The Schuyler Sisters

For the historical figures, see Angelica Schuyler Church, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and Peggy Schuyler.
"The Schuyler Sisters"
Song by Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Leslie Odom Jr., and the cast of Hamilton
from the album Hamilton
Released2015
Genre
Length3:07
Songwriter(s)Lin-Manuel Miranda
Audio
"The Schuyler Sisters" on YouTube

"The Schuyler Sisters" is the fifth song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.

Background

Musical director Alex Lacamoire explained that the song originally had a throwback Daft Punk/Pharrell quality, but after viewing a series of Vines with the three actresses improvising on Destiny's Child songs, he reworked the song to give it similar characteristics, then let the sisters add their own harmonies to the tune; he "realized there's nothing in the song as cool as the harmonies the girls do when they're messing around, so we... just let them riff".[1]

Synopsis

The song introduces the three Schuyler sisters: Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy, their different personalities and views, and how they are excited to be in a new age,[2] "amidst the powder keg of the early days of the revolution".[3] Burr tries to flirt with Angelica, but Angelica rejects him and instead professes how she wants a "revelation" instead of a "revolution."

Style

The New Yorker described the sisters as a "Destiny's Child-esque R&B girl group."[4] Pitchfork said the song wouldn't sound out of place in an album by Wyclef protégé City High.[5] The Guardian said the number "combines TLC with the Andrews Sisters and a hat tip to 'Three Little Maids From School Are We'".[6] WIUX described it as "a pre-pre-feminist power anthem".[7]

Critical reception

Entertainment Monthly says this song marks the moment when "the album really kicks it into high gear."[8] Jeff Lunden of Byline said that this is the song he keeps "more or less in constant rotation".[9] When Miranda appeared on the West Wing Weekly podcast, he said the line "I'm looking for a mind at work" was taken from the TV series The West Wing.

Certifications

Certifications for "The Schuyler Sisters"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[11] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Nate. "Nerding Out With Hamilton Musical Director, Alex Lacamoire", Vulture (NY Magazine), January 13, 2016
  2. ^ "Going H.A.M.: A Track-By-Track Review Of The 'Hamilton' Soundtrack". Vibe. 20 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Hamilton the Musical review". Noted in NYC. 2 April 2015.
  4. ^ Michael Schulman (6 August 2015). "The Women of "Hamilton"". The New Yorker.
  5. ^ "Various Artists". Pitchfork.
  6. ^ Alexis Soloski (18 February 2015). "Hamilton review – founding father gets a hip-hop makeover". the Guardian.
  7. ^ "Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)". 29 October 2015.
  8. ^ Dominick, Nora (22 September 2015). "A Day Spent Listening to 'Hamilton'". Emertainment Monthly. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09.
  9. ^ "Song From Broadway Musical 'Hamilton' Celebrates Founding Mothers". NPR.org. 25 December 2015.
  10. ^ "British single certifications – Goldsberry/Soo/Cephas-Jones – The Schuyler Sisters". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  11. ^ "American single certifications – Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton – The Schuyler Sisters". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 1, 2023.