If I Were A Boy - Release

Release

"If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were released simultaneously as the double album's two lead singles. The songs were taken from different discs of the album to demonstrate Knowles' conflicting personalities, the album's central theme. This motif was demonstrated by placing the ballads on a separate disc from the uptempo tracks. "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies" were initially planned to debut on US radio stations on October 7, 2008, but both premiered the following day. "If I Were a Boy" debuted on Z100's Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, while "Single Ladies" first aired on New York mainstream urban radio station Power 105.1. Both singles were added to rhythmic contemporary radio playlists on October 12, 2008. That same day, "If I Were a Boy" was classified for adult contemporary and contemporary hit radio playlists, while "Single Ladies" was added to urban contemporary radio playlists. Two digital EPs, each containing seven dance remixes of "If I Were a Boy" were released on February 10, 2009 in the US.

The ballad was first released internationally as a stand-alone digital download in Oceania and most European countries on October 17, 2008. In France and the United Kingdom, "If I Were a Boy" was serviced digitally on October 26, 2008. On November 7, 2008, a two-track CD single, including "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" as the B-side, went on sale in all European countries, Oceania, and in Canada. In Canada two different digital EPs were made available on February 3 and 10, 2009. A Spanish version of "If I Were a Boy" was translated by Rudy Pérez and mixed by Andrés Bermúdez at The Beach House in Miami. Titled "Si Yo Fuera un Chico (If I Were a Boy)", this version was only included on copies of I Am... Sasha Fierce sold on iTunes Stores in Mexico and Spain, where it was released as a stand-alone single on February 3, 2009.