Here Are the Writers Who Helped Make Beyoncé the Ultimate Fame Queen
Since Beyoncé made her bittersweet departure from Destiny's Child in 2000 to pursue a solo career, she's catapulted to arguably the utmost fame a music artist can attain. This spotlight can be credited to her powerhouse vocals and inimitable persona, but the lyrics in Beyoncé's music have long spoken to a wide audience as well.
From coining "to the left, to the left," to making a piercing statement about beauty standards with "Pretty Hurts" and now about the Black Lives Matter movement in her latest single "Formation" with lines like, "I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils," her lyrics have helped define her as an outspoken, dynamic artist — but she didn't write them all alone.
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Like many modern music stars, Beyoncé's usually one of several co-writers on most of her songs (note: Anyone who sits in on writing sessions is listed in the credits, according to the Guardian). Singer-songwriter Sia Furler, who's written music for several artists, including Bey, told Rolling Stone in 2015 writing for the R&B megastar is "writing camp, essentially. She flies us all in and puts us all up. We all live in a house together—like five producers and five topline writers."
Furler said Bey's contributions are a bit unorthodox compared to other singers who brainstorm with all the writers in one meeting. "[Beyoncé] visits each room and will contribute and let us know what she's feeling and what she's not feeling," she told Rolling Stone. "Lyrically, melodically, anything. She's very Frankenstein when she comes to songs. She'll say, 'I like the verse from that. I like the pre-chorus from that. Can you try mixing it with that?'"
A plethora of songwriters and producers have contributed to some of Bey's most iconic hits that made her metamorphosis from Beyoncé Knowles, former lead singer of Destiny's Child, to Queen Bey.
Here's who helped write some of Beyoncé's best songs (in addition to Beyoncé):
"Crazy in Love"
Rich Harrison — American record producer Richard Harrison produced and helped write the opening track on Bey's debut solo album that won best R&B song and she and Jay-Z best R&B/rap collaboration at the 46th Grammys.
Eugene Record — Record was the lead singer of the 1960s/70s Chicago vocal quartet Chi-Lites.
Shawn Carter — Carter, aka Beyonce's then-boyfriend Jay Z, contributed to the song with a rap verse and possibly other writing contributions as well.
"Irreplaceable"
Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen— Eriksen and Hermansen are Norwegian music producers that make up two-man production team Stargate, which has worked with stars like Ne-Yo and Rihanna.
Espen Lind and Amund Bjorklund — Lind and Bjorklund are also Norwegian music producers that make up the two-man production team Espionage, which has also worked with plenty of pop stars.
Shaffer Smith — Better known as R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo.
"Halo"
Ryan Tedder — Tedder is the frontman of One Republic and has also produced and helped write songs for Taylor Swift.
E. Kidd Bogart — Evan Bogart is a songwriter-producer who discovered Eminem at a rap battle and has written music for Rihanna, Leona Lewis and Britney Spears as well.
"Diva"
Shondrae Crawford — Better known by his stage name Mr. Bangladesh, Crawford is an American producer and rapper with Cash Money Records. Crawford helped Beyoncé's third studio album I am...Sasha Fierce win album of the year in 2010 by producing and helping write a couple of the songs, including "Diva."
Sean Garrett — Garrett is a highly-esteemed songwriter and record producer who produced 18 Billboard No. 1 singles in seven years. He's also released his own music featuring artists like Ludacris, Akon and Rick Ross.
"Run the World":
Terius Nash — Better known as rapper the Dream.
Wesley Pentz — Better known as DJ Diplo.
David Taylor — British DJ and producer and founder of record label Dubsided.
Adidja Palmer — Better known by his stage name Vybz Kartel, Palmer is a Jamaican reggae dancehall artist. He collaborated with Major Lazer on the 2009 club hit "Pon De Floor."
Nick Van De Wall — Better known as DJ Afrojack.
"Pretty Hurts"
Joshua Coleman — Songwriter and producer better known as "Ammo."
Sia Furler — Better known as singer-songwriter Sia, Furler has openly talked about writing music for Beyoncé and other artists. Her latest album, This is Acting, is a collection of all reject songs she wrote for other artists.
"Drunk in Love"
Noel Fisher — Better known as record producer Detail, Fisher also produced Bey's "7/11" and Wiz Khalifa's "We Dem Boyz."
Jordan Asher — Better known as Bey's secret weapon "Boots," Asher co-produced 80% of the songs on Beyoncé's self-titled, surprise 2013 album, a critical success, and was even given songwriting credits for a number of hits — but the artist would rather keep a low profile then bask in Queen Bey's fame.
Brian Soko, Andre Eric "Dre Moon" Proctor and Rasool Diaz — Soko, Dre Moon and Diaz are Grammy award-winning songwriters and producers who make up the production company The Order, which has produced music for Future and Drake as well. After "Drunk in Love" came out in 2014, Soko told Mahala it was "wrongly attributed" to Detail and he "made that beat about four years ago."
Timothy Mosley — Aka singer and record producer Timbaland.
Jerome Harmon — Better known as producer J-Roc. He and Timbaland often collaborate.