Beyoncé has a hold on chart toppers
Whether she’s standing alone, teaming with a British troubadour or linking attitude with a hip-hop firebrand, Beyoncé can conquer a chart. ⬤ In the 21 years since her post-Destiny’s Child solo debut, “Dangerously in Love,” signaled the arrival of a powerhouse with the blast of pop, funk, soul and hip-hop that is “Crazy in Love,” Beyoncé has amassed nearly three dozen Top 40 hits. ⬤ Nine of them, including two recent singles – “Break My Soul” from 2022’s “Renaissance” album and “Texas Hold ’Em,” her controversy-igniting hit from the upcoming “Cowboy Carter” album – ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In anticipation of the March 29 release of the country-skewing album, we’ve ranked Beyoncé’s chart-toppers from the middling to the marvelous.
9. ‘Check on It’ with Bun B and Slim Thug (2005)
Written as the theme for “The Pink Panther” movie – in which Beyoncé co-starred as a famous pop star, natch – the catchy song bops along with a sugary melody and Beyoncé’s casually flirty delivery. But it also sounds like a Destiny’s Child castoff and is one of the least memorable amid her hefty catalog, even with Bun B and Slim Thug adding some “dirty South” swag.
8. ‘Baby Boy’ with Sean Paul (2003)
Kudos to Beyoncé for exploring dancehall and meshing its Caribbean influences with a coiled beat that sounds ever-ready to pounce. Jamaican DJ/rapper Paul slathers the song with his patterned “toasting” (the Jamaican form of talking over a beat) while Beyoncé mostly repeats the lyric “Baby boy, you stay on my mind/fulfill my fantasies,” in a song heavy on rhythm but flimsy on substance.
7. ‘Perfect Duet’ with Ed Sheeran (2017)
A stripped-down version of Sheeran’s swaying ballad of devotion spotlights the elegance in Beyoncé’s voice as she handles the second verse of the song with breathy emotion. Their rendition is intimate and stirring, hushed and electrifying as the pair harmonizes organically and angelically.
6. ‘Savage Remix’ with Megan Thee Stallion (2020)
The meeting of Houston natives birthed an even brawnier version of Megan’s first No. 1 hit, “Savage,” with Beyoncé showcasing her deftness in dropping a rhyme. The combination of lyrics lasered on empowerment (“My mama was a savage/I got this (expletive) from Tina,” Beyoncé raps in tribute to her mother) and the song’s thick beat collided to provide this pair a playground steeped in sass.
5. ‘Irreplaceable’ (2006)
In case there was any doubt, Beyoncé doesn’t need you. Or anyone. As she directed an ex to pack up his nonsense and exit her life, she twisted the knife with a shrug: “I could have another you in a minute.” But along with its bracing confidence, the song also produced the unlikely mantra, “to the left, to the left.” If only TikTok existed in the mid-2000s.
4. ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ (2024)
Forget for a moment the breathless commentary surrounding Beyoncé stepping into country music and focus on the music. The debut single from “Cowboy Carter” is not only rife with banjo picking and a foot-stomping beat, but it’s coated with a simple melody peppered with her girly “woo”s and powered by an infectious, genre-agnostic chorus.
3. ‘Break My Soul’ (2022)
The debut single from Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album – which spawned a worldwide tour and box office-busting movie – was a giddy mashup of Robin S.’s 1993 club thumper “Show Me Love,” Big Freedia’s “Explode” and Beyoncé’s own growling vocals. Her call for reinvention (And I just quit my job/I’m gonna find a new drive”) and attitudinal rapping (“The queens in the front and the doms in the back/Ain’t takin’ no flicks but the whole clique snapped”) combined for a transcendent dance floor romp.
2. ‘Crazy in Love’ (2003)
While fans thrilled at the appearance of then-suitor Jay-Z on Beyoncé’s lead solo single, it’s really the swelling horns, pulsing rhythm and her carefree lyric dropping that cement the flush of being in love. A sample of The Chi-Lites’ 1970 song “Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)” is subtle, but also flags Beyoncé’s interest and knowledge in the roots of R&B.
1. ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)’ (2008)
An unrelenting beat and a nonchalant declaration (“If you liked it than you should have put a ring on it”) fueled the song toward a trio of Grammy Awards in 2010. The jab at commitment-phobes interlaced with Beyoncé’s trademark heralding of independence collided for a timeless anthem and a video ingrained in pop culture.