Irreplaceable
Encyclopedia
"Irreplaceable" is a song recorded by American R&B
singer Beyoncé Knowles
for her second studio album, B'Day
(2006). The song was written by Knowles, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith
, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen
, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund
, and produced by Stargate
and Knowles. "Irreplaceable" was originally a country
record; it was re-arranged as a mid-tempo
pop
ballad with R&B influences by modifying the vocal arrangements and instrumentation. During the production and recording sessions, Knowles' and Ne-Yo wanted to create a record that people of either gender could relate to. The song's lyrics are about the breakdown of a relationship with an unfaithful man and the song contains a message about female empowerment
.
Following the moderate chart performances of "Déjà Vu" and "Ring the Alarm
", "Irreplaceable" was released on December 5, 2006 in the United States as the album's third single
, and the second single in other countries. The single was released through Columbia Records
. "Irreplaceable" was praised by contemporary music critics, who cited its distinct production compared with most songs featured on the album. Pitchfork Media
and Rolling Stone
placed it on their lists of Best Songs of the 2000s decade. "Irreplaceable" won several awards including, Best R&B/Soul Single at the 2007 Soul Train Music Award
. It was nominated for the Record of the Year
award at the 50th Grammy Awards
.
The single was commercialy successful worldwide. It became Knowles' fourth number-one in the US, was B'Days most successful release, and remained at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100
chart for ten consecutive weeks. "Irreplaceable" was the best-selling US single of 2007, the twenty-fifth most successful song of the 2000s decade in the US, and was certified multi-platinum. In 2006, "Irreplaceable" became Knowles' second single to achieve 200 million audience impressions. Knowles was the second singer to achieve this in the US, the first being Mariah Carey
in 2005. "Irreplaceable" peaked at number one in Australia, at number four in the United Kingdom, and in the top twenty in several European countries.
The single's accompanying music video
was directed by Anthony Mandler
and was the debut performance of Knowles' all-female band, Suga Mama. The video was included on the 2007 B'Day Anthology Video Album
and a video edit was produced for "Irreemplazable", the Spanish
version of the song. The video won the Video of the Year award at the 2007 Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Awards, and was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
. "Irreplaceable" has regularly featured in Knowles' tours and live performances since 2006. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized "Irreplaceable" as one of the most performed songs of 2008 at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
. Production team Stargate
and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo
had written for Knowles' second album B'Day, but Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate said that " ... they might not have gone in the direction they did on the song". The tune did not suit Knowles' voice, and Ne-Yo wrote the lyrics from a male perspective, although it was not based upon his personal experiences. Ne-Yo wrote the song in the country
style, thinking of country singers Shania Twain
and Faith Hill
during the sessions. When Ne-Yo heard them playing the song with a guitar
, he thought it sounded like country
Western music
. But when the drums were incorporated into the music, it was brought to R&B
vibe, and Ne-Yo considered making an R&B-country western music song instead.
When the team worked with Ne-Yo, they recorded the song with a male vocalist. However, they thought a female vocalist would be more suitable, and Ne-Yo also thought that it was empowering for a woman to sing it. Eriksen of Stargate said it was an A&R person who suggested that the song would work better when sung by a woman. Two labels wanted the song. While Knowles worked on material for B'Day, she was pleased with the demo
of the "Irreplaceable" that was presented to her. However, "Irreplaceable" did not seem to fit on B'Day, which was supposed to be " ... a hard-hitting club album ... ". Swizz Beatz
, who was working on the album, declared that Knowles would be " ... crazy" not to include the song on the record". Knowles asked for changes to the song, including the addition of drums, vocal arrangements, and singing in a higher register than the demo. Espen Lind
and Amund Bjørklund, from the Norwegian production team Espionage
, wrote the chord structure
and the guitar part. In an interview with MTV
, Ne-Yo said, "Beyoncé had some stuff that she wanted to get off her chest", while aiming to make a record that women could relate to, in keeping with the theme of the album.
The recording was engineered by Jim Caruana and mixed by Jason Goldstein at Sony Music Studios
in New York City. Goldstein was hired to mix B'Day. He said: "This song was really simple to mix. It was produced by Stargate and the sounds are really good and they all made sense, and there was lots of room for all the instruments". Goldstein used a board equalizer
for the drums' treatment. For the acoustic guitars, he used the analogue
flanger
of a TC 1210
spatial expander " ... to sweeten the sound ... " and to give them " ... a little bit more spread." Goldstein thought "Irreplaceable" sounded " ... a bit old-school ... ", an eighth note
delay
echo was placed on the song's lead vocal
at 341ms, using the Echo Farm plug-in software. For the backing vocals, Goldstein used Echo Farm with a quarter note
delay at 682ms and Sony's Oxford Dynamics compressor/limiter
in dual-mono mode.
The compressor was placed in Classic setting, to emulate the LA-2A
leveling amplifier
, and the Warmth button used to add harmonics. Oxford Dynamics was used for the bass in a different setting. Goldstein passed the final mix through the Oxford EQ and Inflator plug-ins. Pro Tools
software was used to print the aux track
into a 44.1kHz
/24-bit
CD and then into a 24-bit CD master
.Gil Kaufman wrote: "Once the sessions wrapped for "Irreplaceable," Hermansen said everyone felt they had captured something special and that Beyoncé had done the track justice, but there were still concerns that urban radio might not play the song because it featured acoustic guitars and was too pop. "But then it became the biggest urban record ... ever," [Hermansen] said."
, writing, "I said I originally wrote the song for me. ... Once I realized how the song comes across if sung by a guy, that's when I decided to give it away."
pop
ballad with R&B influences. Written in the key
of B♭ major, the beat
is set in common time
and moves at a moderate 88 beats per minute
. Knowles' vocal range
in the song spans nearly two and a half octave
s, from B♭2 to E♭5. While most of the songs in the album are aggressive and uptempo, her voice on "Irreplaceable" is toned down
. "Irreplaceable" uses a gently strummed acoustic guitar, following the B♭5-F5-Cm7-E♭6/9 chord
series. Hermansen and Eriksen combined the classic chord progression
on an acoustic guitar, a modern-sounding 808
drum beat and cellos. Al Shipley of Stylus
Magazine noted that the guitar strum can be found in Barbadian
R&B singer Rihanna
's 2007 single "Hate That I Love You
", a song co-produced by Stargate and Ne-Yo. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
wrote that a 2007 Stargate-produced single "With You
", performed by American R&B-pop singer Chris Brown, also features the same element. He wrote: " ... "With You" is the convincer, even if you can instantly tell that producer Stargate was just trying to roll out "Irreplaceable" one more time ... ". while Billboard
magazine said that it " ... leans a bit too heavily" to the song.
Bill Lamb of About.com
wrote that the female empowerment theme of "Irreplaceable" has similarities to that of Terry McMillan
's 1995 novel Waiting to Exhale.Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times
wrote that "Irreplaceable" resembles ballads sung by Whitney Houston
. Spence D. of IGN
wrote that the song was inspired by Aretha Franklin
's work since "Irreplaceable" consists of several variations in gutturals and octave range. The lyrics of "Irreplaceable" concern the breakdown of a woman's relationship with her boyfriend after she discovers his infidelity, and the song " ... sounds a lot like a statement of independence ... ". Lamb noted the song's "Strong lyrics with an unmistakable point about female resilience". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe
wrote: "With a heretofore unknown grasp of nuance, Beyonce combines heartache, bravado, and anger as she tells a cad he's far from irreplaceable -- and that, in fact , her new man will be arriving momentarily." Hermansen said that "'Irreplaceable' " ... is a song people from all walks of life can enjoy ... ". Knowles said that the song is " ... a little honest ... ", and, "Basically we can't forget our power and our worth. And sometimes ... you're so in love, you forget that. And sometimes you feel like you're not being ... appreciated. And ... sometimes they forget that they can be replaced."
The song's lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. It begins with guitar strumming, and Knowles sings the hook
-intro
: "To the left, to the left" three times in alternating bars
, and proceeds, "Everything you own in a box to the left". In bar seven, she sings the first verse, arguing with her boyfriend about the indifference of their relationship, and tells him to walk away. The pre-chorus and chorus follow: "You must not know 'bout me ... I can have another you by tomorrow / I could have another you in a minute ... Don't you ever for a second get to thinking / You're irreplaceable ... ". In the second verse, Knowles recollects the moment she discovered her boyfriend's infidelity. The same pattern leads to the second chorus. Towards the end, Knowles sings the bridge
, where she tells her lover: "Replacing you is so easy ... ". The song closes with an ad-libbed
chorus. The Boston Globe noted that, " ... Beyonce sings parts of it in a higher register that complements the lyrics' wounded sensibility."
charts. It was played in New York and on country
radio stations. Shortly after the release of "Irreplaceable", Knowles told MTV: "I love 'Irreplaceable'. I think it's important to have those songs. I've had so many people come up to me in tears, saying, 'I experienced my first breakup. If it wasn't for the song, I wouldn't be strong enough to not call. I wouldn't know how much I'm worth.' I'm happy to be a part of that."
In the US, "Irreplaceable" was the third single from B'Day' , and followed "Ring the Alarm". The single was released on December 5, 2006, and featured the album and instrumental versions of the track. "Irreplaceable" was the second single released from B'Day in international markets on Columbia Records. Two versions of the single were released in the UK on October 26, 2006. A CD single, which featured the album version of "Irreplaceable", and the Freemasons
club mix radio edit of "Ring the Alarm
", was released. An enhanced CD
, which included the album version, three remixes of "Ring the Alarm", and the "Ring the Alarm" music video, was also released. A 12" single
was released in the UK the following week. In Australia, a maxi single
, which featured the album version and two remixes of "Déjà Vu", was released on December 5, 2006. A Maurice Joshua remix edit of the song was released in Australia two weeks later.
Knowles recorded a Spanish version of the song called "Irreemplazable", and was included on the second disc of the deluxe edition of B'Day released on June 12, 2007. An Irreemplazable
EP
was released in the US on August 28, 2007 and on September 10, 2007 in the UK. The EP includes "Irreemplazable", the Norteña Remix of "Irreplaceable", "Amor Gitano
", three versions of "Beautiful Liar
", the Timbaland
remix of "Get Me Bodied
" featuring Voltio
, and "Oye", the Spanish version of "Listen". As a fundraiser for the 2011 earthquake
in the Tōhoku region
of Japan
, a compilation album that included "Irreplaceable", called Songs for Japan
, was released on March 25, 2011. Following Knowles' performance at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
, a charity version of the song was released in the UK on June 27, 2011 to raise funds for Oxfam
, WaterAid
and Greenpeace
.
for the simple, pop-oriented production, and wrote that listeners will " ... be singing the 'to the left' hook in [their] head for the rest of the day." Lamb further described it as a " ... gorgeous, lightly swinging Stargate arrangement ... ". Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly
magazine called it, " ... a lilting tune unlike anything Beyoncé has ever performed ... ". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe
wrote that the song is " ... gentle but maddeningly hook-y ... ". Spence Abbott of IGN
wrote that "Irreplaceable" and "Resentment" " ... go for a much more traditional contemporary R&B vibe than any of the previous tracks, making them stand out as if they were recorded separately from the rest of the album." Roger Friedman of Fox News Channel
wrote: "A clever ballad called "Irreplaceable" is the most memorable track, and has the most potential of catching on with fans quickly. It’s also the only song on "B'Day" that you might actually want to sing along to ... " Mike Joseph of PopMatters
wrote that "Irreplaceable" " ... tellingly, was co-written by Ne-Yo, who may not be the powerhouse vocalist Beyonce is, but has significantly stronger songwriting skills. It‘s the best song on the album—perhaps Ms. Knowles should take a hint." Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media
, called "Irreplaceable" the best song on B'day, and praised the song's overall production. He wrote:
's Waiting to Exhale
(1995) which remains a cultural touchstone over 15 years after its release." Mark Edward Nero ranked it as the ninth best R&B song of 2006, and wrote, "This song has modern-day classic written all over it ... ".
In 2009, Ryan Schreiber ranked "Irreplaceable" as the number 183 song on his list of Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s decade. Barry Schwartz of Stylus Magazine
wrote that "Irreplaceable" recaptured Knowles' debut single "Crazy in Love"s " ... near-perfection ... " called it gentle but defiant, and wrote: "Through some breezy strums and a sweet plaintive melody Beyonce delivers her most genuinely emotional vocal to date, equal parts vulnerable, upset, pissed off, vindictive, resigned, and apathetic ... ". Rolling Stone
ranked the song at number 60 on its list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s decade.
"Irreplaceable" won the award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female, at the 2007 Soul Train Music Award
, and the 'Favorite Song' award at the 2007 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year
in the 2008 Grammy Awards
, and Song of the Year at the VH1 Soul Vibe awards. "Irreplaceable" was recognized as one of the five most-performed songs of 2008 by the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
chart on November 4, 2006 at number eighty-seven. It climbed the charts rapidly because of its radio airplay, and it was Greatest Airplay Gainer certification for six consecutive weeks in early December 2006. Three weeks after the release of "Irreplaceable", B'Day re-entered the top ten on the US Billboard 200
chart. The single reached number one on December 16, becoming Knowles' fourth number one single as a solo artist, and her second in 2006, following "Check on It
" (2005). The single spent ten consecutive weeks at number one and was replaced by Nelly Furtado
's "Say It Right
" on February 24, 2007. The feat was achieved after Kanye West
's 2005 single, "Gold Digger
" featuring Jamie Foxx
, spent ten weeks at the top spot. "Irreplaceable" outperformed "Baby Boy"'s nine-weeks at number one. Knowles' former group Destiny's Child
's 2000 single "Independent Women Part I" remained at number one for eleven weeks late in 2000 and early in 2001. "Irreplaceable" remained on the chart for thirty weeks, and was certified double-platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America
on July 20, 2007, having sold over two million downloads. It was certified triple-platinum for Master Ringtones on July 27, 2007.
According to Mediabase
and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
, "Irreplaceable" passed the 200 million audience impressions mark on December 11, 2006. Another single of Knowles, "Check on It" previously passed this mark on January 31, 2006. Consequently, Knowles became the second singer to achieve this in the United States; the first being, Mariah Carey
whose two singles, "We Belong Together
" (2005) and "Shake It Off
" (2005), passed the same audience impressions mark in 2005. "Irreplaceable" stayed at number one on the US Hot 100 Airplay
for eleven consecutive weeks, and was the best-performing US single of 2007, topping the Billboard Top Hot 100 Hits. "Irreplaceable" installed Knowles at third place for the most number one singles by a female song-writer, overtaking Janet Jackson
and Carole King
and tying Diane Warren
for nine number-one singles. Knowles received three song-writing credits in one year, the only woman to achieve this since King in 1971 and Carey in 1991. In February 2010, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed "Irreplaceable" as the highest certified master ringtone of the 2000s decade by a female solo artist. By August 2011, the single had sold over three million digital downloads in the United States. "Irreemplazable" charted equally well, peaking at number four on the Hot Latin Songs. The EP appeared on the Latin Pop Albums at number two, Top Latin Albums at number three, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
at number forty-one and on the Billboard 200 at number 105.
"Irreplaceable" debuted at number-eight on the Australian ARIA
Singles Chart, and peaked at number one for three consecutive weeks, becoming Knowles' first number one single in Australia. It was certified platinum by ARIA
for sales in excess of 70,000 copies, "Irreplaceable" appeared twice on the ARIA year-end charts, reaching number twenty-three in 2006, and number forty-two in 2007. "Irreplaceable" debuted at number three on November 6, 2006, on the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song's highest entry on any chart. It peaked at number one, and remained on the chart for eighteen weeks. "Irreplaceable" peaked within the top fifteen in several European singles charts. It peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart
, spending 12 weeks in the top 20 and 25 weeks on the chart. It was Knowles' fifth longest-charting single, and spent more weeks on the chart than her number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Déjà Vu" but slightly less than her recent hits "If I Were a Boy
", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
", "Halo
" and "Sweet Dreams
". On the UK iTunes chart, "Irreplaceable" is currently Beyoncé's most downloaded non I Am... Sasha Fierce single and still ranks in the top 30 of R&B/Soul songs. Due to a performance of "Irreplaceable" at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
by Knowles on June 26, 2011, the song made a re-entry in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, entering at number thirty-three. Its charity version also charted at number twenty-six.
"Irreplaceable" was directed
by Anthony Mandler
, who co-directed the video of "Get Me Bodied
". The video features the debut performance of Knowles' all-female band, Suga Mama, who also appeared in the "Green Light" music video. Her acting-then-ex-boyfriend in the video is model Bobby Roache, who played police officer for the "Ring the Alarm
" music video and warrior during Jay-Z
and Knowles' live performance at the 2006 Fashion Rocks show. The video was included on the 2007 B'Day Anthology Video Album
, and a video edit was produced for "Irreemplazable". Part of the video which shows Knowles dancing in silhouette in front of a glass door is inspired by a James Bond
movie. Late in January 2008, "Irreemplazable" premiered on the MiTRL, a video countdown show on the bilingual channel MTV Tr3s.
The music video follows the storyline of the song's lyrics. "She told me to pack up all my stuff, I'm getting kicked out — the video starts off like that", said Roache. It opens with Knowles filing
her nails in silence, as her ex-partner packs up his property, as Knowles orders him to leave. Mid-way in the video, Knowles follows her then-ex boyfriend outside the house and leans on a 2007 Jaguar XK
. She appears to be pretentiously caressing him; only to find out she repossessing things she bought for him. He leaves her and the car, about to ride off in a taxi. Between cuts, Knowles manages herself in front of a mirror; putting on a lipstick, wearing huge curlers and a high-waisted skirt. Towards the end of the video, she sings with her all-female band, Suga Mama. It ends with Knowles greeting her new boyfriend at the front door.
At the 2007 Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Awards, Knowles won Video of the Year Award for "Irreplaceable", an award for which "Beautiful Liar
" was also nominated. It was nominated for Video of the Year during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
, but it lost to Rihanna's single, "Umbrella
" (2007). At the 2007 Soul Train Music Awards
, the video was nominated for the Michael Jackson
Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, but lost to rapper (and husband) Jay-Z
's "Show Me What You Got
" video.
with a performance of "Irreplaceable", and wore a sparkly sequined minidress. Knowles performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
on September 5, 2006.The song was a part of Knowles' set list for her The Beyoncé Experience
and I Am... Tour tours. "Irreplaceable" was the closing song during her 2007 The Beyoncé Experience world tour. It was performed late in the set on earlier tour dates, but when Knowles embarked on the US leg, it was performed earlier in the show. On August 5, 2007, Knowles performed the song at the Madison Square Garden
in Manhattan
. Shaheem Reid of MTV wrote: " "Irreplaceable" ended the night, but before the main attraction crooned one note, she told the audience that she sang two hours for them and it was time they sang for her. So the whole Garden sang the first verse of the record; "To the left, to the left/ Everything you own in a box to the left/ In the closet, that's my stuff/ Yes, if I bought it, please don't touch. Beyoncé herself officially closed out singing her own song though."
In Los Angeles
, Knowles performed "Irreplaceable" without backup dancers or live instrumentation. As the audience sang, Knowles walked around the stage and pointed to audience members, shouted, "I see you!", and described their clothes or the signs they held. Then Knowles' sang the song herself. When Knowles performed "Irreplaceable" in Sunrise, Florida
on June 29, 2009, she wore a glittery gold leotard. As she sang, animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club equipment were projected behind the dancers and musicians. Knowles was accompanied by two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three backup vocalists called the Mamas, and the lead guitarist, Bibi McGill. Footage of Knowles' performance at the Staples Center
, Los Angeles was included on The Beyoncé Experience Live! DVD (2007), and the deluxe edition of I Am... World Tour
(2010). Knowles performed "Irreplaceable" at Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France, on June 20, 2011, where she wore a pink fringe dress, and at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
on June 26, 2011.
, Taylor Swift
, and Filipina singer Sabrina covered "Irreplaceable". US country band Sugarland, who performed some of Knowles' songs during their live shows, performed a country version of "Irreplaceable" with Knowles at the 2007 American Music Awards
, held on November 18. Kate Nash
covered "Irreplaceable" in January 2008. In November 2009, Damon Thomas of The Underdogs
sang the song. A group named Faith, consisting of Michelle Delamor, Ashley Rodriguez and Charity Vance, sang "Irreplaceable" on the 'group night' episode of ninth season of American Idol
on February 10, 2010, In 2011, Canadian singer Maria Aragon
, and South Korean singer G.NA
, covered the song. Andy Grammer
performed "Irreplaceable" on the radio station The Mix Lounge 104.1 and posted the video of his performance on his YouTube
page in June 2011.
Irreplaceable (Charity Version)
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
for her second studio album, B'Day
B'Day
B'Day is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Beyoncé Knowles, released on September 4, 2006 by Columbia Records in collaboration with Music World Music and Sony Urban Music. It was released to coincide with Knowles' twenty-fifth birthday. The album was originally planned for a...
(2006). The song was written by Knowles, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen
Stargate (production team)
This is a list of songs written and produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate.-Produced singles:-1999:5ive - Invincible*05. "Two Sides to Every Story"*06. "You Make Me a Better Man"Noora Noor - Curious*01. "Curious"...
, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund
Espionage (production team)
Espionage is a New York-based Norwegian songwriting and music production team consisting of Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund. Their breakthrough came in 2006 as co-writers of Beyoncé's worldwide smash "Irreplaceable", which was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks and the best...
, and produced by Stargate
Stargate (production team)
This is a list of songs written and produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate.-Produced singles:-1999:5ive - Invincible*05. "Two Sides to Every Story"*06. "You Make Me a Better Man"Noora Noor - Curious*01. "Curious"...
and Knowles. "Irreplaceable" was originally a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
record; it was re-arranged as a mid-tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
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...
ballad with R&B influences by modifying the vocal arrangements and instrumentation. During the production and recording sessions, Knowles' and Ne-Yo wanted to create a record that people of either gender could relate to. The song's lyrics are about the breakdown of a relationship with an unfaithful man and the song contains a message about female empowerment
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
.
Following the moderate chart performances of "Déjà Vu" and "Ring the Alarm
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett...
", "Irreplaceable" was released on December 5, 2006 in the United States as the album's third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, and the second single in other countries. The single was released through Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. "Irreplaceable" was praised by contemporary music critics, who cited its distinct production compared with most songs featured on the album. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
placed it on their lists of Best Songs of the 2000s decade. "Irreplaceable" won several awards including, Best R&B/Soul Single at the 2007 Soul Train Music Award
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment...
. It was nominated for the Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
award at the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
.
The single was commercialy successful worldwide. It became Knowles' fourth number-one in the US, was B'Days most successful release, and remained at the top of the US 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...
chart for ten consecutive weeks. "Irreplaceable" was the best-selling US single of 2007, the twenty-fifth most successful song of the 2000s decade in the US, and was certified multi-platinum. In 2006, "Irreplaceable" became Knowles' second single to achieve 200 million audience impressions. Knowles was the second singer to achieve this in the US, the first being Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
in 2005. "Irreplaceable" peaked at number one in Australia, at number four in the United Kingdom, and in the top twenty in several European countries.
The single's accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...
and was the debut performance of Knowles' all-female band, Suga Mama. The video was included on the 2007 B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album is the first video album by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. It features thirteen music videos for songs from her second studio album, B'Day and its deluxe re-release . It was released by Columbia Records exclusively through Wal-Mart stores on April 3, 2007...
and a video edit was produced for "Irreemplazable", the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version of the song. The video won the Video of the Year award at the 2007 Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
Awards, and was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the main award handed out at the yearly MTV Video Music Awards. It was first awarded in , when The Cars won it, and has been given out since. Eminem has been the most nominated solo artist, male solo artist, and act in this category, having been...
at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
2007 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, re-naming many of the remaining awards, and having only four...
. "Irreplaceable" has regularly featured in Knowles' tours and live performances since 2006. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized "Irreplaceable" as one of the most performed songs of 2008 at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
Writing, recording and mixing
"Irreplaceable" was written for Chrisette MicheleChrisette Michele
Chrisette Michele Payne , known professionally as Chrisette Michele, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter....
. Production team Stargate
Stargate (production team)
This is a list of songs written and produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate.-Produced singles:-1999:5ive - Invincible*05. "Two Sides to Every Story"*06. "You Make Me a Better Man"Noora Noor - Curious*01. "Curious"...
and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
had written for Knowles' second album B'Day, but Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate said that " ... they might not have gone in the direction they did on the song". The tune did not suit Knowles' voice, and Ne-Yo wrote the lyrics from a male perspective, although it was not based upon his personal experiences. Ne-Yo wrote the song in the country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
style, thinking of country singers Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
and Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
during the sessions. When Ne-Yo heard them playing the song with a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, he thought it sounded like country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
Western music
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
. But when the drums were incorporated into the music, it was brought to R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
vibe, and Ne-Yo considered making an R&B-country western music song instead.
When the team worked with Ne-Yo, they recorded the song with a male vocalist. However, they thought a female vocalist would be more suitable, and Ne-Yo also thought that it was empowering for a woman to sing it. Eriksen of Stargate said it was an A&R person who suggested that the song would work better when sung by a woman. Two labels wanted the song. While Knowles worked on material for B'Day, she was pleased with the demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of the "Irreplaceable" that was presented to her. However, "Irreplaceable" did not seem to fit on B'Day, which was supposed to be " ... a hard-hitting club album ... ". Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
, who was working on the album, declared that Knowles would be " ... crazy" not to include the song on the record". Knowles asked for changes to the song, including the addition of drums, vocal arrangements, and singing in a higher register than the demo. Espen Lind
Espen Lind
Espen Lind, , is a Norwegian songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is one half of the production team Espionage.- Solo records :...
and Amund Bjørklund, from the Norwegian production team Espionage
Espionage (production team)
Espionage is a New York-based Norwegian songwriting and music production team consisting of Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund. Their breakthrough came in 2006 as co-writers of Beyoncé's worldwide smash "Irreplaceable", which was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks and the best...
, wrote the chord structure
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
and the guitar part. In an interview with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Ne-Yo said, "Beyoncé had some stuff that she wanted to get off her chest", while aiming to make a record that women could relate to, in keeping with the theme of the album.
The recording was engineered by Jim Caruana and mixed by Jason Goldstein at Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was a well-known former music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The music and broadcasting complex was located at 460 W. 54th St., at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan...
in New York City. Goldstein was hired to mix B'Day. He said: "This song was really simple to mix. It was produced by Stargate and the sounds are really good and they all made sense, and there was lots of room for all the instruments". Goldstein used a board equalizer
Equalization (audio)
Equalization is the process commonly used in sound recording and reproduction to alter the frequency response of an audio system using linear filters. Most hi-fi equipment uses relatively simple filters to make bass and treble adjustments. Graphic and parametric equalizers have much more...
for the drums' treatment. For the acoustic guitars, he used the analogue
Analogue electronics
Analogue electronics are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two different levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relationship between a signal and a voltage or current that represents the signal...
flanger
Flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
of a TC 1210
TC Electronic
TC Electronic is a Danish audio equipment manufacturer.Its current product ranges include guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post production equipment, studio effect processors and broadcast loudness processors...
spatial expander " ... to sweeten the sound ... " and to give them " ... a little bit more spread." Goldstein thought "Irreplaceable" sounded " ... a bit old-school ... ", an eighth note
Eighth note
thumb|180px|right|Figure 1. An eighth note with stem facing up, an eighth note with stem facing down, and an eighth rest.thumb|right|180px|Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together....
delay
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
echo was placed on the song's lead vocal
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
at 341ms, using the Echo Farm plug-in software. For the backing vocals, Goldstein used Echo Farm with a quarter note
Quarter note
A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
delay at 682ms and Sony's Oxford Dynamics compressor/limiter
Limiter
In electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power to pass unaffected while attenuating the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this input power....
in dual-mono mode.
The compressor was placed in Classic setting, to emulate the LA-2A
LA-2A Leveling Amplifier
The LA-2A Leveling Amplifier is an audio compressor originally produced by Teletronix in 1965. Three versions of the LA-2A were made until 1969. The LA-2A was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2004.The LA-2A is a hand-wired, tube-based, compressor...
leveling amplifier
Leveler
A leveler performs an audio process similar to compression, which is used to reduce the dynamic range of a signal, so that the quietest portion of the signal is loud enough to hear and the loudest portion is not too loud. A leveler is different from a compressor in that the ratio and threshold are...
, and the Warmth button used to add harmonics. Oxford Dynamics was used for the bass in a different setting. Goldstein passed the final mix through the Oxford EQ and Inflator plug-ins. Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
software was used to print the aux track
Aux-send
An aux-send is an electronic signal-routing output used on multi-channel sound mixing consoles used in recording and broadcasting settings and on PA system amplifier-mixers used in music concerts...
into a 44.1kHz
44,100 Hz
In digital audio, 44,100 Hz is a common sampling frequency: analog audio is recorded by sampling it 44,100 times per second, and then these samples are used to reconstruct the audio signal when playing it back...
/24-bit
24-bit
Notable 24-bit machines include the ICT 1900 series and the Harris H series.The IBM System/360, announced in 1964, was a popular computer system with 24-bit addressing and 32-bit general registers and arithmetic...
CD and then into a 24-bit CD master
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
.Gil Kaufman wrote: "Once the sessions wrapped for "Irreplaceable," Hermansen said everyone felt they had captured something special and that Beyoncé had done the track justice, but there were still concerns that urban radio might not play the song because it featured acoustic guitars and was too pop. "But then it became the biggest urban record ... ever," [Hermansen] said."
Songwriting controversy
A controversy arose over the writing credits on "Irreplaceable". Ne-Yo told MTV: "Apparently Beyoncé was at a show somewhere and right before the song came on she said, 'I wrote this for my girls' and then the song came on ... The song is a co-write. I wrote the lyrics, I wrote all the lyrics. Beyoncé helped me with the melodies and the harmonies and the vocal arrangement and that makes it a co-write. Meaning my contribution and her contribution made that song what it is." In 2011, Ne-Yo said that he wrote the song for himself, but thought that it would be better suited for Knowles, and later regretted giving the song to her. Some of Knowles' fans read Ne-Yo's remark as disrespectful towards her. However, he clarified his comment later through TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, writing, "I said I originally wrote the song for me. ... Once I realized how the song comes across if sung by a guy, that's when I decided to give it away."
Music, theme and lyrics
"Irreplaceable" is a mid-tempoTempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
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...
ballad with R&B influences. Written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of B♭ major, the beat
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
is set in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
and moves at a moderate 88 beats per minute
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. Knowles' vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
in the song spans nearly two and a half octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, from B♭2 to E♭5. While most of the songs in the album are aggressive and uptempo, her voice on "Irreplaceable" is toned down
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
. "Irreplaceable" uses a gently strummed acoustic guitar, following the B♭5-F5-Cm7-E♭6/9 chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
series. Hermansen and Eriksen combined the classic chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
on an acoustic guitar, a modern-sounding 808
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines . Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real...
drum beat and cellos. Al Shipley of Stylus
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
Magazine noted that the guitar strum can be found in Barbadian
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
R&B singer Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
's 2007 single "Hate That I Love You
Hate That I Love You
"Hate That I Love You" is a song by Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna, released as the third single from her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad on August 21, 2007. It features R&B singer Ne-Yo, who had worked with Rihanna previously, contributing to her 2006 hit "Unfaithful". The song was produced...
", a song co-produced by Stargate and Ne-Yo. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
wrote that a 2007 Stargate-produced single "With You
With You (Chris Brown song)
"With You" is a pop/R&B song by Chris Brown, nominated for 2008 MTV Video Music Awards and written by Johntá Austin, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, and produced by Stargate...
", performed by American R&B-pop singer Chris Brown, also features the same element. He wrote: " ... "With You" is the convincer, even if you can instantly tell that producer Stargate was just trying to roll out "Irreplaceable" one more time ... ". while Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine said that it " ... leans a bit too heavily" to the song.
Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
wrote that the female empowerment theme of "Irreplaceable" has similarities to that of Terry McMillan
Terry McMillan
Terry McMillan is an American author. Her interest in books comes from working at a library when she was sixteen. She received her BA in journalism in 1986 at University of California, Berkeley. Her work is characterized by strong female protagonists.Her first book, Mama, was published in 1987...
's 1995 novel Waiting to Exhale.Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
wrote that "Irreplaceable" resembles ballads sung by Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
. Spence D. of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote that the song was inspired by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's work since "Irreplaceable" consists of several variations in gutturals and octave range. The lyrics of "Irreplaceable" concern the breakdown of a woman's relationship with her boyfriend after she discovers his infidelity, and the song " ... sounds a lot like a statement of independence ... ". Lamb noted the song's "Strong lyrics with an unmistakable point about female resilience". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
wrote: "With a heretofore unknown grasp of nuance, Beyonce combines heartache, bravado, and anger as she tells a cad he's far from irreplaceable -- and that, in fact , her new man will be arriving momentarily." Hermansen said that "'Irreplaceable' " ... is a song people from all walks of life can enjoy ... ". Knowles said that the song is " ... a little honest ... ", and, "Basically we can't forget our power and our worth. And sometimes ... you're so in love, you forget that. And sometimes you feel like you're not being ... appreciated. And ... sometimes they forget that they can be replaced."
The song's lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. It begins with guitar strumming, and Knowles sings the hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
-intro
Introduction (music)
In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
: "To the left, to the left" three times in alternating bars
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
, and proceeds, "Everything you own in a box to the left". In bar seven, she sings the first verse, arguing with her boyfriend about the indifference of their relationship, and tells him to walk away. The pre-chorus and chorus follow: "You must not know 'bout me ... I can have another you by tomorrow / I could have another you in a minute ... Don't you ever for a second get to thinking / You're irreplaceable ... ". In the second verse, Knowles recollects the moment she discovered her boyfriend's infidelity. The same pattern leads to the second chorus. Towards the end, Knowles sings the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, where she tells her lover: "Replacing you is so easy ... ". The song closes with an ad-libbed
Ad libitum
Ad libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
chorus. The Boston Globe noted that, " ... Beyonce sings parts of it in a higher register that complements the lyrics' wounded sensibility."
Release
During the production of "Irreplaceable", Hermansen thought that the track would not receive radio play because of the acoustic guitars, and deemed the song too pop-oriented. Hermansen did not expect "Irreplaceable" to conform to any genre. Despite his prediction, the song became successful on urbanUrban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
charts. It was played in New York and on country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
radio stations. Shortly after the release of "Irreplaceable", Knowles told MTV: "I love 'Irreplaceable'. I think it's important to have those songs. I've had so many people come up to me in tears, saying, 'I experienced my first breakup. If it wasn't for the song, I wouldn't be strong enough to not call. I wouldn't know how much I'm worth.' I'm happy to be a part of that."
In the US, "Irreplaceable" was the third single from B'Day
Freemasons (band)
Freemasons are an English dance band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The act consists of producers Russell Small and James Wiltshire .-2005-2007: Early Career:Their name is taken from the Brighton pub, Freemasons Tavern, Hove, which they frequently...
club mix radio edit of "Ring the Alarm
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett...
", was released. An enhanced CD
Enhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
, which included the album version, three remixes of "Ring the Alarm", and the "Ring the Alarm" music video, was also released. A 12" single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
was released in the UK the following week. In Australia, a maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
, which featured the album version and two remixes of "Déjà Vu", was released on December 5, 2006. A Maurice Joshua remix edit of the song was released in Australia two weeks later.
Knowles recorded a Spanish version of the song called "Irreemplazable", and was included on the second disc of the deluxe edition of B'Day released on June 12, 2007. An Irreemplazable
Irreemplazable
Irreemplazable is the first extended play by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. Featuring Spanish, English and Spanglish re-recordings of songs from her second studio album B'Day, it featured as a bonus disc for the deluxe edition of B'Day, before being released separately on August 28,...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was released in the US on August 28, 2007 and on September 10, 2007 in the UK. The EP includes "Irreemplazable", the Norteña Remix of "Irreplaceable", "Amor Gitano
Amor Gitano
"Amor gitano" is a latin pop duet song by Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández and American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song contains a mixture of cultures, mostly influenced by the exotic language of Fernández, that is Spanish, and Knowles' pop and R&B influences...
", three versions of "Beautiful Liar
Beautiful Liar
"Beautiful Liar" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé and Colombian Latin pop singer Shakira. The song was written by Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Knowles for the re-release of Knowles'...
", the Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
remix of "Get Me Bodied
Get Me Bodied
"Get Me Bodied" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Beyoncé Knowles, Sean Garrett, Solange Knowles, Angela Beyince, Makeba Riddick, and Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and produced by Swizz Beatz, Beyoncé and Sean Garrett, for Knowles' second solo studio...
" featuring Voltio
Voltio
Julio Voltio is one of the reggaetón genre's best-known artists.His nickname came to be as the result of an accident. Before joining Karel, he worked as an electrician. One day, he stuck his hand in the wrong place and got shocked...
, and "Oye", the Spanish version of "Listen". As a fundraiser for the 2011 earthquake
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
in the Tōhoku region
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, a compilation album that included "Irreplaceable", called Songs for Japan
Songs for Japan
Songs for Japan is a charity compilation album created to benefit relief efforts for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A collaborative project between the music industry's "big four" record labels , the album was released through the iTunes Store on March 25, 2011 through Universal...
, was released on March 25, 2011. Following Knowles' performance at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival 2011
The 2011 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 22–26 June 2011. Tickets for the festival went on sale from 9 am on Sunday 3 October 2010, over 37 weeks before the festival was set to begin, with a deposit of £50 being paid, while the whole cost of a ticket is £195...
, a charity version of the song was released in the UK on June 27, 2011 to raise funds for Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, WaterAid
WaterAid
WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation set up as a response to the UN International Drinking Water & Sanitation decade . WaterAid is dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. It is based in London, England and was...
and Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
.
Critical reception
"Irreplaceable" was well received by critics for its guitar-driven melody and its hook, "To the left, to the left". Bill Lamb of About.com complimented StargateStargate (production team)
This is a list of songs written and produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate.-Produced singles:-1999:5ive - Invincible*05. "Two Sides to Every Story"*06. "You Make Me a Better Man"Noora Noor - Curious*01. "Curious"...
for the simple, pop-oriented production, and wrote that listeners will " ... be singing the 'to the left' hook in [their] head for the rest of the day." Lamb further described it as a " ... gorgeous, lightly swinging Stargate arrangement ... ". Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
magazine called it, " ... a lilting tune unlike anything Beyoncé has ever performed ... ". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
wrote that the song is " ... gentle but maddeningly hook-y ... ". Spence Abbott of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote that "Irreplaceable" and "Resentment" " ... go for a much more traditional contemporary R&B vibe than any of the previous tracks, making them stand out as if they were recorded separately from the rest of the album." Roger Friedman of Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
wrote: "A clever ballad called "Irreplaceable" is the most memorable track, and has the most potential of catching on with fans quickly. It’s also the only song on "B'Day" that you might actually want to sing along to ... " Mike Joseph of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
wrote that "Irreplaceable" " ... tellingly, was co-written by Ne-Yo, who may not be the powerhouse vocalist Beyonce is, but has significantly stronger songwriting skills. It‘s the best song on the album—perhaps Ms. Knowles should take a hint." Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, called "Irreplaceable" the best song on B'day, and praised the song's overall production. He wrote:
Before, Beyoncé's approach to heartbreak was always literal, her voice and her words declaiming her feelings with a studied earnestness that at times was difficult to believe, let alone connect with. 'Irreplaceable' is the first song in which Beyoncé lies to herself, and the way her voice perfectly betrays that lie (revealing a giveaway tremble in the stiff upper lip of the lyrics) simultaneously renders it her most sophisticated and her most honest performance to date.
Recognition and accolades
Bill Lamb called "Irreplaceable" one of the strongest tracks on the album, and noted its " ... subject matter of female strength and independence ... ". He ranked it at third place on his list of the Top 100 Pop Songs of 2006. Lamb later ranked the song at number 19 on his list of the Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s decade, writing: "An element that makes Beyonce's 'Irreplaceable' resonate deeper after hearing it multiple times is that the subject matter of female strength and independence is at the core of her entire B'Day album that features the song. 'Irreplaceable' will remind many listeners of concepts central to Terry McMillanTerry McMillan
Terry McMillan is an American author. Her interest in books comes from working at a library when she was sixteen. She received her BA in journalism in 1986 at University of California, Berkeley. Her work is characterized by strong female protagonists.Her first book, Mama, was published in 1987...
's Waiting to Exhale
Waiting to Exhale
Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 romance film starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, directed by Forest Whitaker. The movie was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Beach, Gregory Hines, Donald Faison and Mykelti...
(1995) which remains a cultural touchstone over 15 years after its release." Mark Edward Nero ranked it as the ninth best R&B song of 2006, and wrote, "This song has modern-day classic written all over it ... ".
In 2009, Ryan Schreiber ranked "Irreplaceable" as the number 183 song on his list of Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s decade. Barry Schwartz of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
wrote that "Irreplaceable" recaptured Knowles' debut single "Crazy in Love"s " ... near-perfection ... " called it gentle but defiant, and wrote: "Through some breezy strums and a sweet plaintive melody Beyonce delivers her most genuinely emotional vocal to date, equal parts vulnerable, upset, pissed off, vindictive, resigned, and apathetic ... ". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked the song at number 60 on its list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s decade.
"Irreplaceable" won the award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female, at the 2007 Soul Train Music Award
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment...
, and the 'Favorite Song' award at the 2007 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids Choice Awards, is an annual awards show that airs on the Nickelodeon cable channel, which airs live and is usually held and telecast live on a...
. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
in the 2008 Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
, and Song of the Year at the VH1 Soul Vibe awards. "Irreplaceable" was recognized as one of the five most-performed songs of 2008 by the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
Chart performance
"Irreplaceable" entered various charts worldwide, and became the most successful single released from B'Day. The single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
chart on November 4, 2006 at number eighty-seven. It climbed the charts rapidly because of its radio airplay, and it was Greatest Airplay Gainer certification for six consecutive weeks in early December 2006. Three weeks after the release of "Irreplaceable", B'Day re-entered the top ten on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. The single reached number one on December 16, becoming Knowles' fourth number one single as a solo artist, and her second in 2006, following "Check on It
Check on It
"Check on It" is a song performed by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, featuring American rapper Slim Thug. It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Sean Garrett, Angela Beyincé and Stayve Thomas. The song was supposed to be featured on the soundtrack album for 2006 film The Pink...
" (2005). The single spent ten consecutive weeks at number one and was replaced by Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
's "Say It Right
Say It Right
"Say It Right" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from her third studio album, Loose . Written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills, the song was inspired by, as Furtado described it, the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics,...
" on February 24, 2007. The feat was achieved after Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
's 2005 single, "Gold Digger
Gold Digger
"Gold Digger" is a song recorded by American rapper Kanye West featuring guest vocals by Jamie Foxx. Released as the second single from West's second album, Late Registration, "Gold Digger" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on September 6, 2005, becoming West's and Foxx's second...
" featuring Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
, spent ten weeks at the top spot. "Irreplaceable" outperformed "Baby Boy"'s nine-weeks at number one. Knowles' former group Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
's 2000 single "Independent Women Part I" remained at number one for eleven weeks late in 2000 and early in 2001. "Irreplaceable" remained on the chart for thirty weeks, and was certified double-platinum
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,...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on July 20, 2007, having sold over two million downloads. It was certified triple-platinum for Master Ringtones on July 27, 2007.
According to Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
, "Irreplaceable" passed the 200 million audience impressions mark on December 11, 2006. Another single of Knowles, "Check on It" previously passed this mark on January 31, 2006. Consequently, Knowles became the second singer to achieve this in the United States; the first being, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
whose two singles, "We Belong Together
We Belong Together
"We Belong Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi . The song was released on March 29, 2005, through Island Records as the second single from the album. "We Belong Together" was written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel...
" (2005) and "Shake It Off
Shake It Off
"Shake It Off" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi . It was written and produced by Carey along with Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Johntá Austin...
" (2005), passed the same audience impressions mark in 2005. "Irreplaceable" stayed at number one on the US Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
for eleven consecutive weeks, and was the best-performing US single of 2007, topping the Billboard Top Hot 100 Hits. "Irreplaceable" installed Knowles at third place for the most number one singles by a female song-writer, overtaking Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
and tying Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
for nine number-one singles. Knowles received three song-writing credits in one year, the only woman to achieve this since King in 1971 and Carey in 1991. In February 2010, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed "Irreplaceable" as the highest certified master ringtone of the 2000s decade by a female solo artist. By August 2011, the single had sold over three million digital downloads in the United States. "Irreemplazable" charted equally well, peaking at number four on the Hot Latin Songs. The EP appeared on the Latin Pop Albums at number two, Top Latin Albums at number three, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
at number forty-one and on the Billboard 200 at number 105.
"Irreplaceable" debuted at number-eight on the Australian 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, and peaked at number one for three consecutive weeks, becoming Knowles' first number one single in Australia. It was certified platinum by ARIA
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...
for sales in excess of 70,000 copies, "Irreplaceable" appeared twice on the ARIA year-end charts, reaching number twenty-three in 2006, and number forty-two in 2007. "Irreplaceable" debuted at number three on November 6, 2006, on the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song's highest entry on any chart. It peaked at number one, and remained on the chart for eighteen weeks. "Irreplaceable" peaked within the top fifteen in several European singles charts. It peaked at number four 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 ...
, spending 12 weeks in the top 20 and 25 weeks on the chart. It was Knowles' fifth longest-charting single, and spent more weeks on the chart than her number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Déjà Vu" but slightly less than her recent hits "If I Were a Boy
If I Were a Boy
"If I Were a Boy" is a pop song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was composed by Toby Gad and BC Jean. Jean initially recorded her version of the song which was rejected by Jean's record company. Knowles then recorded a new version for her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce...
", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
", "Halo
Halo (Beyoncé Knowles song)
"Halo" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce . Columbia Records released the song as the fourth single of the album, to mainstream radio in the United States on January 20, 2009. It was composed by Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, and...
" and "Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (Beyoncé Knowles song)
"Sweet Dreams" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce . Originally titled "Beautiful Nightmare", the song leaked in March 2008, eight months prior to the album's release. Written and produced by Knowles, James Scheffer, Wayne Wilkins, and...
". On the UK iTunes chart, "Irreplaceable" is currently Beyoncé's most downloaded non I Am... Sasha Fierce single and still ranks in the top 30 of R&B/Soul songs. Due to a performance of "Irreplaceable" at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival 2011
The 2011 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 22–26 June 2011. Tickets for the festival went on sale from 9 am on Sunday 3 October 2010, over 37 weeks before the festival was set to begin, with a deposit of £50 being paid, while the whole cost of a ticket is £195...
by Knowles on June 26, 2011, the song made a re-entry in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, entering at number thirty-three. Its charity version also charted at number twenty-six.
Music video
Music video director
A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
by Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...
, who co-directed the video of "Get Me Bodied
Get Me Bodied
"Get Me Bodied" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Beyoncé Knowles, Sean Garrett, Solange Knowles, Angela Beyince, Makeba Riddick, and Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and produced by Swizz Beatz, Beyoncé and Sean Garrett, for Knowles' second solo studio...
". The video features the debut performance of Knowles' all-female band, Suga Mama, who also appeared in the "Green Light" music video. Her acting-then-ex-boyfriend in the video is model Bobby Roache, who played police officer for the "Ring the Alarm
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett...
" music video and warrior during Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and Knowles' live performance at the 2006 Fashion Rocks show. The video was included on the 2007 B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album is the first video album by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. It features thirteen music videos for songs from her second studio album, B'Day and its deluxe re-release . It was released by Columbia Records exclusively through Wal-Mart stores on April 3, 2007...
, and a video edit was produced for "Irreemplazable". Part of the video which shows Knowles dancing in silhouette in front of a glass door is inspired by a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie. Late in January 2008, "Irreemplazable" premiered on the MiTRL, a video countdown show on the bilingual channel MTV Tr3s.
The music video follows the storyline of the song's lyrics. "She told me to pack up all my stuff, I'm getting kicked out — the video starts off like that", said Roache. It opens with Knowles filing
Nail file
A nail file is a tool used to gently grind down and shape the edges of nails. They are often used in manicures and pedicures after the nail has been trimmed using appropriate nail clippers...
her nails in silence, as her ex-partner packs up his property, as Knowles orders him to leave. Mid-way in the video, Knowles follows her then-ex boyfriend outside the house and leans on a 2007 Jaguar XK
Jaguar XK
The Jaguar XK series is a series of grand tourer cars produced by British car maker Jaguar since 1996. The series was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show on 5 March 1996. The first generation of the series, the XK8, replaced the XJS, and was available as a coupé and convertible...
. She appears to be pretentiously caressing him; only to find out she repossessing things she bought for him. He leaves her and the car, about to ride off in a taxi. Between cuts, Knowles manages herself in front of a mirror; putting on a lipstick, wearing huge curlers and a high-waisted skirt. Towards the end of the video, she sings with her all-female band, Suga Mama. It ends with Knowles greeting her new boyfriend at the front door.
At the 2007 Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
Awards, Knowles won Video of the Year Award for "Irreplaceable", an award for which "Beautiful Liar
Beautiful Liar
"Beautiful Liar" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé and Colombian Latin pop singer Shakira. The song was written by Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Knowles for the re-release of Knowles'...
" was also nominated. It was nominated for Video of the Year during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
2007 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, re-naming many of the remaining awards, and having only four...
, but it lost to Rihanna's single, "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...
" (2007). At the 2007 Soul Train Music Awards
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment...
, the video was nominated for the Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, but lost to rapper (and husband) Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's "Show Me What You Got
Show Me What You Got
For the song by Powerman 5000, see Show Me What You Got "Show Me What You Got" is a single by rap artist Jay-Z from his album Kingdom Come.-Song information:...
" video.
Live performances
Knowles performed in "Irreplaceable" during various public appearances. She opened the 2006 American Music AwardsAmerican Music Awards of 2006
The 34th American Music Awards were held on November 21, 2006. They were hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The awards recognized the most popular albums and artists from the year of 2005-2006. As usual, the ceremony was broadcast by ABC...
with a performance of "Irreplaceable", and wore a sparkly sequined minidress. Knowles performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
on September 5, 2006.The song was a part of Knowles' set list for her The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé in support to her second solo album B'Day. According to Vibe, the tour grossed over $18.1 million.-Background:...
and I Am... Tour tours. "Irreplaceable" was the closing song during her 2007 The Beyoncé Experience world tour. It was performed late in the set on earlier tour dates, but when Knowles embarked on the US leg, it was performed earlier in the show. On August 5, 2007, Knowles performed the song at the Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Shaheem Reid of MTV wrote: " "Irreplaceable" ended the night, but before the main attraction crooned one note, she told the audience that she sang two hours for them and it was time they sang for her. So the whole Garden sang the first verse of the record; "To the left, to the left/ Everything you own in a box to the left/ In the closet, that's my stuff/ Yes, if I bought it, please don't touch. Beyoncé herself officially closed out singing her own song though."
In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Knowles performed "Irreplaceable" without backup dancers or live instrumentation. As the audience sang, Knowles walked around the stage and pointed to audience members, shouted, "I see you!", and described their clothes or the signs they held. Then Knowles' sang the song herself. When Knowles performed "Irreplaceable" in Sunrise, Florida
Sunrise, Florida
-Overview:Sunrise is a city in southwestern Broward County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated in 1961 by Norman Johnson – a developer whose World Famous Upside-Down House attracted buyers to what was then a remote area...
on June 29, 2009, she wore a glittery gold leotard. As she sang, animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club equipment were projected behind the dancers and musicians. Knowles was accompanied by two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three backup vocalists called the Mamas, and the lead guitarist, Bibi McGill. Footage of Knowles' performance at the Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
, Los Angeles was included on The Beyoncé Experience Live! DVD (2007), and the deluxe edition of I Am... World Tour
I Am... World Tour
I Am... World Tour is a live DVD/CD concert film by American R&B recording artist Beyoncé Knowles who also produced, directed and edited the concert film for her own Parkwood Pictures. The DVD was filmed in presence of more than a million of fans during her worldwide I Am... Tour, running from...
(2010). Knowles performed "Irreplaceable" at Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France, on June 20, 2011, where she wore a pink fringe dress, and at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival 2011
The 2011 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 22–26 June 2011. Tickets for the festival went on sale from 9 am on Sunday 3 October 2010, over 37 weeks before the festival was set to begin, with a deposit of £50 being paid, while the whole cost of a ticket is £195...
on June 26, 2011.
Usage in media and cover versions
In May 2007, "Irreplaceable" was used in the final scene of "When the Chickens Come Home to Roost", the final episode of the first season of the television series The Game. In 2007, Gregory and the HawkGregory and the Hawk
Meredith Godreau is an American singer-songwriter performing under the pseudonym Gregory and the Hawk. Active since 2003, Godreau initially enjoyed independent success with 2 EPs and a full length album selling a total of 15,000 copies.-Biography:...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, and Filipina singer Sabrina covered "Irreplaceable". US country band Sugarland, who performed some of Knowles' songs during their live shows, performed a country version of "Irreplaceable" with Knowles at the 2007 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2007
The 35th American Music Awards took place on November 18, 2007 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.-Pop/Rock:Favorite Male Artist:*Akon*Timbaland*Justin Timberlake...
, held on November 18. Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....
covered "Irreplaceable" in January 2008. In November 2009, Damon Thomas of The Underdogs
The Underdogs (duo)
The Underdogs is an R&B/pop production duo composed of Harvey Mason, Jr. and Damon Thomas.-Biography:Harvey Mason, Jr. is the son of Harvey Mason, Sr., a noted session drummer...
sang the song. A group named Faith, consisting of Michelle Delamor, Ashley Rodriguez and Charity Vance, sang "Irreplaceable" on the 'group night' episode of ninth season of American Idol
American Idol (season 9)
The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was...
on February 10, 2010, In 2011, Canadian singer Maria Aragon
Maria Aragon
Maria Lourdes Aragon is a singer from Manitoba, Canada, of Filipino descent. Aragon gained fame after a YouTube video of her performing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" went viral.-As a YouTube sensation:...
, and South Korean singer G.NA
G.NA
Gina Choi , better known by her stage name G.NA, is a Korean Canadian singer under Cube Entertainment, born on September 13, 1987. She released her first mini-album, Draw G's First Breath, on July 14, 2010...
, covered the song. Andy Grammer
Andy Grammer
Andy Grammer is an American singer-songwriter signed to Steve Greenberg's S-Curve Records. His debut album, Andy Grammer, was officially released on June 14, 2011.-Biography:...
performed "Irreplaceable" on the radio station The Mix Lounge 104.1 and posted the video of his performance on his 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....
page in June 2011.
Track listings and formats
- US Remixes – EP
- "Irreplaceable" (Ralphi Rosario & Craig J Housed Radio Mix) – 4:08
- "Irreplaceable" (Ralphi Rosario & Craig J Housed Club Mix) – 8:51
- "Irreplaceable" (Ralphi Rosario Hydrate Dub) – 9:27
- "Irreplaceable" (Maurice Joshua Radio Mix) – 4:05
- "Irreplaceable" (Maurice Joshua Club Mix) – 7:06
- "Irreplaceable" (Featuring Ghostface Killah) – 4:45
- "Irreplaceable" (DJ Speedy Remix) – 4:20
- Australian EP
- "Irreplaceable" (Album Version) – 3:47
- "Déjà Vu" (Freemasons Club Mix) – 8:05
- "Déjà Vu" (The Remix) – 3:54
- German Basic single
- "Irreplaceable" (Album Version) – 3:47
- "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix Radio Edit) – 3:27
- German Premium CD-single
- "Irreplaceable" (Album Version) – 3:48
- "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix Radio Edit) – 3:26
- "Ring the Alarm" (Karmatronic Remix) – 3:10
- "Ring the Alarm" (Tranzformas Remix featuring Collie Buddz) – 4:12
- "Ring the Alarm" (Enhanced Musicvideo)
Credits and personnel
Credits are taken from B'Day liner notes.- Vocals by Beyoncé Knowles
- Written and composed by Beyoncé, Ne-Yo, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Espen Lind and Amund Bjorklund
- Produced by Stargate and Beyoncé
- Co-Produced by Ne-Yo
- A&R: Max Gousse (Music World Productions Inc.)
- Recording by Jim Caruana
- Assistant: Rob Kinelski
- Mixing by Jason Goldstein
- Guitars: Espen LindEspen LindEspen Lind, , is a Norwegian songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is one half of the production team Espionage.- Solo records :...
- All other instruments: Eriksen and Hermansen
Weekly charts
| Chart (2006-07) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
2 |
| Czech Airplay Chart Rádio Top 100 Oficiální Rádio Top 100 Oficiální is the name of the Czech national airplay chart published by the IFPI Czech Republic on a weekly basis.Besides the main Top 100 record chart, also two component charts are effective. While the Rádio CZ 50 Oficiální features songs released exclusively by Czech and/or Slovak... |
4 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
3 |
| US 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... |
1 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
1 |
| US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
1 |
| US Pop Songs Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
1 |
| US 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... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
1 |
Other versions
Irreemplazable (Spanglish version)| Chart (2006-07) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Latin Songs Hot Latin Songs Hot Latin Songs is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It is often recognized as the most important music chart for Spanish language Latin music in the American music market. It was established by the magazine on September 6, 1986 with La Guirnalda by Rocío Dúrcal being the first song... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
4 |
| US Latin Pop Songs (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
29 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 100 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 13 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
3 |
Irreplaceable (Charity Version)
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 26 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 23 |
| Australian Urban Singles Chart | 16 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 17 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 96 |
| UK Singles Chart | 29 |
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
| Australian Singles Chart | 42 |
| Australian Urban Singles Chart | 19 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 99 |
| German Singles Chart | 79 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 44 |
| UK Singles Chart | 120 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs 2007 | 7 |
| US Hot Dance Club Play Songs | 43 |
| US Pop 100 | 3 |
| US Rhythmic Songs | 8 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2000-09) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 25 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs | 45 |
| US Pop Songs | 40 |
Certifications
| Region (provider) | Certifications |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA 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 |
| Canada (CRIA Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... ) |
Platinum |
| Denmark (IFPI) | Gold |
| New Zealand (RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... ) |
Platinum |
| United States (RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... ) |
3× Platinum |
| 3× Platinum (MT) |
See also
- List of number-one singles in Australia in 2006
- List of number-one singles of 2006 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2006 (U.S.)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B singles of 2006 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance singles of 2007 (U.S.)