of the album. A Spanglish mixed version of the song was produced and titled "Bello Embustero".
"Beautiful Liar" is a mid-tempo song; musically, it is a melding of Shakira's Latin and Arabic styles with Beyoncé's contemporary hip hop and R&B styles. Its theme is female empowerment; two female protagonists sing about being charmed by the same man, but instead of fighting over him, both ladies agree that he is not worth their time. The song was well received by music critics, who praised generally Beyoncé's and Shakira's collaboration. "Beautiful Liar" was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Grammy Awards (2007), while the Spanish version was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2007. It won an Ivor Novello Awards for Best-Selling British Song in 2008.
"Beautiful Liar" was commercially successful. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and experienced the largest upward movement on that chart until 2008. The song peaked at number one in various countries, including France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Its accompanying music video, directed by Jake Nava, incorporates belly dancing moves. "Beautiful Liar" won the MTV Video Music Award for Most Earthshattering Collaboration at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was included on Beyoncé's set list during her world tour The Beyoncé Experience (2007).
"Beautiful Liar" was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Beyoncé. It was produced by Eriksen and Hermansen using their stage name, Stargate, and Beyoncé. Eriksen told Sound on Sound, "This song is very simple. Most of the time we have more chords in a song, because we find it hard writing a great song on just one chord. But if you do it right, you can make it work, and this song is an example." The track had already been written in 2006. Eriksen and Hermansen played it to their manager, Tyran Smith, who said that it would be perfect for a duet between Shakira and Beyoncé. Eriksen and Hermansen considered this to be impossible, however Smith was devoted to that idea. As they had no lyric or top melody, various writers attempted to finish the song. The first three attempts were not satisfactory, and Smith put Eriksen and Hermansen to work together with Ghost and Dench, who wrote a significant part of the lyrics and the melody.
"Beautiful Liar" initially had a Spanish title and different lyrics. Hermansen re-titled it when he heard the line "beautiful liar" in one of the verses. When the production of the song was almost completed, it was presented to Beyoncé, who approved it. She recorded a solo version a few months before the release of the deluxe edition of B'Day (2006) adding new lines and producing the song alongside Eriksen and Hermansen, handling the vocal production and arrangement. Beyoncé confirmed that she would perform a duet with Shakira in an interview for Univision in December 2006. In another interview for MTV News, Beyoncé said that she met Shakira several times at various awards shows, and they talked about plans to collaborate on a song as they are both fans of each other and respect each other's work. Beyoncé said that she was very happy that they were able to work together after waiting for years.
When Beyoncé invited her to record a song for the re-release of Beyoncé's studio second album, B'Day, Shakira was touring and consequently had difficulties to match her schedule with Beyoncé's. A few months later, Shakira agreed to sing on the track. As she recorded her vocals, the songwriters and producers added the ethnic strings and percussion break. Beyoncé and Shakira recorded their vocals in different studios; "Beautiful Liar" was recorded at Sony Music Studios and Battery Studios in New York City, La Marimonda in Nassau, Bahamas, The Hit Factory in Miami, Florida, and Futura Productions in Boston, Massachusetts.
"Beautiful Liar" is a R&B and latin pop song, which is written in the key of G Phrygian dominant, and set in common time at a tempo of 96 beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocal range spans from G3 to B♭5. Anna Pickard of The Guardian found elements of Latino and bounce music. The song opens with Shakira's vocals accompanied by a piping, Middle Eastern figure, later joined by a mariachi-flavored horn section. Groaning noises can be heard in the background which complement the melody. The names of the two singers are then heard: "Bee on say, be-on-SAY! Sha kee ra, Sha-ki-RA". The verses are sung on a mid-tempo, strutting, hip-thrusting arrangement, accented by rapid, flamenco-like hand claps and guitar strums. The song also features Arabic instruments such as, oud and ney.
Lyrically, "Beautiful Liar" speaks about two women who chose not to end a friendship because of a man who has cheated both of them. Its theme is one of female independence. Beyoncé told MTV News that "Beautiful Liar" is about female empowerment, in keeping with the theme of the album: "It's about a guy who's kind of playing both of us, and instead of us arguing over the guy we say, 'Forget him. Let's stick together. He's a beautiful liar." The chorus features the lines, "Let's not kill the karma, let's not start a fight" with the female protagonists bonding in their mutual betrayal. Beyoncé and Shakira sing with staccato, intense vocal approach throughout the song. Beyoncé sings the lines "I didn't know about you then, till I saw you with him again" earnestly while Shakira later adds "I walked in on your love scene, slow dancing". In the end, the female protagonists conclude, "we can live without him", referring to their cheating lover.
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Beautiful Liar
"Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé and Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Beyoncé for the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's second solo studio album, B'Day (2006). The mixing of the song was done by Gustavo Celis. "Beautiful Liar" was released on February 12, 2007, through Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment as the only single from the deluxe edition of the album. A Spanglish mixed version of the song was produced and titled "Bello Embustero".
"Beautiful Liar" is a mid-tempo song; musically, it is a melding of Shakira's Latin and Arabic styles with Beyoncé's contemporary hip hop and R&B styles. Its theme is female empowerment; two female protagonists sing about being charmed by the same man, but instead of fighting over him, both ladies agree that he is not worth their time. The song was well received by music critics, who praised generally Beyoncé's and Shakira's collaboration. "Beautiful Liar" was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Grammy Awards (2007), while the Spanish version was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2007. It won an Ivor Novello Awards for Best-Selling British Song in 2008.
"Beautiful Liar" was commercially successful. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and experienced the largest upward movement on that chart until 2008. The song peaked at number one in various countries, including France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Its accompanying music video, directed by Jake Nava, incorporates belly dancing moves. "Beautiful Liar" won the MTV Video Music Award for Most Earthshattering Collaboration at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was included on Beyoncé's set list during her world tour The Beyoncé Experience (2007).
"Beautiful Liar" was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Beyoncé. It was produced by Eriksen and Hermansen using their stage name, Stargate, and Beyoncé. Eriksen told Sound on Sound, "This song is very simple. Most of the time we have more chords in a song, because we find it hard writing a great song on just one chord. But if you do it right, you can make it work, and this song is an example." The track had already been written in 2006. Eriksen and Hermansen played it to their manager, Tyran Smith, who said that it would be perfect for a duet between Shakira and Beyoncé. Eriksen and Hermansen considered this to be impossible, however Smith was devoted to that idea. As they had no lyric or top melody, various writers attempted to finish the song. The first three attempts were not satisfactory, and Smith put Eriksen and Hermansen to work together with Ghost and Dench, who wrote a significant part of the lyrics and the melody.
"Beautiful Liar" initially had a Spanish title and different lyrics. Hermansen re-titled it when he heard the line "beautiful liar" in one of the verses. When the production of the song was almost completed, it was presented to Beyoncé, who approved it. She recorded a solo version a few months before the release of the deluxe edition of B'Day (2006) adding new lines and producing the song alongside Eriksen and Hermansen, handling the vocal production and arrangement. Beyoncé confirmed that she would perform a duet with Shakira in an interview for Univision in December 2006. In another interview for MTV News, Beyoncé said that she met Shakira several times at various awards shows, and they talked about plans to collaborate on a song as they are both fans of each other and respect each other's work. Beyoncé said that she was very happy that they were able to work together after waiting for years.
When Beyoncé invited her to record a song for the re-release of Beyoncé's studio second album, B'Day, Shakira was touring and consequently had difficulties to match her schedule with Beyoncé's. A few months later, Shakira agreed to sing on the track. As she recorded her vocals, the songwriters and producers added the ethnic strings and percussion break. Beyoncé and Shakira recorded their vocals in different studios; "Beautiful Liar" was recorded at Sony Music Studios and Battery Studios in New York City, La Marimonda in Nassau, Bahamas, The Hit Factory in Miami, Florida, and Futura Productions in Boston, Massachusetts.
"Beautiful Liar" is a R&B and latin pop song, which is written in the key of G Phrygian dominant, and set in common time at a tempo of 96 beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocal range spans from G3 to B♭5. Anna Pickard of The Guardian found elements of Latino and bounce music. The song opens with Shakira's vocals accompanied by a piping, Middle Eastern figure, later joined by a mariachi-flavored horn section. Groaning noises can be heard in the background which complement the melody. The names of the two singers are then heard: "Bee on say, be-on-SAY! Sha kee ra, Sha-ki-RA". The verses are sung on a mid-tempo, strutting, hip-thrusting arrangement, accented by rapid, flamenco-like hand claps and guitar strums. The song also features Arabic instruments such as, oud and ney.
Lyrically, "Beautiful Liar" speaks about two women who chose not to end a friendship because of a man who has cheated both of them. Its theme is one of female independence. Beyoncé told MTV News that "Beautiful Liar" is about female empowerment, in keeping with the theme of the album: "It's about a guy who's kind of playing both of us, and instead of us arguing over the guy we say, 'Forget him. Let's stick together. He's a beautiful liar." The chorus features the lines, "Let's not kill the karma, let's not start a fight" with the female protagonists bonding in their mutual betrayal. Beyoncé and Shakira sing with staccato, intense vocal approach throughout the song. Beyoncé sings the lines "I didn't know about you then, till I saw you with him again" earnestly while Shakira later adds "I walked in on your love scene, slow dancing". In the end, the female protagonists conclude, "we can live without him", referring to their cheating lover.