From her early solo success to her forays into genres like house music and country, Beyoncé has consistently excelled, even after more than three decades in the industry.
After departing from Destiny’s Child to pursue a solo career, she found instant success. Her debut solo single, “Crazy in Love,” featuring Jay-Z, dominated the charts for eight weeks in 2003 and remains one of her most iconic hits.
Since then, Beyoncé has consistently dominated the charts with collaborations like 2005’s “Check On It” featuring Slim Thug, 2006’s, as well as featuring in the platinum-winning “Love in This Club Pt. II”.
As the most awarded artist in Grammy history, Beyoncé’s solo songs as well as collaborations have not only defined but shaped multiple generations.
Here are Xsnoize’s eight of Beyonce’s best collaborations of all time:
“Drunk in Love” — ft Jay Z
Die-hard fans who buy Beyonce tickets loved this track as Mr and Mrs Carter brought their magic to the song with Beyonce’s harmonious persona being garnished with Jay Z’s razor-sharp lyrical supremacy.
Upon its release in December 2013, the song quickly became a whirlwind, playing across different radio and television stations globally. “Drunk in Love” marked Beyoncé’s fifteenth top-ten entry on the Hot 100 as a solo artist, staying in the top ten for eight consecutive weeks.
In April, it earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). By August 2022, the song had achieved six-times platinum status, with six million copies sold and streamed in the US. This accomplishment made “Drunk in Love” Beyoncé’s highest-selling single of the 2010s, including both digital sales and streams.
“Check on it” — ft Bun B & Slim Thug.
“Check on It” served as the primary theme for the 2006 film “The Pink Panther”, featuring Beyoncé as Xania. Although initially intended for the film’s soundtrack, it was ultimately excluded but later included in the 2005 Destiny’s Child greatest hits album, “#1’s”, with added vocals from Slim Thug.
On October 11, 2005, Columbia Records released a remix of “Check on It,” featuring both Slim Thug and Bun B as the second single from “#1’s”. During the same week, “Check on It” topped the US Hot Digital Songs and the US Pop 100 charts. The single dominated the Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks before being replaced by James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful.” This achievement tied Beyoncé with Jennifer Lopez for having their first three number-one Hot 100 singles each stay atop the chart for five weeks or longer.
“Beautiful Liar” — ft Shakira
High-profile collaborations and prominent features have become a staple in the Official Singles Chart, but when Beyoncé and Shakira teamed up in 2007, it marked a significant moment in music.
The music video for “Beautiful Liar” was, as anticipated — steamy and atmospheric, showcasing both artists’ signature hip movements.
Despite its theme of two women loving the same deceitful man, the song was a smooth and seductive midtempo track rather than the aggressive anthem one might expect.
“Beautiful Liar” held the Number 1 position for three weeks before being overtaken by McFly, amassing 564,100 combined sales from physical copies, downloads, and streams. Like many of Beyoncé’s releases from that period, “Beautiful Liar” also featured a vibrant Freemasons remix—worth a listen for fans of early 2000s dance music.
“Ego”— ft Kanye West
“Ego” (featuring Kanye West) is a remix by American artist Beyoncé, taken from her third studio album, “I Am… Sasha Fierce”. This version was exclusively included in the deluxe and platinum editions of the album.
For the week ending June 20, 2009, “Ego” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 77, marking Beyoncé’s 19th solo entry. The song eventually peaked at number 39 after spending eight weeks on the chart, with its highest position reached in the issue dated August 15, 2009.
This achievement made “Ego” her 18th solo top 40 single and the fifth from “I Am… Sasha Fierce” to enter the top 40. It performed even better on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it peaked at number three on July 25, 2009, surpassing the chart positions of “If I Were a Boy” and “Halo.”
The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and, as of October 6, 2010, had sold 357,000 downloads in the US, not including the remix version.
“Mine”— ft Drake
“Mine” is characteristic of a “40” project, featuring layers of synthesizers and rhythmic clinks that gradually build, occasionally escalating into full bass drops and drum machine impacts.
In September 2013, Drake announced his collaboration with Beyoncé on her upcoming project. During an interview with “Vibe”, he discussed his work on “Mine.”
In the UK, “Mine” debuted at number 89 on the UK Singles Chart and number eight on the UK R&B Chart on December 28, 2013. The following week, it rose to number 65 on the singles chart and number seven on the R&B chart, which became its peak position on both charts. In the US, “Mine” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 99 and debuted at number 32 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the issue dated January 4, 2014, before climbing to numbers 82 and 25, respectively, the following week.
“Love in This Club Pt. II” — Usher ft Beyoncé & Lil’ Wayne
“Love in This Club Part II” was the second single from Usher’s fifth studio album, “Here I Stand” (2008). This track is a sequel to the album’s lead single, “Love in This Club,” featuring Young Jeezy.
As reported by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Usher’s “Love In This Club Part II,” featuring Lil Wayne and Beyoncé, was certified Platinum on February 9th, 2024.
This certification indicates that the Soundz-produced collaboration, included in Usher’s “Here I Stand” album, has been purchased and streamed over 1,000,000 times since its initial release on April 28, 2008.
“BROWN SKIN GIRL” — Beyoncé ft Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid
“BROWN SKIN GIRL” is a multiple award-winning collaboration featuring Beyoncé, her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, Guyanese-American rapper Saint Jhn, and Nigerian afro beats artist, Wizkid.
Upon its release, the song garnered widespread critical acclaim and won several awards, including the Soul Train Music Award for The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award and the BET HER Award.
The accompanying video, featuring Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, and Wizkid, received accolades such as Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the Soul Train Music Award for Video of the Year, and the MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography.
“Feeling Myself” — Nicki Minaj ft Beyonce
Their collaborative track “Feeling Myself” achieved a significant milestone on Spotify. Originally released in 2017, this hip-hop single cast a vibrant pink shadow over Minaj’s competition, amassing an impressive 145 million streams, largely fueled by her dedicated fanbase.
It boasts over 145,114,308 spins on Spotify alone and exceeds the 500 million mark when including streams from Apple Music, Google Play, YouTube, and TIDAL.
Co-written by R&B artist SZA, “Feeling Myself” is featured on Minaj’s third studio album, “The Pinkprint,” which has steadily climbed to success worldwide, with over 5 million copies sold through a combination of pure sales and streams.
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