Beyoncé has made a wrong move. In a desperate post-baby attempt to appear fresh and regain her place on the Queen B throne of R&B, her new track ‘Bow Down/I Been On‘ has been released on her Tumblr. Telling fans “You dreamed of being in my world / Don’t you forget it, Respect that / Bow down b*tches,” Beyoncé is entering dangerous territory.
It’s a striking contrast to her previous more mature-sounding album 4. In fact, ‘Bow Down/I Been On’ is a cheap turn away away from emotionally powerful songs, such as ‘I Care,’ to a failed try at a younger, edgier sound. Even Rihanna couldn’t make this track work.
We already know she reins supreme – her sassyness, independent woman attitude and spectacular on-stage performances differentiate her from a whole array of one-time hit singers. But of late, Beyoncé is risking losing our admiration (‘[s]he got a big ego’ rings some bells). If her album is to be anything like this newly released song, fans are going to lose faith in her warm, down-to-earth persona. I hate to say it, but Beyoncé may be about to lose her Irreplaceable factor.
This track is a follow-up to her disappointing documentary ‘Life is but a dream,’ which failed to reveal anything personal about the star bar a career-mad, egotistical woman that has it all. She’s appearing disinterested in creating quality music and more obsessed with world domination – she and Jay Z even tried to copyright her baby’s name into a clothing line recently. Beyoncé’s not only losing it, she’s losing touch with reality too.
No doubt the track will shortly be accompanied by a well-directed video with fierce choreography and we may all be slightly convinced by how hot she’ll look in it – just like we were with Run The World (Girls) – but no video can save these poor lyrics.
The song is a repetitive headache and a let down on expectations of a talented, maturing artist. Her management were right to release this post-tour ticket sales.
2/10
