Rather Die Young
"Rather Die Young" | |
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MSR Studios and KMA Studios (New York City) | |
Genre | |
Length | 3:42 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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"Rather Die Young" is a song recorded by American singer
"Rather Die Young" was generally well received by contemporary
Background and recording
"Rather Die Young" was written and produced by
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Rather Die Young" is an
Lyrically, "Rather Die Young" talks about the inability to fight what the heart wants, even if it is wrong.
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews. Joanne Dorken of
[Knowles'] utterance of 'you're my James Dean / you make me feel like I'm seventeen' on 'Rather Die Young' is made tolerable by her honeyed vocal slides. Certainly, the 'bad boy' Beyoncé is in love with is more a physical representation of countless painfully banal fantasies about guys who 'drive too fast' and 'smoke too much' than an actual person, but at least it feels tangible. For once, the pop song trying to make a connection with its listener doesn't feel like a total fraud. Forget Lady Gaga's song about her relationship with her father or Britney Spears' lullaby to her babies – here, I'm convinced, if only for a moment, that Beyoncé really would rather die young than to live her life without her lover, that she cares, even if you don't. This doesn't fully explain why 4 is as enjoyable as it is, but it does convey just how convincing Beyoncé can be when given the right tools – and it turns out that those tools consist of not much more than Beyoncé's voice itself.[11]
Prefix magazine's Craig Jenkins found "retro-leaning flourishes and propulsive boom bap in equal measure" in "Rather Die Young".[19] Likewise, Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun wrote that "Rather Die Young" is a "boundary-pushing backdrop of 1970s soul dragged into tomorrow", further describing it as bizarre but brilliant.[8] Mikael Wood of Spin magazine described it as a slow-to-bloom song which is "preoccupied by love's pleasure".[20] Ben Cardew of Music Week described "Rather Die Young" as a drum-heavy and gloomy ballad accompanied by a lovely melody.[21] Jocelyn Vena of MTV News described the ballad as having an old-school vibe and commended how "instead of going hard, she [Beyoncé] keeps the music soft"[9] Robert Copsey of the British entertainment and media news website Digital Spy noted similarities between "Rather Die Young" and Beyoncé's older material.[22]
A mixed review came from Adam Markovitz of
Live performances
Beyoncé performed "Rather Die Young" live for first time on August 14, 2011 during the
Chart performance
Selling 15,161 digital downloads, "Rather Die Young" opened at number 37 on the
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
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South Korea Gaon International Singles Chart[34]
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37 |
References
- ^ Beyoncé Knowles. Columbia Records. 2011.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ AOL Inc. Archived from the originalon August 23, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ^ "Beyoncé's New Album Out Now & Streaming In Full | The Official Beyoncé Site". Beyoncé Knowles' Official Website. Note that you have to click on the cover art of 'Rather Die Young' to see the quote. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ News Corporation. Archived from the originalon September 2, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c Petridis, Alexis (June 23, 2011). "Beyoncé: 4 –". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ a b McCormick, Neil (June 23, 2011). "Beyoncé: 4, CD of the week". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ MTV Networks. Archived from the originalon August 29, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Adams, Cameron (June 23, 2011). "Album review: 4 by Beyonce". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Vena, Jocelyn (June 10, 2011). "Beyonce's 4: The Most Surprising Moments – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- Wolfgang's Vault. Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Tao, Conrad (June 24, 2011). "Review of Beyoncé – 4". Sputnikmusic. Jeremy Ferwerda. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ Conner, Thomas (June 22, 2011). "CD review: Beyonce, '4' – Music: Via Chicago". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ a b c Elan, Priya (June 10, 2011). "Beyonce '4' – First Listen". NME. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- Daily News. Archivedfrom the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ Goddard, Simon (September 2011). "Beyoncé '4' – Album Review". Q: 105.
- ^ Koski, Genevieve (June 28, 2011). "Beyoncé: 4 – Music Review". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Ramirez, Erika (June 28, 2011). "Beyonce's '4:' Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Perpetua, Matthew (June 8, 2011). "Beyonce's '4': A Track-by-Track Breakdown | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Jenkins, Craig (June 28, 2011). "Beyoncé – 4". Prefix Magazine. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (June 27, 2011). "Beyonce, '4' (Columbia)". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ Cardew, Ben (June 20, 2011). "First Listen: Beyonce's eclectic album 4 is much better than its first singles". Music Week. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Copsey, Robert (June 8, 2011). "Beyoncé's new album '4': First listen". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ Markovitz, Adam (July 10, 2011). "4 review – Beyoncé Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ Horton, Matthew (June 22, 2011). "BBC – Music – Review of Beyoncé – 4". BBC Online. BBC. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ MacBain, Hamish (June 21, 2011). "Beyonce – Album Review: Beyonce – '4' – Album Reviews". NME. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ Kot, Greg (June 24, 2011). "Beyonce album review; 4". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- Pitchfork Media. Ryan Schreiber. Archivedfrom the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ Newman, Jason (August 15, 2011). "Concert Review: Beyoncé Reigns at Roseland Ballroom". Rap-Up. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- ^ Hally Rubenstein, Jenna (August 19, 2011). "Beyonce At NYC's Roseland Ballroom: Concert Review". MTV. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ Wete, Brad (August 15, 2011). "Beyonce performs first of four-night run of her new '4' album at small NYC theater – an EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- Rovi Corporation. Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ "Beyonce Live at Roseland: Elements of 4". Amazon. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ Garcia, Thania (May 10, 2023). "Beyoncé Renaissance Tour: The Full Setlist From Opening Night". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ Gaon Chart. Archived from the originalon August 25, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2011.