Bigger (Beyoncé song)

"Bigger"
Song by Beyoncé
from the album The Lion King: The Gift
ReleasedJuly 19, 2019
Genre
Length3:46
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Beyoncé
  • Derek Dixie

"Bigger" (stylized in uppercase)[1] is a song by American singer Beyoncé from the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift[2] and featured in the 2020 film Black Is King.

Background

The song was penned at a writing camp at Beyoncé's studio and was created due to a bond with British singer-songwriter Raye and US songwriter Stacy Barthe. Raye told BBC Newsbeat: "I remember we were both in a really dark, sad place and we wanted to create something to empower ourselves. We spent maybe two or three hours on it. It was 3 a.m. and I remember Beyoncé's team came in and heard what we'd created so far and just completely freaked out. It was incredible."[3] Raye also told Official Charts: "I wrote a lot of songs - I put a shift in. But [Beyoncé] fell in love with Bigger."[4] Beyoncé informed Raye that "Bigger" would be the first song on the album at the 2019 The Lion King European premiere, and her reaction, as caught on video, went viral.[5] Raye tweeted "Beyoncé told me I’ve written Track 1 on the new album ... it’s called Bigger . I can’t I can’t."[6]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Bigger" is preceded by "Balance", a Mufasa interlude voiced by James Earl Jones, which samples his "Circle of Life" speech from the 2019 film. The two tracks segue into each other. Dazed described this shift as "tying in nicely with the track’s lyrics."[7] According to The Atlantic, "Bigger" has an overarching theme of "royal succession" as well as an undercurrent exploration of the "ecological and existential" aspects of the "Circle of Life."[8] Matzav Review described "Bigger" as an "ode to the natural riches of the African continent" whilst also serving as a tribute to Beyoncé's children, showing them the paraphrased "power of collective knowledge."[9]

Music video

A music video was released on July 19, 2019, as the second part from an extended edition of the music video from "Spirit", the lead single from the album.

A second music video was released in Black Is King. It features snippets of the original video with new footage filmed specifically for the movie.

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Hot R&B Songs (Billboard)[10] 19
US R&B Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[11] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[12] Gold 20,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "The Lion King: The Gift / Beyoncé". Tidal. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Lion King: The Gift / Beyoncé". 8o8wave. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Beyoncé Lion King album: The young Brit who wrote the first track". Newsbeat. July 22, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. ^ "Raye talks new single Love Me Again and writing for Beyonce: "I've earned the right to put out an album"". Official Charts Company. August 2, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  5. ^ "The moment Beyoncé told me the song I wrote was track 1 on the album." — @raye". Twitter. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  6. ^ "Beyoncé told me I've written Track 1 on the new album ... it's called Bigger . I can't I can't". Twitter. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Watch the new visuals for Beyoncé's 'Bigger'". Dazed. July 21, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Beyoncé Remixed the Meaning of The Lion King". The Atlantic. July 26, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "Beyoncé leads your children an honest important lesson in 'Bigger'". Matzav. March 28, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "Beyoncé: Chart History: Hot R&B Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Billboard.com.
  11. ^ "Beyoncé: Chart History: R&B Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Billboard.com.
  12. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Beyoncé – Bigger" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved January 4, 2022.