B'Day (stylized in all caps as of 2026) is the second studio album by the American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on September 1, 2006, by Columbia Records, Music World Entertainment, and Sony Urban Music. The album was recorded in April 2006 and produced by Beyoncé, alongside Darkchild, Nellee Hooper, Ne-Yo, The Neptunes, Stargate, and Swizz Beatz, among others. The album features two guest appearances from Beyoncé's then-boyfriend Jay-Z; the deluxe and international editions include appearances by Bun B of UGK, Slim Thug, Shakira, and Alejandro Fernández.
Originally scheduled for release in 2004, B'Day was planned as a follow-up to Beyoncé's solo debut Dangerously in Love (2003). However, it was delayed to accommodate the recording of Destiny's Child's final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004) and Beyoncé's starring role in the film Dreamgirls (2006). While on vacation after filming Dreamgirls, Beyoncé began contacting producers and rented Sony Music Studios, completing the album within two weeks during April 2006. Most of the album's lyrical content was inspired by Beyoncé's role in the film, with musical styles ranging from 1970s–1980s funk influences and balladry to urban contemporary elements such as hip hop, pop, and R&B. Live instrumentation was used on most tracks as part of Beyoncé's vision to create a record with live instruments.
Upon its release, B'Day received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with most praise directed toward its sonic quality and Beyoncé's vocal performance. The album reached number one in Canada, Taiwan, and the United States, and the top five in Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Among numerous additional accolades, it won Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2007). B'Day Anthology Video Album, which features 13 music videos accompanying the album's tracks, was released alongside the album's Deluxe Edition reissue in April 2007. B'Day has been certified multi-platinum in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States. As of 2013, it has sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
B'Day produced six singles. "Déjà Vu" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, while "Ring the Alarm" became Beyoncé's highest-debuting single at the time, but ended her streak of top-ten singles after peaking at number 11. "Irreplaceable" became her fourth Billboard Hot 100 number-one, while the deluxe track "Beautiful Liar" peaked at number three. Both singles achieved widespread international success. "Get Me Bodied" was released exclusively in the United States, while "Green Light" was released internationally; neither matched the success of their predecessors. To further promote B'Day, Beyoncé embarked on her second solo concert tour, The Beyoncé Experience (2007). A live album titled The Beyoncé Experience Live was also released.
Background and development Between March 2002 and March 2003, Beyoncé recorded up to 45 songs during prolific studio sessions for her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love. After the release of Dangerously in Love in June 2003, Beyoncé planned to produce a follow-up album using several of the leftover tracks. However, on January 7, 2004, a spokesperson for her record label Columbia Records announced that Beyoncé had put her plans on hold to concentrate on the recording of Destiny Fulfilled, the final studio album by Destiny's Child, and to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas, which was a childhood dream. Furthermore, she starred as Xania in the 2006 comedy-mystery film The Pink Panther, which was filmed in 2004. She also spent the following two years promoting Destiny Fulfilled and Destiny's Child's first greatest hits album #1's (2005), embarking on their final world tour, Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It; the group disbanded in 2006.
Beyoncé originally recorded "Check on It" for The Pink Panther soundtrack; although it was not included on the soundtrack, it was released as the second single from #1's in December 2005 and became Beyoncé's third solo US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, later appearing as a bonus track on the international editions of B'Day. In late 2005, Beyoncé postponed recording her second studio album after landing the lead role in Dreamgirls, a film adaptation of the 1981 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Because she wanted to focus on one project at a time, Beyoncé waited until the film was completed before returning to the recording studio. Beyoncé later told Billboard: "I'm not going to write for the album until I finish doing the movie."
Recording and production
During a month-long vacation after filming Dreamgirls, Beyoncé went to the studio to start working on B'Day. She said: "[When filming ended] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas", prompting her to begin working without telling her father and then-manager Mathew Knowles. Beyoncé kept the recording process quiet, telling only her artists and repertoire (A&R) executive Max Gousse and the producers contacted to collaborate on the album. She began working with songwriters and producers Rich Harrison, Rodney Jerkins, Sean Garrett, Cameron Wallace, The Neptunes, Norwegian production duo Stargate, and American hip hop producer and rapper Swizz Beatz. Two female songwriters who helped structure the album were also part of the team: Beyoncé's cousin Angela Beyincé, who had previously contributed to Dangerously in Love, and up-and-coming songwriter Makeba Riddick, who joined the team after co-writing "Déjà Vu", the album's lead single.
Beyoncé rented Sony Music Studios in New York City, influenced by her future husband Jay-Z's method of collaborating with multiple record producers; she used four recording studios simultaneously. She booked Harrison, Jerkins, and Garrett, each with a dedicated room. During the sessions, Beyoncé would move from studio to studio to check her producers' progress, later claiming this fostered "healthy competition" among producers. When Beyoncé conceived a potential song idea, she presented it to the group for discussion; within three hours, the song was completed. While Beyoncé and the team brainstormed lyrics, other collaborators such as The Neptunes, Jerkins, and Swizz Beatz simultaneously produced the tracks. The team sometimes spent up to 14 hours a day in the studio during the recording process. Beyoncé arranged, co-wrote and co-produced all of the songs on the album. Riddick, in an interview with MTV News, recounted her experience in the production:
[Beyoncé] had multiple producers in Sony Studios. She booked out the whole studio and she had the biggest and best producers in there. She would have us in one room, we would start collaborating with one producer, then she would go and start something else with another producer. We would bounce around to the different rooms and work with the different producers. It was definitely a factory type of process.
B'Day was completed within three weeks, ahead of the originally scheduled six weeks. Swizz Beatz co-produced four songs for the album, the most of any producer on the team. Beyoncé recorded three songs a day, finishing recording within two weeks in April 2006. Aside from Sony Music Studios, additional recording locations included Great Divide Studios in Aspen, Colorado, where "Freakum Dress" was recorded, and Los Angeles studios including Lair Studios, where "Irreplaceable" was recorded; Henson Recording Studios, where bonus track "Check on It" was recorded; and the Record Plant, where "Kitty Kat" and "Green Light" were recorded and "Déjà Vu" was assisted. Twenty-five songs were produced for the album; ten tracks were selected for the standard edition track listing and mastered in early July by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles.
Music and lyrics Many of the themes and musical styles of B'Day were inspired by Beyoncé's role in Dreamgirls. The plot of the film revolves around "The Dreams", a fictional 1960s group of three female singers who seek success in the mainstream music industry with the help of their manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (portrayed by Jamie Foxx). Beyoncé portrays Deena Jones, the lead singer of the group and Taylor's wife, who is emotionally abused by him. Because of her role, Beyoncé was inspired to produce an album with an overriding theme of feminism and female empowerment. On the track "Encore for the Fans", Beyoncé said: "Because I was so inspired by Deena, I wrote songs that were saying all the things I wish she would have said in the film." B'Day was influenced by a variety of American genres, and, like Dangerously in Love (2003), incorporated urban contemporary elements such as contemporary R&B and hip hop. Some songs feature 1970s and 1980s styles, created through record sampling. "Suga Mama", which uses blues-guitar samples from Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers' "Searching for Soul", contains a melody influenced by 1970s funk and 1980s go-go. "Upgrade U" uses a sample from Betty Wright's 1968 song "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do". "Resentment" uses Curtis Mayfield's "Think" from the 1972 Super Fly soundtrack. "Déjà Vu" has a 1970s influence, "Green Light" has a classic groove, and "Get Me Bodied" features twang, a musical style that originated from Texas.
Beyoncé crafted most songs on B'Day through live instrumentation and diverse techniques. This is evident in "Déjà Vu", which uses bass guitar, conga, hi-hat, horns and the 808 drum; it also features rap vocals by Jay-Z. In an interview with MTV, Beyoncé said: "When I recorded 'Déjà Vu' [...] I knew that even before I started working on my album, I wanted to add live instruments to all of my songs..." Lyrically, the song describes a woman who is constantly reminded of a past lover, shown in the lines: "Is it because I'm missing you that I'm having déjà vu?" "Get Me Bodied" is a moderate R&B and bounce track, which shows influences from dance-pop, dancehall, and funk. Lyrically, it depicts a female protagonist dressing up to go out, leave a lasting impression, and get what she wants. The third track, "Suga Mama", is a midtempo R&B and soul track influenced by 1960s and 1970s funk and rock, along with elements of 1980s go-go, more closely resembling live music than Beyoncé's previous recordings. Lyrically, the female protagonist offers the keys to her house and car, along with her credit card, to keep her love interest and his "good loving" at home, presumably so he can listen to her collection of old soul records. This is shown in the lines: "It's so good to the point that I'll do anything just to keep you home ... Tell me what you want me to buy, my accountant's waiting on the phone ..." The protagonist also sees the man as a sexual object, asking him to sit on her lap and "take it off while I watch you perform".