Archive for the ‘ Beyonce Knowles ’ Category
Listen” is a 2006 R&B, soul song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. The song was written by Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Knowles, and produced by The Underdogs Matt Sullivan and Randy Spendlove for the soundtrack to the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls. “Listen” is one of four compositions written specifically for the Dreamgirls film. In the film, Knowles’ character Deena Jones sings the song to assert independence over her controlling husband. The track was released as the lead single from film’s soundtrack album on December 5, 2006 in the United States through Columbia Records. It also appeared as a hidden track on international editions, and on the deluxe edition of Knowles’ second solo studio album, B’Day. The Spanish version of the song “Oye” was released on the EP Irreemplazable and on the second disc of the Spanish Deluxe Edition release of B’Day. The song peaked at number sixty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and generally peaked inside the top twenty positions in European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. “Listen” faired much better in the United Kingdom where it reached number eight thanks to a live duet performance of Knowles and Alexandra Burke at The X Factor in December 2008. There, Burke emerged as the winner after having sung “Listen”. The song was also covered by Charice for the American TV show Glee episode “Audition”. The song has two accompanying music videos. The first one is performance version which was directed by Diane Martel, and was included on Knowles’ B’Day Anthology Video Album. 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 and I Am… Tour. Listen” has entered and has left the UK Singles Chart on three separate occasions, firstly in February 2007 it entered at sixty and eventually peaked at number sixteen on March 3, 2007 before leaving the chart on March 24, 2007. In December 2008, Alexandra Burke performed the song in the final 5 week of The X Factor, causing 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 sixty-one. In the final of The X Factor, Burke, who would become the winner, performed “Listen” as a duet with Knowles. On December 27, 2008, the song surged from number sixty to number eight on the chart, with high sales of 28,000 copies. The following week Listen fell to 30 and remained in the top forty for a further two weeks till late January 2009.