Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Beyonce released ‘Single Ladies’ in 2008 and it went on to become the most popular track of the album ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’. The inspiration for the music video of ’Single Ladies’ came from an 1969 dance routine called ‘Mexican Breakfast’ by Bob Fosse, which features Fosse’s wife dancing with two other women. With this in mind, Beyonce went on to film a performance styled music video.

Filmed in a studio in New York, against a plain background Beyonce and two female dancers where shot dancing using crane that was able to rotate 360°, this allowed them to move about freely. Throughout the video lip syncing and dancing is used to express the lyrics. Being shot in black and white, there is no distracting colours which allows full attention to be on Beyonce and the dancing. Complimenting this, Beyonce ensures full attention is on her by being in the center and the focus of the camera. Her eye contact with the camera, enables her to address and gain focus from viewers. 

With few cuts, minimal camera shots and no changes to costumes or hairstyles (unlike most of Beyonce‘s music videos); the intriguing aspect of this video is the dance routine itself. Keeping a lot of choreography from Fosse’s routine, parts where added and modified to create an urban mix that is modern yet vintage. The signature hand wave that connotes the lyrics, ‘put a ring on it’, has become famous and recognised globally. Also the styling, which was inspired by a Vogue photo shot, adds to the simple yet recognisable routine. 

However, even though this video may be seen as repetitive, it does address the meaning of the song in a powerful manner. With the dancers seductively clicking their heels and shaking their hips and legs, their main intention is point viewers toward their ring fingers. This reinforces the songs primary message that ‘you should have put a ring on it’. This video could also be portrayed to men as look as what you lost by not committing, reinforcing the key lyrics again ‘you should have put a ring on it’. The whole concept of the song refers to a mans reluctance to commit, and waiting for a ring on the finger is what many females anticipate.

From this research I can see that music videos can be simplistic and still send off the powerful message that the song holds. I love the dance routine to this song, its known world wide which then encourages the sales of the single. Moving away from flash and high budgeted videos, I believe that Beyonce has shone in this video and maintained a focus to her altar ego Sasha Fierce.