Reviewed by Ramona Prioleau

Shot entirely in black and white, the 2009 music video for “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé is without a doubt one of the most recognizable pop music images of the last 20 years. Featuring Beyoncé accompanied by two dancers, the video is a 3:00 minute masterpiece. The entire length of it is one extended, choreographed dance number, performed to perfection by Knowles, Ebony Williams, and Ashley Everett. The video was directed by Jake Nava and choreographed by Frank Gatson Jr. and JaQuel Knight, who incorporated J-Setting choreography to the video, a style of dance popularized in the late 1970s by African-Americans in the Jackson, Mississippi area.

The video focuses on Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé’s sensual and more aggressive onstage alter-ego. Wearing high heels and an all black leotard, Knowles performs the choreography with sharp and aggressive passion. She and her backup dancers’ movements are precisive, exacting and powerful. There are moments of grace interspersed in between, but the majority of “Single Ladies” choreography is powerful and commanding.

This is greatly enhanced by the video’s editing as well. The first half of the video is shot in long, full takes, but the second half is energetic and decisive in its editing. The camera cuts on the dancers’ swiping movements, and the colors are inverted and accented in dramatic ways. All of the art then—the song, the video, the editing—heats up near the end. It grows more and more quick, more and more full, more and more invigorating.

It all culminates in a video that feels a lot longer than 3 minutes and 18 seconds. Make no mistake though—there’s more talent and care in this single music video than there is in 100 others combined. It’s so iconic and so ubiquitous for a reason. It’s striking, undeniably impressive, and impossible to look away from. It’s one of the best music videos of recent years, and likely of all time.M

January 2024