Irreplaceable

Production

"Irreplaceable" was written for Chrisette Michele. Production team Stargate and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo had written for Beyoncé's second album B'Day, but Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate said that they might not have gone in the direction they did on the song. The tune did not suit Beyoncé's voice, and Ne-Yo wrote the lyrics from a male perspective, although it was not based upon his personal experiences. Ne-Yo wrote the song in the country style, thinking of country singers Shania Twain and Faith Hill during the sessions. When Ne-Yo heard them playing the song with a guitar, he thought it sounded like country music. But when the drums were incorporated into the music, it was brought to an R&B vibe, and Ne-Yo considered making an R&B-country western music song instead.

When the team worked with Ne-Yo, they recorded the song with a male vocalist. However, they thought a female vocalist would be more suitable, and Ne-Yo also thought that it was empowering for a woman to sing it. Eriksen of Stargate said it was an A&R person who suggested that the song would work better when sung by a woman. Two labels wanted the song. While Beyoncé worked on material for B'Day, she was pleased with the demo of the "Irreplaceable" that was presented to her. However, "Irreplaceable" did not seem to fit on B'Day, which was supposed to be "a hard-hitting club album". Swizz Beatz, who was working on the album, declared that Beyoncé would be crazy not to include the song on the record. Beyoncé asked for changes to the song, including the addition of drums, vocal arrangements, and singing in a higher register than the demo. Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund, from the Norwegian production team Espionage, wrote the chord structure and the guitar part. In an interview with MTV, Ne-Yo said, "Beyoncé had some stuff that she wanted to get off her chest", while aiming to make a record that women could relate to, in keeping with the theme of the album.

The recording was engineered by Jim Caruana and mixed by Jason Goldstein at Sony Music Studios in New York City. Goldstein was hired to mix B'Day. He said: "This song was really simple to mix. It was produced by Stargate and the sounds are really good and they all made sense, and there was lots of room for all the instruments." Goldstein used a board equalizer for the drums' treatment. For the acoustic guitars, he used the analogue flanger of a TC 1210 spatial expander "to sweeten the sound" and to give them "a little bit more spread". Goldstein thought "Irreplaceable" sounded "a bit old-school"; an eighth note delay echo was placed on the song's lead vocal at 341ms, using the Echo Farm plug-in software. For the backing vocals, Goldstein used Echo Farm with a quarter note delay at 682ms and Sony's Oxford Dynamics compressor/limiter in dual-mono mode.

The compressor was placed in Classic setting, to emulate the LA-2A leveling amplifier, and the Warmth button used to add harmonics. Oxford Dynamics was used for the bass in a different setting. Goldstein passed the final mix through the Oxford EQ and Inflator plug-ins. Pro Tools software was used to print the aux track into a 44.1kHz/24-bit CD and then into a 24-bit CD master. After the sessions for "Irreplaceable" ended, Hermansen said that "everyone felt they had captured something special and that Beyoncé had done the track justice", but there were still concerns that urban radio might not play the song as it featured acoustic guitars and had more of a pop appeal. "But then it became the biggest urban record ... ever," [Hermansen] said.

Songwriting controversy

A controversy arose over the writing credits on "Irreplaceable". Ne-Yo told MTV: "Apparently Beyoncé was at a show somewhere and right before the song came on she said, 'I wrote this for all my ladies' and then the song came on ... The song is a co-write. I wrote the lyrics, I wrote all the lyrics. Beyoncé helped me with the melodies and the harmonies and the vocal arrangement and that makes it a co-write. Meaning my contribution and her contribution made that song what it is." In 2011, Ne-Yo said that he wrote the song for himself, but thought that it would be better suited for Beyoncé, and later regretted giving the song to her. Some of Beyoncé's fans read Ne-Yo's remark as disrespectful towards her. However, he clarified his comment later through Twitter, writing, "I said I originally wrote the song for me. ... Once I realized how the song comes across if sung by a guy, that's when I decided to give it away."

Composition

"Irreplaceable" is a mid-tempo ballad with pop and R&B influences. Written in the key of B♭ major, the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 88 beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocal range in the song spans nearly two and a half octaves, from B♭₂ to E♭₅. While most of the songs on the album are aggressive and uptempo, her voice on "Irreplaceable" is toned down. "Irreplaceable" uses a gently strummed acoustic guitar, following the B♭₅–F₅–Cm₇–E♭_6/9 chord series. Hermansen and Eriksen combined the classic chord progression on an acoustic guitar, a modern-sounding 808 drum beat and cellos. Al Shipley of Stylus Magazine noted that the guitar strum can be found in Rihanna's 2007 single "Hate That I Love You", a song co-produced by Stargate and Ne-Yo. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote that Chris Brown's 2007 single "With You", another Stargate-produced song, also features the same element. He wrote, "'With You' is the convincer, even if you can instantly tell that producer Stargate was just trying to roll out 'Irreplaceable' one more time." while Billboard magazine wrote that it "leans a bit too heavily" to the song.

Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "Irreplaceable" resembles ballads sung by Whitney Houston. Spence D. of IGN wrote that the song was inspired by Aretha Franklin's work since "Irreplaceable" consists of several variations in gutturals and octave range. The lyrics of "Irreplaceable" concern the breakdown of a woman's relationship with her boyfriend after she discovers his infidelity, and the song "sounds a lot like a statement of independence". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote, "With a heretofore unknown grasp of nuance, Beyonce combines heartache, bravado, and anger as she tells a cad he's far from irreplaceable—and that, in fact, her new man will be arriving momentarily." Hermansen said that "Irreplaceable" is a song that "people from all walks of life can enjoy". Beyoncé said that the song is "a little honest", and, "... basically we can't forget our power and our worth. And sometimes you're so in love, you forget that. And sometimes you feel like you're not being appreciated. And sometimes they forget that they can be replaced."

The song's lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. It begins with guitar strumming, and Beyoncé sings the hook-intro, "To the left, to the left: everything you own in a box to the left". In bar seven, she sings the first verse, arguing with her boyfriend about the indifference of their relationship, and tells him to walk away. The pre-chorus and chorus follow, "You must not know 'bout me ... I can have another you by tomorrow / I could have another you in a minute ... Don't you ever for a second get to thinking / You're irreplaceable". In the second verse, Beyoncé recollects the moment she discovered her boyfriend's infidelity. The same pattern leads to the second chorus. Towards the end, Beyoncé sings the bridge, where she tells her lover, "Replacing you is so easy". The song closes with an ad-libbed chorus. The Boston Globe noted that Beyoncé sings some parts of it in a higher register "that complements the lyrics' wounded sensibility".

Release

During the production of "Irreplaceable", Hermansen thought that the track would not receive radio play because of the acoustic guitars, and deemed the song too pop-oriented. Hermansen did not expect "Irreplaceable" to conform to any genre. Despite his prediction, the song became successful on urban charts. It was played in New York and on country radio stations. Shortly after the release of "Irreplaceable", Beyoncé told MTV: "I love 'Irreplaceable'. I think it's important to have those songs. I've had so many people come up to me in tears, saying, 'I experienced my first breakup. If it wasn't for the song, I wouldn't be strong enough to not call. I wouldn't know how much I'm worth.' I'm happy to be a part of that."

"Irreplaceable" was released in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2006, as the second single there. In the US, "Irreplaceable" was the third single from B'Day', and followed "Ring the Alarm". The single was released on December 5, 2006, and featured the album and instrumental versions of the track. "Irreplaceable" was the second single released from B'Day in international markets on Columbia Records. Two versions of the single were released in the UK on October 26, 2006. A CD single, which featured the album version of "Irreplaceable", and the Freemasons club mix radio edit of "Ring the Alarm", was released. An enhanced CD, which included the album version, three remixes of "Ring the Alarm", and the "Ring the Alarm" music video, was also released. A 12" single was released in the UK the following week. In Australia, a maxi single, which featured the album version and two remixes of "Déjà Vu", was released on December 5, 2006. A Maurice Joshua remix edit of the song was released in Australia two weeks later.

Beyoncé recorded a Spanish version of the song, called "Irreemplazable", with additional lyrical contributions from Rudy Pérez and was included on the second disc of the deluxe edition of B'Day released on June 12, 2007. An Irreemplazable EP was released in the US on August 28, 2007, and on September 10, 2007, in the UK. The EP includes "Irreemplazable", the Norteña Remix of "Irreplaceable", "Amor Gitano", three versions of "Beautiful Liar", the Timbaland remix of "Get Me Bodied" featuring Voltio, and "Oye", the Spanish version of "Listen". As a fundraiser for the 2011 earthquake in the Tōhoku region of Japan, a compilation album that included "Irreplaceable", called Songs for Japan, was released on March 25, 2011.

Critical reception

Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly noted "Irreplaceable" to be "a lilting tune unlike anything Beyoncé has ever performed". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote that the song is "gentle but maddeningly hook-y". Spence Abbott of IGN wrote that "Irreplaceable" and "Resentment" go for "a much more traditional contemporary R&B vibe" than any of the previous tracks on B'Day, making them stand out as if they were recorded separately from the rest of the album.

Roger Friedman of Fox News Channel wrote that "Irreplaceable" is a "clever ballad" and the most memorable track on B'Day. He added that it has the most potential of catching on with fans quickly, and that it is the only song on the album that "you might actually want to sing along to". Mike Joseph of PopMatters commented that "'Irreplaceable' tellingly, was co-written by Ne-Yo, who may not be the powerhouse vocalist Beyonce is, but has significantly stronger songwriting skills. It's the best song on the album—perhaps Ms. Knowles should take a hint." Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media, called "Irreplaceable" the best song on B'Day and praised its overall production, writing:

Before, Beyoncé's approach to heartbreak was always literal, her voice and her words declaiming her feelings with a studied earnestness that at times was difficult to believe, let alone connect with. 'Irreplaceable' is the first song in which Beyoncé lies to herself, and the way her voice perfectly betrays that lie (revealing a giveaway tremble in the stiff upper lip of the lyrics) simultaneously renders it her most sophisticated and her most honest performance to date.

Recognition and accolades

Mark Edward Nero ranked it as the ninth best R&B song of 2006, and wrote, "This song has modern-day classic written all over it." The Village Voice listed it 18 on their list of best songs of 2006. Staff members of Pitchfork Media ranked the song on their list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 at number 45. Shaheem Reid, Jayson Rodriguez and Rahman Dukes of MTV News placed the song at number 3 on their year-end list of 27 Essential R&B Songs of 2007.

In 2009, Ryan Schreiber ranked "Irreplaceable" at number 183 on his list of Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s (decade). Barry Schwartz of Stylus Magazine wrote that "Irreplaceable" recaptured Beyoncé's 2003 debut single "Crazy in Love"'s near-perfection, describing it as "gentle but defiant", and further wrote, "Through some breezy strums and a sweet plaintive melody Beyonce delivers her most genuinely emotional vocal to date, equal parts vulnerable, upset, pissed off, vindictive, resigned, and apathetic." Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 60 on its list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s.

"Irreplaceable" won the award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female, at the 2007 Soul Train Music Award, and the 'Favorite Song' award at the 2007 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in the 2008 Grammy Awards, and Song of the Year at the VH1 Soul Vibe awards. "Irreplaceable" was recognized as one of the five most-performed songs of 2007 by the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.

Chart performance

"Irreplaceable" entered various charts worldwide, and became the most successful single released from B'Day. The single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on November 4, 2006, at number eighty-seven. It climbed the charts rapidly because of its radio airplay, and it was Greatest Airplay Gainer certification for six consecutive weeks by early December 2006. Three weeks after the release of "Irreplaceable", B'Day re-entered the top ten on the US Billboard 200 chart. The single reached number one on December 16, becoming Beyoncé's fourth number one single as a solo artist, and her second in 2006, following "Check on It" (2005). The single spent ten consecutive weeks at number one and was replaced by Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" (2006) on February 24, 2007. The feat was achieved after Kanye West's 2005 single, "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx, spent ten weeks at the top spot. "Irreplaceable" outperformed "Baby Boy"'s nine-weeks at number one. Beyoncé's former group Destiny's Child's 2000 single "Independent Women Part I" remained at number one for eleven weeks late in 2000 and early in 2001. "Irreplaceable" remained on the chart for thirty weeks, has sold over 3,139,000 paid digital downloads in the US as of October 2012 according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was additionally certified triple-platinum, denoting sales of three million master ringtones.

According to Mediabase "Irreplaceable" passed the 200 million audience impressions mark on December 11, 2006. Another single of Beyoncé, "Check on It" previously passed this mark on January 31, 2006. Consequently, Beyoncé became the second singer to achieve this in the United States, the first having been Mariah Carey whose two singles, "We Belong Together" (2005) and "Shake It Off" (2005), passed the same audience impressions mark in 2005. "Irreplaceable" stayed at number one on the US Hot 100 Airplay for eleven consecutive weeks, and was the best-performing US single of 2007, topping the Billboard Top Hot 100 Hits. "Irreplaceable" installed Beyoncé at third place for the most number one singles by a female songwriter, overtaking Janet Jackson and Carole King and tying Diane Warren for nine number-one singles. Beyoncé received three song-writing credits in one year, the only woman to achieve this since King in 1971 and Carey in 1991. In February 2010, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed "Irreplaceable" as the highest certified master ringtone of the 2000s decade by a female solo artist. By August 2011, the single had sold over three million digital downloads in the United States. "Irreemplazable" charted equally well, peaking at number four on the Hot Latin Songs. The EP appeared on the Latin Pop Albums at number two, Top Latin Albums at number three, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at number forty-one and on the Billboard 200 at number 105.

"Irreplaceable" debuted at number eight on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and peaked at number one for three consecutive weeks, becoming Beyoncé's first and only number one single in Australia. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipment of 70,000 copies. "Irreplaceable" appeared twice on the ARIA year-end charts, reaching number twenty-three in 2006, and number forty-two in 2007. "Irreplaceable" debuted at number three on November 6, 2006, on the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song's highest entry on any chart. It peaked at number one, and remained on the chart for eighteen weeks. It was later certified Platinum by the RIANZ. "Irreplaceable" peaked within the top fifteen in several European singles charts. It peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, spending 12 weeks in the top 20 and 25 weeks on the chart. It was Beyoncé's fifth longest-charting single, and spent more weeks on the chart than her number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Déjà Vu" but slightly less than her recent hits "If I Were a Boy", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Halo" and "Sweet Dreams". On the UK iTunes chart, "Irreplaceable" is currently Beyoncé's most downloaded on I Am... Sasha Fierce single and still ranks in the top 30 of R&B/Soul songs. Due to a performance of "Irreplaceable" at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival by Beyoncé on June 26, 2011, the song made a re-entry in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, entering at number thirty-three. "Irreplaceable" was 2007's tenth best-selling digital single with over 4.6 million copies sold worldwide.

Music video

"Irreplaceable" was directed by Anthony Mandler, who co-directed the video of "Get Me Bodied". The video features the debut performance of Beyoncé's all-female band, Suga Mama, who also appeared in the "Green Light" music video. Her acting-then-ex-boyfriend in the video is model Bobby Roache, who played police officer for the "Ring the Alarm" music video and warrior during Jay-Z and Beyoncé's live performance at the 2006 Fashion Rocks show. The video was included on the 2007 B'Day Anthology Video Album, and a video edit was produced for "Irreemplazable". Part of the video which shows Beyoncé dancing in silhouette in front of a glass door is inspired by a James Bond movie. Late in January 2008, "Irreemplazable" premiered on the MiTRL, a video countdown show on the bilingual channel MTV Tr3s.

The music video follows the storyline of the song's lyrics. "She told me to pack up all my stuff, I'm getting kicked out—the video starts off like that", said Roache. It opens with Beyoncé filing her nails in silence, as her ex-partner packs up his property, as Beyoncé orders him to leave. Mid-way in the video, Beyoncé follows her then-ex-boyfriend outside the house and leans on a 2007 Jaguar XK. She appears to be pretentiously caressing him; only for the audience to find out that she is repossessing things she bought for him. He leaves her and the car, about to ride off in a taxi. Between cuts, Beyoncé manages herself in front of a mirror; putting on a lipstick, wearing huge curlers and a high-waisted skirt. There are additional beats mixed to the arrangement for the video version that can be heard, when Beyoncé sings with her all-female band, Suga Mama, towards the end. It ends with Beyoncé greeting her new boyfriend at the front door.

At the 2007 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, Beyoncé won Video of the Year Award for "Irreplaceable", an award for which "Beautiful Liar" was also nominated. It was nominated for Video of the Year during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, but it lost to Rihanna's single, "Umbrella" (2007). At the 2007 Soul Train Music Awards, the video was nominated for the Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, but lost to rapper (and husband) Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got" video. The video received two nominations for Best Female Artist and Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards.

Live performances

Beyoncé performed "Irreplaceable" during various public appearances, including the 2006 American Music Awards, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Today Show.

The song was a part of Beyoncé's set list for her tour The Beyoncé Experience and I Am... World Tour. "Irreplaceable" was the closing song during her 2007 The Beyoncé Experience world tour. It was performed late in the set on earlier tour dates, but when Beyoncé embarked on the US leg, it was performed earlier in the show. Beyoncé performed "Irreplaceable" during her Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live revue.

Beyoncé has performed "Irreplaceable" without backup dancers or live instrumentation, or in another case, Beyoncé was accompanied by two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three backup vocalists called the Mamas, and the lead guitarist, Bibi McGill. Footage of Beyoncé's performance at the Staples Center, Los Angeles was included on The Beyoncé Experience Live! DVD (2007), and the deluxe edition of I Am... World Tour (2010). According to NME, "'Irreplaceable' [at the Glastonbury Festival] sparked a mass singalong, with the crowd taking the lead on the entire first verse." Following the performance of "Irreplaceable" at the Glastonbury Festival, the song was digitally released in the UK and the US on June 27, 2011, as charity single to raise funds for Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace. This version charted at number twenty-six on the UK Singles Chart and seven on the UK Indie Chart for the week ending July 9, 2011.

Cover versions

American band Sleigh Bells recorded an acoustic cover of the song during their Maida Vale sessions and released it Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on March 6, 2012. A writer of Billboard magazine commented that their cover was "ethereal". Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly described the cover as "really good!... Krauss also has a teen-pop background thanks to her Rubyblue days, so it's actually not that surprising that she can find her away around a Top 40 single so well." However, Maura Johnston of The Village Voice gave a negative review for the cover, saying: "Krauss sighs her way through the song, turning her voice into a mew that sounds like she was trying to sing along with the radio while not being heard by her roommates or anyone else outside of a six-inch radius... Also, some of the guitar chords are a bit off.... it's sorta disappointing."

The song was covered by Patricia Tumulak of Eat Bulaga! for the album of the same title.

A parody version, performed by the South African group Woman2Woman went viral in January 2017 after an appearance on SABC3 The Expresso Show. It features the group performing the song in an exaggerated Cape-Malay-accent with some of the lyrics rewritten to suit the Cape Flats vibe.The idea of this was the brain child of Ramaine Barreiro-Lloyd.Huffington Post journalist Alexandra Willis did an article about The "Irreplaceable singers" The trio also did a cover of Pink's 'Dear Mr President' which was shown on Channel 24.The Woman2Woman concerts in October raised 10000 Rands for Cansa in female Cancer awareness month. Felicity Kiran, Lauren-Lee Bock and Anray Amansure are solo artists in their own right.

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from B'Day liner notes.