Beautiful (Akon song)
Encyclopedia
"Beautiful" is the third single from Akon's
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

 third studio album Freedom
Freedom (Akon album)
Freedom is the third studio album by hip hop and R&B Senegalese-American singer and rapper Akon. The album was originally named Acquitted, however Akon changed it before it was released. It was released as a download on December 1, 2008, and in stores December 2, 2008...

. The song features American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 singer, Colby O'Donis
Colby O'Donis
Colby O'Donis is an American-Puerto Rican pop and R&B singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actor. In 2008, he released his debut album Colby O, and his single "What You Got" featuring Akon reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100...

 and a rap verse from Canadian rapper, Kardinal Offishall
Kardinal Offishall
Jason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...

. The song describes being in a nightclub and seeing a person that the singer is attracted to, but feeling shy to approach her due to her beauty. "Beautiful" was released to radio on January 6, 2009.

Official versions

Multiple versions of the song have been recorded. The main version of the song, which features on all copies of Freedom, features both Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offshall. Two Latin American versions of the song were recorded in Late 2008; the first featuring ex-RBD
RBD
RBD was a two-time Latin-Grammy nominated Mexican pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's teen drama series Rebelde. RBD sold over 17 million digital downloads and over 20 million albums worldwide in four years since their formation, according to EMI...

 singer Dulce María
Dulce María
Dulce María is a Mexican actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for playing Roberta in the telenovela Rebelde and being a bandmember of the Latin Grammy nominated band, RBD...

, and the second featuring Brazilian hip hop singer Negra Li
Negra Li
Negra Li is a Brazilian actress, singer and dancer. She was one of the lead actresses in the 2006 musical drama film Antônia.- Discography :-References:...

. A Japanese version of the song, featuring both BoA
BoA
Boa Kwon , commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Korean Pop Music"....

 and Kardinal Offshall was recorded in March 2009 and included as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Freedom. The Dutch version of the song features additional vocals from rapper Brace
Brace (singer)
Eddy Brace Rashid MacDonald, shortened to Brace is a Dutch singer, who often collaborates with famous Dutch rapper Ali B, who helped to bring Brace to stardom after their first musical collaboration on the hit single Moppie released in the summer of 2004.-Early life:Brace was born 23 August 1986 in...

, but still includes the verses sung by Colby O'Donis
Colby O'Donis
Colby O'Donis is an American-Puerto Rican pop and R&B singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actor. In 2008, he released his debut album Colby O, and his single "What You Got" featuring Akon reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100...

. The Canadian version of the song features Colby O'Donis only, however includes extra verses sung by Akon and an instrumental breakdown not featured in any other version of the song. A British-only version of the song was due to be released, and featured vocals from Rachel Hylton and Charlie Bloxham - however, this version remains unreleased for reasons unknown. Akon recorded a version with the korean singer BoA
BoA
Boa Kwon , commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Korean Pop Music"....

 for the featured album Freedom
Freedom (Akon album)
Freedom is the third studio album by hip hop and R&B Senegalese-American singer and rapper Akon. The album was originally named Acquitted, however Akon changed it before it was released. It was released as a download on December 1, 2008, and in stores December 2, 2008...

 (Japanese Version) as a bonus track.

Music video

Akon posted a video on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 on December 2, 2008 showing the recording of the song. The official video was made available in early January, and featured the winner of an MTV contest in a guest appearance. Colby O'Donis
Colby O'Donis
Colby O'Donis is an American-Puerto Rican pop and R&B singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actor. In 2008, he released his debut album Colby O, and his single "What You Got" featuring Akon reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100...

, Kardinal Offishall
Kardinal Offishall
Jason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...

, Tyrese
Tyrese
Tyrese Darnell Gibson , also known simply as Tyrese, is an American R&B singer, rapper, actor, author, former fashion model and MTV VJ. After releasing several albums, he transitioned into films, with lead roles in several Hollywood releases.-Early life:Gibson was born in Los Angeles, California,...

, and A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

 all make appearances. The video was directed by Gil Green and premiered on Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...

 on February 24. On the same day, it was added to the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 store for download. The video was re-edited for the Latin American versions of the song, with a separate video for each applicable version.

Cover versions

Several cover versions of the song have been recorded. The most notable version of the song is by Sri-Lankan pop group Gravity, who performed the song live at the 2009 premier music competition "TNL Onstage"", resulting in it soon becoming the most aired track on TNL Radio during the months that followed. Australian Clare Bowditch also included a cover of the song as a bonus track on her 2010 studio album Modern Day Addiction.

Chart performance

"Beautiful" managed to become a top twenty hit in 2008 the previous year before its official release. Due to high digital sales, the song debuted at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 on the week of December 20, 2008, the week following the release of Freedom. It is Akon's eighth top twenty hit as a lead artist, and his seventeenth top twenty overall. It debuted at #7 on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...

 chart, selling over 91,000 downloads that week. It also made a #25 debut on the Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...

 chart the same week. On the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...

 chart, it debuted at #16. The single also reached #30 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 on March 1, 2009, and has so far peaked at #8 and #3 on the UK R&B Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...

. Even though the song has received very little airplay in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 it has charted on the ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 singles chart peaking at #14 and on the ARIA Urban Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

, it has reached #7. On the New Zealand Top 40, it debuted at #39, then peaked at #13.

Tracklisting

  • UK & Europe CD Single
  1. "Beautiful" (Feat. Colby O'Donis
    Colby O'Donis
    Colby O'Donis is an American-Puerto Rican pop and R&B singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actor. In 2008, he released his debut album Colby O, and his single "What You Got" featuring Akon reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100...

     & Kardinal Offishall
    Kardinal Offishall
    Jason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...

    ) - 5:13
  2. "I'm So Paid" (Feat. Lil Wayne
    Lil Wayne
    Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...

     & Young Jeezy
    Young Jeezy
    Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...

    ) - 4:29

Charts

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Chart (2008–2009) Peak
position

Certifications

Country Certification
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...


(sales thresholds)
Australia
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

Platinum

Year-end charts

End of year chart (2009) Position
Australian Singles Chart 65
Hungarian Singles Chart 11
New Zealand Singles Chart 46
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

49
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

54
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