BEYONCÉ HAS LITERALLY hundreds of songs to her name.
But what’s her best song? It’s a contentious issue.
As such, we thought it was high time to rank her songs.
In order to make our lives easier, we only included songs that charted in Ireland so you won’t find any obscure album tracks here.
Without any further ado, here are Beyoncé’s songs, ranked from worst to best.
28. Listen
Listen is a dreary enough song from the Dreamgirls soundtrack that you probably haven’t thought about in 8 years and, for that reason, it is Beyoncé’s worst song.
Next.
27. Broken Hearted Girl
You can tell that Beyoncé herself wasn’t that arsed about this song because the video looks like it cost €30 to shoot.
26. Me, Myself and I
Me, Myself and I isn’t a bad song, per se. But if you didn’t know it was Beyoncé, you would be forgiven for thinking it was Ashanti.
It’s grand, like. Just a bit forgettable.
25. Pretty Hurts
Pretty Hurts has a cool video, but it’s fairly dull and the one song you’d be happy to skip when you’re listening to the album. It also contains one of the worst lyrics of Beyoncé’s career: “It’s the soul that needs the surgery.”
Girl, no.
24. Diva
Diva feels like a sort of precursor to Flawless, another defiant anthem about being a boss woman. Unfortunately, it kind of pales in comparison to Flawless and hasn’t really stood the test of time.
“A diva is a female version of a hustler” is a good line nonetheless.
23. Green Light
Green Light is actually good craic and the kind of song you would want playing if you were to walk down a catwalk. But it’s just a little too by-the-numbers for it to crack the top 20.
22. Best Thing I Never Had
A good song to belt out after, like, two glasses of red wine in the privacy of your own home. But it’s not Bey’s best.
21. Work It Out
LOL, remember when Beyoncé was just starting out and had to perform songs for crap like Austin Powers in Goldmember? Imagine Mike Myers calling up Beyoncé today to be like, “Hi Beyoncé, will you perform a song for my new film?” She’d laugh in his face.
Anyway, Work It Out is a fun song to listen to once a year if only to remember the fact that Beyoncé wasn’t always Queen Bey and had to lower herself to this once upon a time:
We all have to start somewhere.
20. Deja Vu
Beyoncé is literally the most beautiful person alive in this video, but the song itself falls *just short* of being an absolute banger.
19. If I Were A Boy
Another one for the “fun to sing while alone in the house” pile.
It’s probably one of Bey’s most impressive vocal performances (seriously, try reach those notes) and its lyrics are very sharp. But we all know she can do better.
18. Naughty Girl
Okay, it’s not the first Beyoncé song you’d request at a party, but it’s the kind of song you’d be only delighted to hear at the club at 1.30am
Say it with us: “I’m feeling seeeeeeexyyyyyy”
17. Beautiful Liar
Oh my God, remember when Beyoncé and Shakira performed a synchronized swimming routine on the floor? (See above.) Wonderful times.
Anyway, Beautiful Liar is a tune, even if it’s the less popular sibling of Hips Don’t Lie.
16. Baby Boy
Yet another Beyoncé song that features a bit of an Indian/Arabic twang. Baby Boy gets bonus points for featuring the incomparable Sean Paul.
SEAN-A-PAUL!
15. Partition
Partition might not yet be two years old, but some of its lyrics are already iconic. Everyone on the internet has made a “Driver, roll up the partition, please” joke at some point and, well, we won’t say anything about the Monica Lewinsky line.
But while it’s finger-clickingly catchy and enjoyably filthy, we don’t quite know if Beyoncé will still be performing it in, like, thirty years or whatever.
14. End of Time
If you’ve ever been to a Beyoncé concert, you’ll know that watching Queen Bey perform End Of Time is a joyous experience. It’s impossible to listen to this and not want to flail madly/join a zumba class.
13. Check On It
A highly underrated Beyoncé jam in our opinion.
Catchy, chilled out and reminiscent of some of Destiny’s Child best numbers, Check On It is a total winner.
12. Run The World (Girls)
The song that introduced the world to “Beyoncé: Feminist”.
Don’t lie: you can’t resist shaking your shoulders when those drums kick in.
11. 7/11
Hold that cup like alcohol. HOLD THAT CUP LIKE ALCOHOL. Hold that cup like alcohol.
DON’T YOU DROP THAT ALCOHOL.
10. Sweet Dreams
Killer chorus, deadly synths, slick production — Sweet Dreams has everything you could possibly want from a pop song.
9. Countdown
To be honest, Countdown might be one of Beyoncé’s best songs. In 2011, loads of critics ranked it as among the best songs of the year. (Beyoncé herself said of the song, “Every hipster, that’s their favourite song.”)
The only reason we haven’t ranked it higher is because it didn’t quite make the same splash as some of her better known singles. But those of us who live and breathe Beyoncé can appreciate its place in her musical canon.
(Also the video is pure, unadulterated eye candy.)
8. Irreplaceable
AKA what Best Thing I Never Had aspired to be.
Irreplaceable is the best of Beyoncé’s break-up ballads because it (a) contains immortal catchphrases like “To the left, to the left…” and “I could have another you in a minute” and (b) it’s empowering/sassy in the way all the best Beyoncé’s songs are.
All together now: “You must not know about me, you must not know about me…”
7. XO
XO is basically the musical equivalent of a firework — triumphant, romantic and guaranteed to make your heart swell a little bit.
We love it like XO.
6. Drunk In Love
Surfboardt. I been drinkin’. We be all night.
‘Nuff said.
5. Single Ladies
It’s hard to take Single Ladies seriously, thanks to its status as The Unofficial Hen Party Anthem™ and the countless parodies it has spawned in the seven years since it was released.
But how many pop songs can claim to have an iconic catchphrase (“If you liked it, then you should have out a ring on it”), an instantly recognisable dance routine and what Kanye West has deemed the best video of all-time?
Case closed.
4. Halo
You’re not human if you haven’t sung Halo in the shower at one point and tried to reach that low note where she sings, “They didn’t even make a sound.”
Also, “I can see your halo” is a class thing to say if your mate’s top is riding a bit low or whatever.
;)
3. Love On Top
In which Beyoncé channels classic Whitney to create an irresistible pop song that will be played at weddings for decades to come. (Just make sure you put those mirrors away before you try reaching those high notes.)
2. Flawless
We’re just going to say it: everything about Flawless is perfect. The throwback from Beyoncé’s days on Star Search, the Chimananda Ngozi Adache sample, the core message…
It’s hard to listen to it and not feel like you’re in charge of the world.
It’s so good that we can even forgive it for inspiring the unbearable “I woke up like this…” trend on Instagram.
1. Crazy In Love
12 years ago, Beyoncé announced her intention to conquer the world with the stonkingly good Crazy in Love and she hasn’t looked back since.
Few songs really stand the test of time without nostalgia beginning to play a part, but Crazy in Love still sounds as fresh as it did in 2003.
Bow down.
Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments.
