Independent Women Part I

"Independent Women Part I" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for the soundtrack to the film adaptation of the 1970s television series Charlie's Angels. It was written and produced by production duo Poke & Tone, consisting of Samuel Barnes and Jean-Claude Olivier, along with Cory Rooney, and group member Beyoncé Knowles. The song was later included on the group's third studio album, Survivor (2001). "Independent Women" was Destiny's Child's first single to feature vocals from group member Michelle Williams and the only single to feature Farrah Franklin, who was no longer in the group when the single was released.

Released as the soundtrack's lead single in August 2000, the song held the number-one spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks from November 2000 to February 2001. It was named the 18th most successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. The song was in the 2000–2001 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for longest-running number-one song by a female group. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart becoming the 25th best-selling single of 2000 in the country.

The song received generally positive reviews years after its release for its feminism and female empowerment messages. Billboard ranked the song at number 77 on their list "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time". The song was also nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

Background

"Independent Women Part I" was written and produced by production duo Poke & Tone, consisting of Samuel Barnes and Jean-Claude Olivier, along with Cory Rooney, and group member Beyoncé Knowles. The song originated after Knowles had an argument with her then-boyfriend, which inspired her to reflect on her independence. As she later recalled, she thought, "I don’t need a man, I'm independent," and subsequently went into the studio alone to record an early version of the track promoting both financial and emotional self-sufficiency. Production duo Keybeats, consisting of Eric Seats and Rapture Stewart, along with David Donaldson assembled the initial version, incorporating a sample from "Peabody's Improbable History" by Frank Comstock. This original rendition later appeared on Destiny's Child's 2001 album Survivor as "Independent Women Part II."

Knowles' father and then-manager, Mathew Knowles, submitted the track to the Charlie's Angels soundtrack without her prior knowledge. Because Destiny's Child's label, Columbia Records, was distributing the soundtrack, company executives considered the song thematically well suited to the film's portrayal of three strong, independent women. However, they felt that the original version lacked sufficient commercial appeal and therefore commissioned Barnes and Olivier to remix the track and revise the lyrics to better align with the film. Rather than producing a simple remix, the duo substantially reworked the composition. Amid reported concerns from the label regarding Knowles's songwriting abilities, Barnes and Olivier were initially instructed to exclude her from subsequent writing sessions. Contrary to those directions, however, they forwarded the newly produced version to Knowles so she could compose revised lyrics. Although some executives questioned the track's linear structure, this reworked version was ultimately released first and consequently titled "Independent Women Part I."

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in F-sharp minor with a tempo of 96 beats per minute. In an interview with Billboard, Beyoncé explained the meaning of the song and its inspiration:

"I remember being in Japan when Destiny's Child put out 'Independent Women,' and women there were saying how proud they were to have their own jobs, their own independent thinking, their own goals. It made me feel so good, and I realized that one of my responsibilities was to inspire women in a deeper way."

Critical reception

NME wrote that even if "the girls have got it a little wrong – measuring their independence by the glint of their jewellery", it "beats as confident as this smack you upside your head, and when the track has such immediate, club-bound freshness". Craig Seymour of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "an anthem for female autonomy" is "preposterous" as a soundtrack to a film about "three babes managed by an ol’ codger", ultimately finding the song "a misguided mess". Billboard likened the song's release strategy to being influenced by Janet Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter", saying the group "began planting the seeds for the upcoming release" in a similar vein. It was also ranked at number 85 on the list of Britain's favorite 100 songs, published in May 2002.

In 2014 HuffPost ranked "Independent Women Part I" as the second best song of the group. Oprah Daily listed the song on "50 Songs to Inspire and Empower the Women in Your Life". Harper's Bazaar listing the song on "The Best Feminist Anthems of All Time" wrote that "The girl group pays tribute to the woman who is self-sufficient, self-motivated, and self-made." Parade listed the song at 19th of the "40 Songs That Scream Female Empowerment", writing that "Destiny's Child created one of the best girl power anthems ever".

The song was nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. It was also nominated for Worst Song at the 2000 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.

Commercial performance

"Independent Women Part I" was a chart success in the United States, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single held the top position in the following week, which was seen as buoyed by the strong box office performance of Charlie's Angels and the heavy rotation the song received. The single spent 11 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 top position. During its 10th week at the top spot, the music press had expected that the single would fall off the top position because of strong competition at retail; however, it sustained due to the high sales of the maxi-CD released in December 2000. The song was in the 2000–2001 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for longest-running number-one song by a female group. "Independent Women Part I" also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart for three weeks, becoming Destiny's Child fourth number-one single on the chart.

In the United Kingdom, "Independent Women Part I" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart the week of December 2, 2000. The song spent one week at the top and stayed within the top 40 for 11 weeks before dropping out on February 17, 2001. The song was the 25th-best-selling single of 2000 in the country, being certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of 2019 the Official Charts Company listed the song as the 35th of the "top 100 girl band singles of the last 25 years". The song also reached the number-one position in New Zealand. Elsewhere, the song reached the top five in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland; the top 10 in Germany, Greece, Poland, and Sweden; the top 20 in France and Italy; and the top 30 in Austria.

Music video

The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence and shot in Los Angeles from August 27 to September 1, 2000. Destiny's Child take part of a futuristic Charlie's Angels boot camp and sit in a classroom to watch footage of Charlie's Angels. They learn from them and try out the challenges in several steps: agility (dancing), altitude (skydiving), combat (martial arts fighting) and speed (motorbike). At the end, the women are greeted by the ever-mysterious Charlie Townsend (voiced by John Forsythe). The band also performs in a huge disco set in between the scenes. For post-production, special effects were done by digital effects group Pixel Envy.

The music video premiered on MTV's Making the Video series on September 18, 2000. The video is featured on the DualDisc edition of the 2005 album #1's and as a bonus feature on the DVD release of Charlie's Angels.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Survivor.

• Samuel Barnes – writing, production
• Tom Coyne – mastering
• Troy Gonzalez – recording
• Cory Rooney – writing, production
• Beyoncé Knowles – co-production, vocals, writing
• Jean-Claude Olivier – writing, production
• Kelly Rowland – vocals
• Manelich Sotolongo – recording
• Rich Travali – mixing
• Michelle Williams – vocals
• Farrah Franklin – vocals

Charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2000
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2001
• List of number-one R&B singles of 2000 (U.S.)
• List of Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play number ones of 2000
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s
• List of UK R&B Singles Chart number ones of 2000

Notes