With “Single Ladies,” Beyoncé managed the rare and risky feat that is launching a successful meme yourself, and did so by executing a clever, two-part strategy.
Last year, when Katy Perry kicked off her #BonAppetitChallenge, in which participants were meant to try and “look sexy” while pouring water on themselves, fans were quick to point out that the challenge didn’t have much to do with either the song or video. It’s much safer to let the internet run the show than it is to manufacture a meme yourself, mainly because consumers can tell when you’re trying to force something on them. In both cases, the artist(s)-Migos and Drake, respectively-profited from meme culture without having to actively participate in it.
Think of all the “Raindrop, drop top” tweets, or the #InMyFeelingsChallenge. It usually happens, and arguably works best, without the artist’s involvement. These days, it’s quite common for new music to spread through memes. But while Soulja Boy’s video helped his song become a dance-floor staple first, Beyoncé’s helped hers along through more deliberate means-which, in the years since, have left the latter with more cultural lasting power. To be clear, she wasn’t the first to launch a viral dance trend through online video-sharing that would’ve been Soulja Boy, who’d beaten her to the punch with “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” the previous year. Always ahead of the curve, Beyoncé was among the first YouTube-era pop artists to market a music video with the help of memes. It was heavily referenced in an early episode of “Glee,” was parodied on “Saturday Night Live” in a skit that guest-starred the artist herself, and-perhaps most famously-was deemed “one of the best videos of all time” by Kanye West.īut one under-discussed aspect of its legacy is its early employment of what we now call meme culture.
Though simple in concept, the video quickly became, and has since remained, a cultural touchstone. Directed by Jake Nava-who, as of now, has worked on ten videos with the mononymed star-the black-and-white clip features her (as her alter ego, Sasha Fierce) flanked by dancers Ashley Everett and Ebony Williams as she chides the former lover who missed his chance to tie the knot. Ten years ago this week, Beyoncé premiered her official music video for “Single Ladies” on TRL.
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