This week we celebrated both the birthday of music Queen, Beyoncé, as well the anniversary of her iconic sophomore solo set, ‘B’Day.’
Today’s From The Vault pick is the album’s second offering, the fiery, edgy, and fierce ‘Ring The Alarm.’
After the success of the LP’s first single ‘Deja Vu’, the pressure was on for Bey to keep the momentum going. She opted for the Swizz Beatz-produced, Sean Garrett-penned ‘Alarm’ which went on to chart at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop tallies.
The tale of a threatened woman letting her love interest know that, no matter what, she won’t ever let him start a new relationship with another woman, it drove the net crazy back in 2006 and had everybody trying to decipher if the lyrics were fictions or facts.
Sophie Muller directed the track’s video. The artist can be seen in an interrogation room, loosely reenacting that infamous scene from the movie ‘Basic Instinct’ and singing the track in a beach house. Elsewhere, she is intercepted by masked guards when trying to escape from a hangar.
Its debut performance was at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards where her and her army of dancers took the stage in matching trench coats.
At the time of its release, ‘B’Day’ was polarizing as it showed a brand new side of the entertainer, a darker and grittier side. Also, the aggression she usually reserved for the stage was omnipresent throughout the project’s lyrics and visuals. With this album, the “Beyonce” that the world at large knows and loves – one who shifts between glamorous and edgy – was born, and this is why it is one of the most important moments of her career.
14 years later, the album sounds as instant and undeniable as ever, and is filled with many a classic jam, whether it was a chart topper or not.