Cultural Impact
"Single Ladies" gained widespread popularity for its catchy hook and theme of female empowerment. Critics have compared the song to Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", prompted by their lyrics, which all promote female empowerment. The music video achieved fame for its intricate choreography and its deployment of jazz hands with a wrist twist. It has been credited with starting the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet", triggering a number of parodies of the dance choreography. Billy Johnson of Yahoo! Music wrote that the video of "Single Ladies" was the top music-related viral hit of 2009. MTV News' James Montgomery wrote that "it appears like was custom-made for the YouTube generation, which probably explains why making homages became a worldwide phenomenon." The video generated interest in J-Setting, the dance form that choreographer JaQuel Knight highlights in the video, and Knowles is credited with bringing the dance style to the mainstream.
In a radio interview on NPR's All Things Considered, Knight shared his excitement that the popular video made people want to learn to dance. Trish Crawford from the Toronto Star observed how it has appealed to all age groups and genders, in contrast with the short-lived dance craze inspired by Soulja Boy two years before, which she considered "mainly a male hip-hop dance". Crawford mentioned, "Toddlers have tackled . recreation centre dance classes, sorority sisters in their dorm rooms, suburban teenagers in their basements and high school cheerleaders." In February 2009, Columbia Records announced the launch of a "Single Ladies" Dance Video Contest. Fans aged eighteen and older were invited to adhere precisely to the dance routine performed by Knowles and her two dancers in the original production. The winning video was included in her live album, I Am... World Tour.
Read more about this topic: Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
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