Sharda Barhydt: Beyonce Drops Official Version Of 'Run The World (Girls)'

In the first single off her upcoming album, B warns the haters that she's in charge.
By Jocelyn Vena

Beyonce
Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

Beyoncé dropped the official version of her new single "Run the World (Girls)" on Thursday morning (April 21). The track is just under four minutes of sassy, girl-power lyrics paired with marching-band beats and club appeal.

The song is loud and proud in its relentless message: Beyoncé and girls everywhere are in charge now. B is clearly rallying the troops to her side in this first single off her forthcoming summer album release.

"Girls, we run this motha," she announces at the song's opening. Soon, the beat takes off and looped Auto-Tuned vocals complement Beyoncé's feel-good call and response of "Who run the world? Girls."

The verses that follow sound like a warning to any of the haters. "Some of them men think they freak this like we do/ But no they don't/ Make your checks come at they neck/ Disrespect us, no they won't/ This goes out to all my girls that's in the club rocking the latest/ Who will buy it for themselves and get more money later," Beyoncé sings in a choppy, emphatic style.

"I think I need a barber/ None of these ho's can fight me/ I'm so good with this/ I remind you I'm so 'hood with this," she goes on, before briefly transitioning to smoother, more persuasive, but still boastful vocals.

The song is a cleaned-up version of the demo that leaked earlier this week. It was produced by Switch, Beyoncé and Shea Taylor. Beyoncé also co-wrote the track with The-Dream.

Though there's still no word on when the video might drop, its director, Francis Lawrence, has made it clear that the video (which was teased on Wednesday) will be epic. "It'll be big, it'll probably be one of the bigger Beyoncé music videos ever done," he explained. "And, I can say that I think the song is unbelievable."

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