Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Background and Release

Background and Release

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" was written by Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash, Thaddis Harrell and Christopher Stewart, and was produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. Knowles recorded the song in April 2008 at the The Boom Boom Room Studio in Burbank, California, and it was mixed by Jaycen Joshua and Dave Pensado, with assistance from Randy Urbanski and Andrew Wuepper. The-Dream conceptualized "Single Ladies" after Knowles' secret marriage to hip hop recording artist Jay-Z in April 2008. Stewart commented that the song was "the only public statement that ever made about marriage", and that while in the studio recording the song Knowles had remained tightlipped, even to the point of removing her wedding band. Knowles' marriage inspired The-Dream to compose a song about an issue that affected many people's relationships: the fear or unwillingness of men to commit. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Knowles added that she was drawn to the song because of the universality of the topic, an issue that "people are passionate about and want to talk about and debate". She stated that although "Single Ladies" is a playful uptempo song, it addresses an issue that women experience every day.

In "Single Ladies", Knowles portrays her alter ego Sasha Fierce, which appears on the second part of I Am... Sasha Fierce. The song was released simultaneously with "If I Were a Boy"; as lead singles, they were meant to demonstrate the concept of the dueling personalities of Knowles. This reinforced the theme of the album, which was created by placing its ballads and uptempo tracks on separate discs. The singles debuted on US radio on October 8, 2008; "Single Ladies" did so on mainstream urban New York radio station Power 105.1. Both singles were added to rhythmic contemporary radio playlists on October 12, 2008; "Single Ladies" was sent to urban contemporary playlists the same day, while "If I Were a Boy" was instead classified for contemporary hit radio. The two songs were released as a double A-side single on November 7, 2008, in Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Dance remixes of the song were made available in the US on February 10, 2009, and in Europe on February 16, 2009. "Single Ladies" was not originally released as a single in the UK, but the song became increasingly popular there and reached the top ten in the UK Singles Chart as a result of download sales. On February 16, 2009, it was released as a CD single, and the dance remixes became available as a digital download.