I'm That Girl

Album: Renaissance (2022)
Charted: 26
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Beyoncé opens her Renaissance album with a mission statement where she outlines the liberation, self-assuredness, and empowerment served up over the 16 tracks. Queen Bey reminds us throughout the track that she's truly That Girl.
  • Beyoncé only sings the chorus once, and the track incorporates several ideas and BPMs. The lack of conventional song structures is another Renaissance theme.
  • Parents be warned! Beyoncé also makes it clear she won't hold back on cussing. Even in the intro, she uses the F-word a dozen times.
  • I be beatin' down the block, knockin' Basquiats off the wall-all

    Beyoncé and Jay-Z are known for their love for fine art, and own several Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings. In 2013, Bey's rapper husband reportedly purchased the Basquiat painting Mecca at Sotheby's for $4.2 million. Jay-Z references his ownership of one of the artist's works on his 2013 track "Picasso Baby" in the line, "Yellow Basquiat in my kitchen corner." In 2021, Beyoncé's ad campaign with the jewelry maker Tiffany & Co. featured a never-before-seen Tiffany blue painting by Basquiat.
  • Beyoncé wrote "I'm That Girl" with The-Dream. Other Queen Bey girl-power anthems the R&B songwriter co-penned include "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," "Run The World (Girls)" as well as Renaissance's lead single, "Break My Soul." The-Dream also contributes backing vocals on the track.
  • Beyoncé, Kelman Duran, Mike Dean, Symbolyc One, Stuart White and Jameil Aossey produced the track. Mike Dean is Kanye West's go-to production partner and Symbolyc One is signed to West's GOOD Music as a producer. Stuart White was Beyoncé's recording and mixing engineer on Lemonade.
  • The song samples Memphis rappers Tommy Wright III and Princess Loko's "Still Pimpin'" from Wright's 1994 album Runnin-N-Gunnin.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

How The Beatles Crafted Killer Choruses

How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing

The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.