"Listen" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. The song was written by Beyoncé, Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven, and produced by The Underdogs, Matt Sullivan and Randy Spendlove for the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, in which Beyoncé's character Deena Jones sings the song in an expression of independence from her controlling husband. Columbia Records released "Listen" as the lead single from the Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack album on January 19, 2007. It additionally appeared as a hidden track on international editions, and on the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's second solo studio album, B'Day. The Spanish version of the song, "Oye", was released on the EP, Irreemplazable, and the Spanish deluxe edition of B'Day.
One of four new songs written for the feature version of Dreamgirls (originally a 1981 Broadway musical), "Listen" is a soul-R&B song; its lyrics make reference to tenacity, love, the refusal to defer dreams and finally rise towards fame. Its instrumentation includes bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, and violins, among others. Contemporary music critics complimented the strong and emotional vocals of Beyoncé, and added that the lyrics perfectly elaborate on Deena Jones's life. "Listen" won Best Original Song at the 2007 Critics' Choice Awards. It was nominated in the same category at the 2006 International Press Academy Satellite Award, at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards for all songwriters, and at the 2007 Academy Awards, for songwriters Krieger, Cutler and Preven.
"Listen" peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and generally peaked inside the top 20 positions in European countries. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number eight, following a live duet performance of Beyoncé and Alexandra Burke at The X Factor, where Burke emerged as the winner after singing "Listen" during the finale. Furthermore, the song peaked at number three in Italy. The song was covered by Jake Zyrus during the second-season premiere of Glee and Melanie Amaro during the finale of the first season of The X Factor in the U.S., where she emerged as the winner. Two accompanying music videos were filmed for "Listen"; the performance version was directed by Diane Martel, and the second one, being Vogue Shoot Version, was directed by Matthew Rolston. "Listen" was also a part of her set list on The Beyoncé Experience (2007) and the I Am... World Tour (2009–10).
Context In the film version of Dreamgirls, Beyoncé portrays the character of Deena Jones, a pop singer loosely based on Motown star Diana Ross. The story explores the life of The Dreams (based on The Supremes), a fictional 1960s group of three female singers: Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose), whose manager Curtis Taylor (based on Berry Gordy and played by Jamie Foxx) manipulates their personal and professional relationships.
During the second half of the film, Curtis and Deena argue at dinner over Deena's desire to make her film debut in an urban film instead of the Cleopatra prequel that Curtis is producing. An angry Curtis asserts his creative and psychological control over his wife, informing Deena that he would not let anyone else "handle" her, because, in his words, "no one knows you the way I do". Curtis tells Deena that he put Deena as lead singer of the Dreams because her voice "had no personality. No depth. Except for what [he] put in there".
In the context of the film, "Listen" is a 1975 song that Deena records on Rainbow Records, a recording empire established by Curtis. She is actually recording the song in a booth as a track, but the song also reveals Deena's growing disgust at being considered merely Curtis' property. Used in the film as a last-minute recording by Deena before leaving Curtis "to find her own voice as a newly independent woman", co-writer Anne Preven called "Listen" a song which "Deena is exclaiming, 'You don't know who I am, and I know I do.'"
Production and composition
While working on the script adaptation for Dreamgirls, screenwriter/director Bill Condon felt the second half of the film needed a song. The "emotional punch" of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" led him to ask the musical team for Dreamgirls "to create a new and equally moving song to energize the second act". Led by Henry Krieger, the composer of the original 1981 Broadway musical version of Dreamgirls, "Listen" was written with help from Scott Cutler, Preven, and Beyoncé; it was one of four songs written for the film version of Dreamgirls. "Listen" was produced by the R&B-pop production duo The Underdogs.
"Listen" is a soul-R&B ballad,Beyoncé – "Listen" Sheet Music (Digital Download). Musicnotes.com. Alfred Music Publishing which is written in the key of B major, and set in common time at a moderately slow groove of 62 beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocals range from the low note of F3 to the high note of F5. The song's music takes its instrumentation from the bass, celli, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, violas, and violins. According to Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe, its lyrics make reference to tenacity, love, and the refusal to defer dreams; Beyoncé, as the female protagonist, sings, "demanding her moment in the sun". Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine wrote that Beyoncé shimmers "with evocative emotion", rising to new heights alongside "a golden melody with spellbinding, rafter-raising production". The lyrics are written in the traditional verse-chorus form. The song starts with the lines: "Listen to the song here in my heart, a melody I start but can't complete". A bridge follows after repeating the pattern and ends in another chorus.
Release
"Listen" was released as the lead single from the soundtrack album Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture. Beyoncé recorded an introduction to "Listen" entitled "Encore to the Fans"; the song alongside its introduction is featured on international editions of Beyoncé's second album B'Day as a hidden track. A Spanish version titled "Oye" was produced and released on the deluxe edition of B'Day. On January 29, 2007, "Listen" was released as a CD single, containing its album and instrumental versions, in the United States. On January 19, 2007, it was serviced as a CD single in the United Kingdom, and several European countries, where a remix produced by Fraser T. Smith was later released on March 9, 2007.
Critical reception "Listen" scored generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. A reviewer from Pitchfork stated that "when Beyoncé belts out the chorus, the inspiration is real, tangible, and contagious". Describing the song as a "devastatingly beautiful ballad", Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine wrote, "Beyoncé delivers the performance of her career, another defining moment in the brilliant flick [besides Hudson's 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going']." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone noted that the song "adds grit and touching gravity to Deena". Another reviewer of the same publication called the song "epic" noting that Beyoncé "unfurls the true range of her magnificent voice". Comparing the song to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "piano weepie[s]", a writer of The Observer stated that "Listen" is a "bangers-to-ballads ratio to die for". Calling the song a "showstopper", Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote: "['Listen'] is a big, soppy ballad that will move some to tears and irk others as a stunning example of art imitating life imitating art without a shred of irony." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that "Listen" will undoubtedly be "the payoff for fans of Beyoncé's voice who sat through the first [thirty-eight] minutes of [B'Day] waiting for the cum shot." By contrast, Jody Rosen's review for Entertainment Weekly was less impressed, describing "Listen" as "gloopy" and "an inspirational ballad about 'the song in my heart', which builds to an enormous schlock-opera climax".
Accolades "Listen" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2006 International Press Academy Satellite Award and in 2007 at the Golden Globe Awards and at the Academy Awards. Also in 2007, Dreamgirls received seven nominations at the 12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards, where the film won four awards, including Best Original Song for "Listen". At the Academy Awards, Beyoncé was not listed as one of the honorees. She is officially one of the four writers of the song, but as per Academy Rule 16, only three major contributors of a song are eligible. The executive committee of the organization had determined, during their meeting in December of the same year, that Beyoncé's contribution was the smallest.
Commercial performance "Listen" entered and left the UK Singles Chart on three separate occasions, In February 2007, it entered at number 60 and peaked at number 16 on March 3, 2007 before leaving the chart on March 24, 2007. On December 4, 2008, Alexandra Burke performed the song in the final 5 week of The X Factor, prompting the song to re-enter the UK Singles Chart at number fifty-three, which is a higher position than it reached in the United States on initial release, where it peaked at 61. In the finale of The X Factor, Burke, who would become the winner, performed "Listen" as a duet with Beyoncé. Accordingly, the song surged from number 60 to number eight on the UK Singles Chart on December 27, 2008, selling 28,000 copies. The following week, "Listen" fell to number 30; it remained in the top 40 for two additional weeks. As of December 2008, sales of the single stood close to 120,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone. "Listen" last re-entered the UK Singles Chart on November 14, 2009 at number 84. In 2012, the song reached number seven on the UK R&B Singles Chart, peaking at number five the following year. As of July 2013, the single has sold around 300,000 units in the UK. It peaked at number three in Italy.
Music videos Two music videos exist for "Listen", the first being a performance one and the second being a Vogue Shoot. The first music video premiered on MTV's Making the Video on November 28, 2006. The other music video was released online and through the Dreamgirls DVD special features.
Performance Version This video, which was directed by Diane Martel, features Beyoncé walking through a performance hall in modern-day street clothes, performing the song. Once she arrives onstage and at the song's bridge, she appears in costume as Deena, dressed in a 1970s-era gown. Intercut into the video are scenes from Dreamgirls, most of which depict Deena's relationship with Curtis. These clips, however, were taken out in the director's cut version of the video; this version appeared on the B'Day Anthology Video Album. In her first outfit, Beyoncé is seen wearing a Wonder Woman T-shirt.
Vogue Shoot Version The music video, directed by Matthew Rolston, features Beyoncé wearing a modern-day tank top, performing the song against a blank background which changes back and forth between white and black. Interspersed are some scenes from a photo shoot within her film Dreamgirls. This version appears on the Dreamgirls DVD release. In the director's cut of this version, Beyoncé is seen posing for a photo shoot not featured in the film in which she wears very outlandish clothing. As the shoot progresses it becomes more and more evident that Beyoncé is not happy with the direction of the shoot and when she is handed a bird to pose with she becomes fed up, walks away and strips down to the black tank top and tights underneath. She then climbs the staircase of the building to the rooftop and finishes singing the song.
Live performances