"Why Don't You Love Me" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). It was written by Beyoncé, Angela Beyincé, Solange Knowles and the Bama Boyz and produced by the Bama Boyz and Beyoncé. "Why Don't You Love Me" is an R&B song with disco influences that is set in a retro style. According to its lyrics, Beyoncé questions her love interest about why he does not value her fabulousness. Its 1960s-styled music video was directed by Melina Matsoukas and Beyoncé under the alias Bee-Z, and it stars the latter as "B.B. Homemaker". Beyoncé pays homage to Bettie Page in the video, which critics universally commended for its 1960s style sets and costumes. They also complimented Beyoncé for her acting skills.
"Why Don't You Love Me" was well received by critics. It topped the United States Hot Dance Club Songs chart for one week in February 2010, a little over one year after the original release of I Am... Sasha Fierce. On August 27, 2010, the song was released as a single in the United Kingdom. It eventually charted at number 51 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 14 on its R&B Singles Chart. Although not being released elsewhere, "Why Don't You Love Me" garnered some attention in Australia, where it charted at number 73; it bubbled under the main charts of Belgium and reached number 44 on Slovakia Airplay Chart. In the US, it emerged as the nineteenth most played track in dance clubs in 2010. "Why Don't You Love Me" was a part of Beyoncé's set list for her historic headlining 2011 Glastonbury Festival Performance, the Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live revue, the Mrs Carter Show World Tour, the On the Run Tour, and the Cowboy Carter Tour.
Development and production
"Why Don't You Love Me" was written by Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Angie Beyincé and produced as well as co-written by the Bama Boyz. Jonathan Wells of Bama Boyz said that they decided to try something different from what they usually do, by mixing several genres for "Why Don't You Love Me". The song's inspiration came from the time they spent in London at the end of The Beyoncé Experience tour in promotion of her second studio album B'Day (2006). The writing and production of the song began in London and was finished stateside in early 2008. They admitted that the song's structure was unusual, however they were happy that it ended up in Beyoncé's hands. After the Bama Boyz produced two tracks on Solange's second studio album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (2008), she asked them to put instrumentals together for her to write for her sister Beyoncé.
The Bama Boyz almost intentionally left the instrumental for "Why Don't You Love Me" out, since they thought that the song did not sound like the tracks Beyoncé was recording for her upcoming album, at that particular time. However, Jesse Rankins explained that they later decided to put the instrumental for "Why Don't You Love Me" in the email because they knew that Solange likes weird records, but, they made sure to send it last. Out of all the mainstream-inspired attempts the Bama Boyz sent to Solange, she eventually chose that last and most unexpected track and penned "Why Don't You Love Me". Jonathan Wells commented: "When they heard Solange's demo, we were excited because that track was more our true sound than any of the others [sent], but we still kinda didn't believe Beyoncé would cut it...but we hoped!"
Beyoncé came to Houston's Music World Studios for a recording session a few months after Solange had cut the demo. Beyoncé invited the Bama Boyz into her session at Music World Studios to listen to the early versions of I Am... Sasha Fierce. Unexpectedly, after Beyoncé played "Halo", "Why Don't You Love Me" came blasting through the speakers with Beyoncé singing the song. The Bama Boyz were thrilled that she recorded it and loved the song. In a 2013 interview, Solange stated: "I actually wrote 'Why Don't You Love Me' for my sister and it was one of those things where I had just been in a relationship situation where I was just not getting it and then it just came very naturally."
According to Anti-Music, the song was nearly discarded twice; the first time was when EMI Music prepared a demo of the song to send to other artists without knowing that Beyoncé had already recorded the song, and the second came during the track selection of I Am... Sasha Fierces track listing, where executives felt that the song did not fit in with the other records.
Composition
"Why Don't You Love Me" is different from Beyoncé's previous dance-pop songs as it makes use of a retro style. It is an upbeat track that draws from the genre of R&B. The song also contains elements of up-tempo disco and funk music. It consists of energetic tribal beats, a drum loop, funky guitars and a bassline that was designed to make it a groovy and dance song. According to the lyrics of "Why Don't You Love Me", Beyoncé impersonates a woman who questions her love interest about the reason for which he does not value her fabulousness, convincing him she's the best thing for him as she sings: "Why don't you love me... when I make me so damn easy to love?... I got beauty... I got class... I got style and I got ass...". The singer further tells her love interest that the decision not to choose her is "entirely foolish".
Release and reception Originally released as a Walmart and iTunes Store bonus track on I Am... Sasha Fierce, the song was later released on the platinum edition and digital reissues of the album in certain areas, and finally as a bonus track along with "Poison" and a remixed version of "Video Phone" featuring pop singer Lady Gaga on a digital EP titled I Am... Sasha Fierce – The Bonus Tracks. The song was also released as a promotional single on September 22, 2009. On July 2, 2010, "Why Don't You Love Me" was digitally released in Germany while its music video was included on a separate digital EP that went on sale the same date. Two remixes of the song were later made available for download in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2009.
Chris Ryan of MTV called "Why Don't You Love Me" a "dirty, disco-funk track." Maura Johnston of The Village Voice called "Why Do You Love Me" "the stankface tour de force bonus track from I Am... Sasha Fierce in which Beyoncé reminds a dude that she's pretty much the greatest thing around and his choice to not be with her is an entirely foolish one." She further praised the song, writing, "It's one of the best songs in her catalog, being as it is a four-minute summation of why she's one of pop's premier stylists right now; her vocals are equal parts pleading and snarling, the twitchy disco-funk beat gets hips shaking, and the declarations of confused self-love throughout can cause the listener to both root for her and realize that they've been in similar situations." On The Village Voice 2010 year-end Pazz & Jop singles list, "Why Don't You Love Me" was ranked at number 549.
Chart performance It managed to top the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for the week of February 13, 2010. It became Beyoncé's twelfth number-one hit on that chart and it was also the fifth consecutive song from I Am... Sasha Fierce to reach number one on the same chart. On June 11, 2010, "Why Don't You Love Me" debuted at number 73 on the Australian Singles Chart. However the following week, the song fell down to the position number 91, before dropping out of the chart the following week. "Why Don't You Love Me" stayed under the main charts in Belgium, reaching number 10 on the Flemish Ultratip chart.
On August 14, 2010, "Why Don't You Love Me" debuted at number 142 on the UK Singles chart, and it moved from number seventy-one to number 40 on the R&B chart. After the digital release of remixes, the song rose to number 71 on the UK Singles chart, becoming the ninth consecutive single off I Am... Sasha Fierce to peak within the top 75. It also moved from number 44 to number 25 on its R&B chart on September 11, 2010. The following week, on September 18, 2010, "Why Don't You Love Me" moved up twenty places on the UK Singles to land at number 51 and ascended to number 14 on its R&B chart.
Music video
Filming and concept The music video for the song was directed by long-time collaborator Melina Matsoukas and Beyoncé under the alias Bee-Z. The video took two-three weeks of preparation and one day to film in Los Angeles on Mount Olympus. The main set of the video was a house owned by a wealthy 95-year-old man who allowed Beyoncé and Matsoukas to use his house and collectible cars for the video shoot. During an interview with USA Today on January 28, 2010, Beyoncé announced that she would be taking a break from her music career saying "to live life, to be inspired by things again". She was then inspired to shoot a music video for the bonus track. In an interview with People magazine in August 2010, Beyoncé explained: "I came up with the concept for that video because lately I decided to take a break, and I’ve been home, being a wife. I figured it could be nice to give a little wink toward the things that I’ve been doing, so that’s why I’m a housewife in the video." However, she explained that the video is "an exaggerated, over-the-top version" of what she was doing right then, just living her life, being a woman at home, relaxing and trying to enjoy her life other than performing and creating music. For instance, dusting off her Grammys and getting under the hood of a car while wearing six-inch heels are not regular occurrences for Beyoncé.
Release "Why Don't You Love Me" is the ninth video from I Am... Sasha Fierce era. On May 1, 2010, a forty-second clip starring Beyoncé as B.B. Homemaker, was posted on Vimeo. In the sneak peek, she is seen wearing an unbuttoned blue shirt with a pair of short denim shorts and a red handkerchief on her headwears while trying to fix a broken-car. The complete video premiered on May 4, 2010, and it is nearly five minutes long. The music video was officially released to iTunes Stores in the United States on May 18, 2010, two weeks after its original premiere. In May 2010, the media reported that Beyoncé's decision to release one more video from her album I Am... Sasha Fierce just before Kelly Rowland released "Commander" was unfair on Rowland. These claims would be denied by Rowland who said that despite the clip for "Why Don't You Love Me" airing several days before "Commander", the media was "making too much of a big deal of release schedules and trying to create a feud where it doesn't exist." She also told Hip Hop Hollywood:
"We all came out at the same time and it really doesn't matter ... I think there's room for everybody ... There's B, there's Ciara putting something out and GaGa putting something out, but, because we started out together, people are going to say things like that. But I really don't care, I love her 'til our dying days and that's all that counts.
Synopsis and analysis