Listen (Beyonc song)

1 Context

"Listen" is a song recorded by American singer Beyonc

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
2006 musical lm Dreamgirls, in which Knowles character Deena Jones sings the song in an expression of
independence from her controlling husband. Columbia
Records released Listen as the lead single from the
Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack album on December 5, 2006. It additionally appeared as a
hidden track on international editions, and on the deluxe
edition of Knowles second solo studio album, B'Day.
The Spanish version of the song, Oye, was released on
the EP, Irreemplazable, and the Spanish deluxe edition of
B'Day.

In the lm version of Dreamgirls, Knowles portrays the

character of Deena Jones, a pop singer loosely based
on Motown star Diana Ross. The story explores the
life of The Dreamettes (based on The Supremes), a ctional 1960s group of three female singers: Ee White
(Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson
(Anika Noni Rose), whose manager Curtis Taylor (based
on Berry Gordy and played by Jamie Foxx) manipulates
their personal and professional relationships.[1]
During the second half of the lm, Curtis and Deena argue at dinner over Deenas desire to make her lm debut in an urban lm 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. 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.[1]

One of four new songs written for the feature version of

Dreamgirls (originally a 1981 Broadway musical) Listen is a soul-R&B song; its lyrics make reference to
tenacity, love, the refusal to defer dreams and nally rise
towards fame. Its instrumentation includes bass, drums,
guitars, keyboards, percussion, and violins, among others. The song was a critical success. Contemporary music critics complimented the strong and emotional vocals
of Knowles, and added that the lyrics perfectly elaborate
on Deena Joness life. Listen won Best Original Song at
the 2007 Critics Choice Awards. It was nominated in the
same category at the 2006 International Press Academy
Satellite Award, at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards, and
at the 2007 Academy Awards.

In the context of the lm, Listen is a 1975 song that

Deena records on Rainbow Records, a recording empire established by Curtis. She is actually recording the
song in a booth as a track, but the song also reveals
Deenas growing disgust at being considered merely Curtis property.[2][3] Used in the lm as a last-minute recording by Deena before leaving Curtis to nd her own voice
as a newly independent woman,[4] co-writer Anne PreListen peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot ven called Listen a song which Deena is exclaiming,
100 chart and generally peaked inside the top 20 posi- 'You don't know who I am, and I know I do.'"[5]
tions in European countries. It fared better in the United
Kingdom where it reached number eight thanks to a live
duet performance of Knowles and Alexandra Burke at
The X Factor, where Burke emerged as the winner af- 2 Production and composition
ter singing Listen during the nale. The song was also
covered by Charice and Melanie Amaro during the nale Upon reading the script for Dreamgirls, director Bill Conof the rst season of the The X Factor in the US, where don felt the second half of the lm needed a song.[2] The
she emerged as the winner. Two accompanying music emotional punch of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not
videos were lmed for Listen"; the performance version Going" led him to ask the musical team for Dreamgirls to
was directed by Diane Martel, and the second one, being create a new and equally moving song to energize the secVogue Shoot Version, was directed by Matthew Rolston. ond act.[4] Led by Henry Krieger, the composer of the
Listen was also a part of her set list on The Beyonc original 1981 Broadway musical version of Dreamgirls,
Experience (2007) and I Am... Tour (200910).
Listen was written with help from Scott Cutler, Preven,
and Knowles; it was one of four songs written for the lm
version of Dreamgirls.[6][7] Listen was produced by the
R&B-pop production duo The Underdogs.[7]
Listen is a soul-R&B ballad,[3][6][8][9] which is written
in the key of B major, and set in common time at a mod1

3 RELEASE

erately slow groove of 62 beats per minute.[8] Knowles

vocals range from the note of F3 to G5 .[8] The songs music takes its instrumentation from the bass, celli, drums,
guitars, keyboards, percussion, violas, and violins.[7][8]
According to Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe, its
lyrics make reference to tenacity, love, and the refusal to
defer dreams; Knowles, as the female protagonist, sings,
demanding her moment in the sun.[10] Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine wrote that Knowles shimmers
with evocative emotion, rising to new heights alongside a golden melody with spellbinding, rafter-raising
production.[11] The lyrics are written in the traditional
verse-chorus form. The song starts with the lines: Listen to the song here in my heart, a melody I start but can't
complete.[8] A bridge follows after repeating the pattern
and ends in another chorus.[8]

Release

Listen was released as a CD single, containing its album

and instrumental versions, in the US.[17][18] On January
19, 2007, it was serviced as a CD Single in the UK,[19]
and several European countries,[20] where a remixed produced by Fraser T Smith was later released on March 9,
2007.[21][22][23]

3.1 Reviews
Listen scored generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. A reviewer from Pitchfork Media
stated that when Beyonc belts out the chorus, the inspiration is real, tangible, and contagious.[24] Describing the song as a devastatingly beautiful ballad, Chuck
Taylor of Billboard magazine wrote, Beyonc delivers
the performance of her career, another dening moment
in the brilliant ick [besides Hudsons 'And I Am Telling
You I'm Not Going'].[11] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone
noted that the song adds grit and touching gravity to
Deena.[25] Another reviewer of the same publication
called the song epic noting that Knowles unfurls the
true range of her magnicent voice.[26] Comparing the
song to Andrew Lloyd Webber's piano weepie[s]", a
writer of The Observer stated that Listen is a bangersto-ballads ratio to die for.[27] Calling the song a showstopper, Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote:
"['Listen'] is a big, soppy ballad that will move some to
tears and irk others as a stunning example of art imitating
life imitating art without a shred of irony.[10] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that Listen will undoubtedly be the payo for fans of Beyonc's voice who sat
through the rst [thirty-eight] minutes of [B'Day] waiting for the cum shot.[28] By contrast, 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.[15]

3.2 Awards and nominations

Knowles performing Listen during The Beyonc Experience in

Munich, Germany.

Listen was released as the lead single from the

soundtrack album Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion
Picture.[12][13] Knowles recorded an introduction to Listen entitled Encore to the Fans"; the song alongside
its introduction is featured on international editions of
Knowles second album B'Day as a hidden track.[10][14][15]
A Spanish version titled Oye was produced and released
on the deluxe edition of B'Day.[16] On January 29, 2007,

Listen was nominated for Best Original Song at the

2006 International Press Academy Satellite Award[29] and
in 2007 at the Golden Globe Awards and at the Academy
Awards.[30][31] Also in 2007, Dreamgirls received seven
nominations at the 12th Annual Critics Choice Awards,
where the lm won four awards, including Best Original
Song for Listen.[32] At the Academy Awards, Knowles
was not listed as one of the honorees. She is ocially 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.[33][34]

3.3

Chart performance

Listen entered and left the UK Singles Chart on three

separate occasions,[35] In February 2007, it entered at
number 60[36] and peaked at number 16 on March 3,
2007[37] before leaving the chart on March 24, 2007.[38]
On December 4, 2008, Alexandra Burke performed the
song in the nal 5 week of The X Factor,' [39] prompting the song to re-enter the UK Singles Chart at number
fty-three,[40] which is a higher position than it reached
in the United States on initial release, where it peaked at
61.[41] In the nale of The X Factor, Burke, who would
become the winner, performed Listen as a duet with
Knowles.[42] Accordingly, the song surged from number
60 to number eight on the UK Singles Chart on December
27, 2008, selling 28,000 copies.[43] The following week,
Listen fell to number 30; it remained in the top 40 for
two additional weeks.[44] As of December 2008, sales of
the single stood close to 120,000 copies in the United
Kingdom alone.[45] Listen last re-entered the UK Singles Chart on November 14, 2009 at number 84.[46] As
of July 2013, the single has sold around 300,000 units in
the UK.[47] It peaked at number three in Italy.[48]

a photo shoot not featured in the lm 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 tights underneath.
She then climbs the staircase of the building to the rooftop
and nishes singing the song.

5 Live performances

Music videos

Two music videos exist for Listen, the rst being a performance one and the second being a Vogue Shoot. The
rst music video premiered on MTV's Making the Video
on November 28, 2006.[49] The other music video was
released online and through the Dreamgirls DVD special
features.
Performance Version
This video, which was directed by Diane Martel, features
Knowles walking through a performance hall in modernday street clothes, performing the song. Once she arrives
onstage and at the songs 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
Deenas relationship with Curtis.[50] These clips, however, were taken out in the directors cut version of the
video;[51] this version appeared on the B'Day Anthology
Video Album. In her rst outt, Beyonc is seen wearing
a Wonder Woman T-shirt.
Vogue Shoot Version
The music video, directed by Matthew Rolston, features
Knowles wearing a modern-day tank top, performing the
song against a blank background which changes back
forth from white and black. Interspersed are some scenes
from a photo shoot within her lm Dreamgirls.[52] This
version appears on the Dreamgirls DVD release. In the
directors cut of this version, Knowles is seen posing for

Knowles performing Listen during The Beyonc Experience

concert tour.

Knowles rst performed Listen on the Oprah Winfrey

show and received a standing ovation from her cast members, the audience, and left Oprah speechless. Upon the
songs completion, Oprah simply exclaimed, Wow. The
second performance was at the 49th Grammy Awards
held at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California, on
February 11, 2007.[53] MTV News' sta members coined
it as the Best Oscar Performance, writing: Beyonc
killed it with a passionate performance of 'Listen'.[54]
Knowles later performed Listen with Alexandra Burke
on December 16, 2008, at the nal of the The X Factor,
with Burke having performed the song alone two weeks
previously. Burke battled to control her emotions when
Knowles joined her on stage and dissolved into tears when
their duet was over.[55] Burke went onto win the competition later that night.[55] Barbara Ellen of The Observer
praised Knowles performance of the song saying that
there seemed something a little overpowering, invulner-

6 COVER VERSIONS

able, dare I say, ungenerous, about Beyonc - almost as the audience and panel of judges alike.[73] The perforif she were a giant slithering diva/snake hell bent on swal- mance of Amaro also brought Nicole Scherzinger to
lowing poor quivering Burke whole.[56]
tears. She said: This is why I do this. People like you
In addition, Listen was a part of Knowles set list on The inspire me. You made a believer out of me. Thank you.
Abdul said: You are the brightest gift, God bless
Beyonc Experience and I Am... World Tour.[57] On Au- Paula[73]
you.
L.A. Reid declared: Melanie, you are truly
gust 5, 2007, Knowles performed the song at the Madison
amazing.
You have the gift, you have the soul, you have
[58]
Square Garden in Manhattan. Jon Pareles of The New
the
spirit,
you
have the swagger ... you have the X Factor
York Times praised the performance, stating: Beyonc
while Simon Cowell said: When I was asked by a lot of
needs no distractions from her singing, which can be airy
or brassy, tearful or vicious, rapid-re with staccato syl- people why I was bringing this show to America, it was
because I hoped that we were going to nd someone like
lables or sustained in curlicued melismas. But she was in
[73]
[58]
constant motion, strutting in costumes. In Los Ange- you.
les, Knowles performed the song, dressed in a glittering
silver dress with mink fur. It was executed without any
backup dancers, and live instrumentation.[59] Jim Farber
of Daily News noted that during the performance of the
song at the I Am... World Tour, Knowles blended her
alter ego Sasha Fierces potent and her own pained personality and added that those two emotions made this
Beyonc's greatest live moment[60] When Knowles performed the song in Sunrise, Florida, on June 29, 2009,
she was wearing a glittery gold leotard. As she sang,
animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club
equipment were projected behind Knowles, her dancers
and musicians.[61] Knowles was accompanied by her two
drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three imposing backup vocalists called the Mamas
and a lead guitarist, Bibi McGill.[62] Listen was included as on her live albums The Beyonc Experience Live
(2007),[63] and the I Am... World Tour (2010).[64]

6
6.1

She also sang Listen during the nals on December 21,

2011.[74][75] A writer of Fox News Channel commented
that the judges didn't want to stop listening to Melanie
Amaro while she was singing a soaring rendition of
the ballad.[76] Simon Cowell said, I brought this show to
America because I believe some of the greatest singers in
the world are from this country, and you just proved that.
I think you, based on that performance tonight, to me,
should be the winner of 'The X Factor,' because you're going to represent this country all over the world.[75] L.A.
Reid also commented, That wasn't a $5 million performance. That was a $50 million performance.[76] Sarah
Maloy of Billboard magazine felt that her performance
was as powerfully and passionately [sang] as she did the
rst time.[74] Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post
praised Amaros rendition, writing that it contained a determined look on her face, lots of generous spreading of
the arms, and plenty of big notes.[77] Amaro eventually
emerged as the winner of the The X Factor, performing
this song for the nal time.[78]

Cover versions
Glee version

6.3

Dreamgirls stage revival version

Listen was covered by Charice for the American TV

show Glee episode "Audition", which aired on September 21, 2010.[65] This version was released as a single, debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than
Knowles version.[66][67] It also charted at number 51 on
the Canadian Hot 100 chart the same week.[68] Charices
version also peaked at number 87 on the Australian Singles Chart,[69] at number 33 in Ireland,[70] and at number
51 in the United Kingdom.[71]

A modied version of Listen, with new lyrics by Willie

Reale,[79] was added to the song score of the 2009 touring revival of the stage version of Dreamgirls.[80] This
version presents the song as a duet between the characters Deena and Ee, as Ee explains to Deena that she
must leave Curtis and gives her advice on how to nd her
independence.[79] The revised version of the stage musical, and the new version of Listen, debuted at the
Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York on November 22,
2009.[81]

6.2

6.4 Other versions

Melanie Amaro version

On September 22, 2011, an 18-year-old Melanie Amaro

performed Listen on the second day of the opening week of rst season of the The X Factor in the
US. As commented by both Becky Bain of Idolator
and Jennifer Still of the British entertainment and media news website Digital Spy, the powerful [and] emotional performance deservedly brought the judges to
their feet.[72][73] Amaro received a standing ovation from

Caressa Cameron, an American model performed the

song live during the 2010 Miss America pageant, where
she appeared wearing a yellow dress and later during the
night won the Miss America title.[82] On September 6,
2011, 31 year-old Marina Davis performed Listen during one of the audition episodes of the third season of The
X Factor (Australia).[83] Davis received praise from the
judging panel. Ronan Keating said it was an impressive

5
performance and shes got one of the best voices in the
competition, while Mel B conrmed that Davis has denitely got the X-Factor.[83] On March 30, 2012, Katelin
Koprivec sang Listen on the Australian talent show,
Young Talent Time.[84] Sarah De Bono also sang Listen
on The Voice (Australia) on May 21, 2012.[85] Michelle
Grin of The Age wrote that Bono had the lungs to
carry it o but not quite [like] Beyonc's commanding delivery.[85] Her version of the song peaked at number 13 on the Australian Singles Chart.[86] On November 3, 2012, Jahmne Douglas performed the song on
the ninth series of The X Factor in the UK, receiving
praise from the judges of the show. Sarah Fitzmaurice
of the Daily Mail wrote that Douglas proved he had an
amazing voice while he belted out the song.[87] Alex
Fletcher of Digital Spy also noted that the cover was a
belter and the singer bloody well nailed it.[88] On May
10, a 12-year-old girl Michle won the contest of The
Voice Kid in Germany after performing the song on the
nal show.[89] Sam Bailey sang Listen on August 31,
2013 during the tenth season of The X Factor in the UK.
It was described as the highlight of the episode and Bailey
received standing ovation from the judges.[90][91] Louise
Saunders from the Daily Mail noted that Baileys cover
was touching... emotional, and awless.[91] American
Idol runner-up Jessica Sanchez sang Listen on March
16, 2014 during Solaire Resort & Casino's rst anniversary concert.[92]

Formats and track listings

Charts and certications

References

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10

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Enter Listen in the eld Keywords. Select Title in the eld
Search by. Select single in the eld By Format. Select Gold
in the eld By Award. Click Search

10

External links

Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

EXTERNAL LINKS

11
11.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Listen (Beyonc song) Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listen_(Beyonc%C3%A9_song)?oldid=663006699 Contributors:
Nv8200pa, Academic Challenger, David Gerard, Chowbok, Rich Farmbrough, Bender235, JoeSmack, Bobo192, Empoor, Woohookitty,
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Ericorbit, RadioFan, Musiclover, Tony1, Saranghae honey, Mike Selinker, Luckystars, Flamma, Tom Morris, SmackBot, L.a.m.b~enwiki,
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DerHexer, Toureaudaniel, Viralxtreme14, Rettetast, Urbanduex, Eduemoni, Rsxlogan, Malcolmo, Electric Storm89, Kirby2725,
Acalamari, Bigjlofan, Ratizi, ThinkBlue, STBotD, Jevansen, Yerboylc3, Sjc07, Irreplaceable, Karleysuen, Chevr92, Crazy in Love with
Beyonce, Axiemeister, Robertoide92~enwiki, Bijanse, FergieFan101, Angelic-alyssa, ^demonBot2, Gausie jr, LightSpeed1, Feudonym,
Lithuania Charts Company, Number87, Ratizi1, Teddy.Coughlin, Dont mess wit me(Tay), Rlendog, Adabow, Wneedham02, Aspects,
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BionicLotus, LyricsBot, Tweny13, Chartbot, Tkkrd, Quenhitran, Hardcorewhovian, Monkbot, Kenibenson97, RockStarrMusicLover95
and Anonymous: 266

11.2

Images

File:Beyonce.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Beyonce.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own

work Original artist: Jen Keys
File:Beyonce_Listen.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Beyonce_Listen.ogg License: Fair use Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Beyonce_sings_Listen.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Beyonce_sings_Listen.jpg License: CC
BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: Flickr Original artist: Mr Azed
File:Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work. Based on File:Gnome-mime-audio-openclipart.
svg, which is public domain. Original artist: User:Eubulides
File:Office-book.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Office-book.svg License: Public domain Contributors: This and myself. Original artist: Chris Down/Tango project

11.3

Content license

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