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"Flawless" (stylized as "***Flawless") is a song by Beyoncé for her self-titled fifth studio album. An early version of the song, titled "Bow Down / I Been On" was released onto Beyoncé's SoundCloud on March 9, 2013.

Musically, "Flawless" consists of two parts – "Bow Down" and "Flawless", divided by a speech titled "We Should All Be Feminists" delivered by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at a TEDxEuston conference. It is a trap-influenced song, with a dirty groove and a clattering beat. The song also samples "Crown" by Jay-Z.

Background[]

On March 9, 2013, Beyoncé released a track titled "Bow Down / I Been On" as well as a picture of herself as a child standing in a roomful of trophies on her official website and SoundCloud. Hit-Boy produced the first half of the track, "Bow Down", while the second half, "I Been On", was produced by Timbaland. Hit-Boy stated in 2022 that he was "basically trying to make a 'N***as in Paris', female version. With that bounce, with that synth." A sample of "I Been On" was also prominently used in an advertisement for O2 and The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in February 2013. The release "shocked fans and fellow singers alike", as the song caused some controversy over its lyrical content. Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly commented that Beyoncé seemed "to be attacking straw women a generation behind her who dismiss her as little more than Jay-Z's wife." The song was criticized by Rush Limbaugh and Keyshia Cole, among others.

In December 2013, Beyoncé explained the idea behind "Bow Down" during her "Making of Beyoncé" series: "The reason I put out 'Bow Down' is because I woke up, I went into the studio, I had a chant in my head, it was aggressive, it was angry, it wasn't the Beyoncé that wakes up every morning. It was the Beyoncé that was angry. It was the Beyoncé that felt the need to defend herself. And if the song never comes out…OK! I said it! And I listened to it after I finished, and I said, This is hot! I'mma put it out. I'm not going to sell it. I'm just going to put it out. People like it, great; they don't, they don't. And I won't do it every day because that's not who I am. But I feel strong. And anyone that says, 'Oh that is disrespectful,' just imagine the person that hates you. Imagine a person that doesn't believe in you. And look in the mirror and say, 'Bow down, bitch' and I guarantee you feel gangsta! So listen to the song from that point of view again if you didn't like it before."

Chart performance[]

Without being released as a single, "Flawless" managed to appear on several music charts. In the US, it peaked at number 13 on February 15, 2014 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart which acts as a 25-song extension of the main Billboard Hot 100. The same week, on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the song peaked at number 32 in its fourth week of charting. Elsewhere, it peaked at number 157 on the UK Singles Chart on March 8, 2014 and 77 on the Irish Singles Chart on March 13. Following the performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, "Flawless" debuted at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and moved to a peak position of 25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the issue dated September 13, 2014. Selling 29,000 digital copies, it entered the Hot Digital Songs chart at number 48. Following the first week of the remix's availability as a digital download as part of the Platinum Edition release, the song reached new peaks of 41 and 12 on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, respectively; it sold 67,000 that week, 91 percent of which were of the remix.

Music video[]

A music video for "Flawless" was directed by Jake Nava. It was released on December 13, 2013 on the album Beyoncé on the iTunes Store, which contained a video for every song. Beyoncé worked on the choreography for the video with Les Twins and Chris Grant. "We had done half the video, and we watched it, and Beyoncé knew that it needed a dance moment that would be iconic, that people could pick up on. And then we went back and reshot that part. Because after seeing the video, and after the song coming together, she was like, 'This needs a cool dance that anybody can do'", said Beyoncé's creative director Todd Tourso.

The video opens with original footage from Star Search, with young Beyoncé and other members of Girl's Tyme being announced by Ed McMahon. It transitions to other scenes shot in black-and-white, showing Beyoncé headbanging and moshing with members of a punk subculture, as well as dancing with a team of street dancers in a graffiti covered alley. Throughout the video, she is seen lip-syncing the lyrics of the song and moving in accordance with its melody while the camera focuses only on her. Many of the scenes are also shot using the slow motion filming technique. It ends with McMahon announcing the winners of Star Search, Skeleton Crew, which receive four stars from the judges of the show, while Girl's Tyme receive three stars, losing the competition.

Live performances[]

"Flawless" was performed live by Beyoncé during the second European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour and her co-headlining On the Run Tour with Jay-Z, with a remixed version featuring rapper Nicki Minaj. It was also performed at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards where the singer sang a medley of songs from her fifth studio album.

The song has been somehow included on most of Beyoncé's setlists since 2013, including The Formation World Tour, On the Run II Tour and the Renaissance World Tour.

Remix[]

Main article: Flawless (Remix)[]

On August 2, 2014, a remix of "Flawless" featuring Nicki Minaj was surprise-released on Beyoncé's official website. Later, on August 12, 2014, Columbia Records released it as a single impacting radio in the United States.

Lyrics[]

[Intro: Star Search excerpt]
Your challengers are a young group from Houston
Welcome Beyoncé, Lativia, Nina, Nicky, Kelly, and Ashley
The hip-hop-rappin' Girl's Tyme!

Part I: "Bow Down"

[Chorus]
I'm out that H-Town, comin', comin' down
I'm comin' down, drippin' candy on the ground
H-H-Town-Town, I'm comin' down
Comin' down, drippin' candy on the ground

[Verse 1: Beyoncé & JAY-Z]
I know when you were little girls
You dreamt of being in my world
Don't forget it, don't forget it
Respect that, bow down, bitches (Crown)
I took some time to live my life
But don't think I'm just his little wife
Don't get it twisted, get it twisted
This my shit, bow down, bitches

[Bridge: Beyoncé & JAY-Z]
Bow down, bitches, bow, bow down, bitches (Crown)
Bow down, bitches, bow, bow down, bitches (Crown)
H-Town vicious, H-H-Town vicious
I'm so crown-crown, bow down, bitches

[Chorus]
I'm out that H-Town, comin', comin' down
I'm comin' down, drippin' candy on the ground
H-H-Town-Town, I'm comin' down
Comin' down, drippin' candy on the ground

Part II: ***Flawless

[Intro: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie & Beyoncé]
We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller
We say to girls: "You can have ambition, but not too much
You should aim to be successful, but not too successful
Otherwise, you will threaten the man"
Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important (C-Candy on the ground)
Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support (Dum-da-dee-da)
But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don't teach boys the same? (Do-da-da, do-do, do-do-do-da)
We raise girls to see each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing (Com-com-comin' down, drippin' candy on the ground)
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are (Dum-da-de-da)
Feminist: A person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes (Do-da-da, do-do, do-do-do-da)

[Chorus: Beyoncé]
You wake up (Flawless), post up (Flawless)
Riding 'round in it (Flawless), flossin' on that (Flawless)
This diamond (Flawless), my diamond (Flawless)
This rock (Flawless), my Roc (Flawless)
I woke up like this, I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies, tell 'em
I woke up like this, I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies, tell 'em
Say, "I look so good tonight"
Goddamn, goddamn
Say, "I look so good tonight"
Goddamn, goddamn, goddamn

[Bridge: Beyoncé]
My mama taught me good home-trainin'
My daddy taught me how to love my haters
My sister told me I should speak my mind
My man make me feel so goddamn fine, I'm flawless

[Chorus: Beyonce]
You wake up (Flawless), post up (Flawless)
Riding 'round in it (Flawless), flossin' on that (Flawless)
This diamond (Flawless), my diamond (Flawless)
This rock (Flawless), my Roc (Flawless)
I woke up like this, I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies, tell 'em
I woke up like this, I woke up like this
We flawless, ladies, tell 'em
Say, "I look so good tonight" (Right, right, right, right)
Goddamn, goddamn
Say, "I look so good tonight" (Right, right, right, right)
Goddamn, goddamn, goddamn

[Outro: Star Search excerpt]
The judges give champion Skeleton Crew 4 stars, a perfect score
The challenger, Girl's Tyme, receives... 3 stars
Skeleton Crew, champions once again
Congratulations, we'll see you next week

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