Irreplaceable

"Irreplaceable" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles. The song was co-written by Beyoncé along with collaborators for her second solo studio album, B'Day (2006). Chiefly producing a guitar-driven melody, the song features about a lady's unfaithful lover ready to be replaced by someone.

Released domestically as the album's third single late in 2006, "Irreplaceable" is the second single outside North America. It performed well reaching the top ten in most charts it entered. In the US, "Irreplaceable" commercially succeed peaking Billboard's Hot 100, staying the chart for ten weeks. In Oceania, the single had the same reception peaking both Australia and New Zealand charts. Along with the single's certifications gained during its charting period, it received several nominations parallel to its positive reviews.

Writing and inspiration

Beyoncé enlisted Norwegian record producer-songwriter Stargate team, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen, along with collaborators for her second solo effort, B'Day, who produced the track. Beyoncé and American R&B-pop singer Ne-Yo, who co-produced "Irreplaceable," co-wrote the song together with Stargate production team, Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund. Ne-Yo helped the song's vocal arrangement and its melody. It was recorded at the Sony Music Studios in New York City.

In an interview, Ne-Yo said that "she [Beyoncé] had some stuff that she wanted to get off her chest, and that's what she did." According to Beyoncé, "[Irreplaceable] is a secret weapon...It's a celebration of a breakup and makes women feel like they're worth more." The song is about putting out her boyfriend after he cheats and says that he was foolish to think that she won't find someone if he leaves. Ironically, Ne-Yo gained inspirations for the writing process from his own point of view.

Music structure and lyrics

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"Irreplaceable" is set in the key of B♭ major.

"Irreplaceable" is a mid-tempo acoustic ballad and a moderate pop song written in the key of B♭ major. Set in common time, it moves at a moderate 88 beats per minute. Knowles' vocal range spans nearly an octave and a half, from B♭₃ to E♭₅. "Irreplaceable" uses a gently strummed acoustic guitar track and chord progressions made by Espen Lind, and then adding drums and strings.

The phrase "to the left, to the left" is being rendered by Beyoncé like a military chant. Beyoncé features slightly histrionic vocals in the song. "Irreplaceable" drew comparison to the central concept of Terry McMillan's 1995 romance film Waiting to Exhale, starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett.

Critical reception

While many of the tracks from B’Day have been upbeat club-bangers, featuring heavy 808-driven beats, "Irreplaceable" was well-received by critics for its simple, guitar-driven melody. Bill Lamb of About.com gave the song four and a half stars, and characterized it as "one of the strongest" tracks from the album. He complimented Stargate for the "simple, pop-oriented production" and the "subject matter of female strength and independence." It was later listed on the site as their fourth best R&B song of 2006. Barry Schwartz of Stylus Magazine wrote that "[Irreplaceable] recaptured "Crazy in Love"’s near-perfection....[and features] her most genuinely emotional vocal to date, equal parts vulnerable, upset, pissed off, vindictive, resigned, and apathetic."

For Entertainment Weekly, Jody Rosen said that the track was "a lilting tune unlike anything Beyoncé has ever performed," while Billboard Magazine praised "Irreplaceable"'s simplicity and "radio-friendliness," noting that the "song dilutes the excessive instrumentation of B's first two singles in favor of smooth drum taps and guitar strumming." In their review of B'Day, the indie-oriented website Pitchfork Media called the song as "[Beyoncé's] most sophisticated and her most honest performance to date."

"Irreplaceable" won the Soul Train Music Award for "Best R&B/Hip-Hop Single: Female," and the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Award for "Favorite Song." Beyoncé also won Video of the Year at the 2007 BET Awards for "Irreplaceable" and also won Best Female R&B Artist of the Year.

Chart performance

"Irreplaceable" entered various charts around the world, and became the most successful single from B’Day. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated November 4, 2006 at position eighty-seven, and climbed the charts rapidly because of heavy airplay— it received the "Greatest Airplay Gainer" certification for seven weeks, six of which were consecutive. It also received the "Greatest Sales Gainer" for three consecutive weeks. It summited the Hot 100 on December 16, 2006, becoming Beyoncé's fourth number-one single, and her second in 2006, following "Check on It" (featuring Slim Thug). On the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the song debuted at position forty-two, and it became her fourth number-one single. "Irreplaceable" became a belated favorite on adult contemporary radio stations, becoming the first Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart hit of Knowles' solo career (she made the adult contemporary chart as a member of Destiny's Child once, with the trio's remake of "Emotion" in 2001).

A commercial U.S. CD single of "Irreplaceable" was released on January 9, 2007 for purchase. As of November 2007, the song had sold over 2,141,276 copies in digital downloads and a further 180,000 across various other formats in the United States. "Irreplaceable" sold 267,000 copies in digital downloads in a week of January 2007, surpassing Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie", which sold 265,000 copies in a week in June 2006. Later in January 2007, Fergie's "Fergalicious" surpassed "Irreplaceable", selling 295,000 downloads in a single week. "Irreplaceable" was the most successful single of 2006 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying at number one for ten weeks, three weeks more than Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack". Overall, it had the longest run at number one on the Hot 100 since Kanye West's "Gold Digger" (featuring Jamie Foxx), which held the summit for ten weeks in 2005. The song surpassed Knowles' "Baby Boy" (featuring Sean Paul) to become her most successful single on the Hot 100 as a solo artist.

Much of the single's success depended on its considerable airplay. On December 11, 2006,"Irreplaceable" passed the 200 million audience impressions mark in the United States, according to Mediabase. This achievement made Beyoncé one of two artists to have one or two songs pass the 200 million impression mark in a single year; the other artist was Mariah Carey in 2005 (with "We Belong Together" and "Shake It Off"). "Irreplaceable" had major cross-over success, becoming the first song to simultaneously occupy the number-one position on twelve Billboard charts on the week ending December 30, 2006, including the Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Pop 100, Mainstream Top 40, and Rhythmic Top 40 charts. "Irreplaceable" had the best radio audience week of Beyoncé's career and the second-best sum in the chart's history, with 201.9 million audience impressions. Only Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" bested that total; it garnered 223 million impressions during a week in July 2005.

Outside the U.S., the song had major success. It reached number one on the Airplay Eurochart (based on airplay charts from seventeen countries) in January 2007. In the United Kingdom, despite reaching a peak of number four "Irreplaceable" became Beyoncé's longest running top forty single. With sales of 206,000 copies, it is her third most successful single in the UK, only behind "Crazy in Love" and "Beautiful Liar". In Australia, "Irreplaceable" debuted at number eight on the singles chart and reached number one on December 31, becoming Beyoncé's first number-one single there; it remained at the top for three consecutive weeks, going Platinum. "Irreplaceable" stayed on the United World Chart for twenty-six weeks, spending twelve of those at the number-one spot. Irreplaceable has sold 5.805.000 million copies worldwide to become the 2nd most successful song of Beyoncé's career.

On the Latin America Top 40 Airplay chart the single debuted at number thirty-four, and four weeks later it entered the top ten; it spent sixteen weeks on the chart. In Mexico, the song peaked at number fifty-four in early December 2006, and after falling out of the chart in early January, it re-entered in February 2007, because of the radio release of the Spanish version, "Irreemplazable" (both the English and Spanish version were counted as "Irreplaceable" on the chart). The song re-entered the chart at number ninety, climbing to number fifty-eight in March.

Almost a year later, on November 2007, the song re-entered the Top 100 on iTunes song chart. The highest position was at #60 before gone from the Top 100.

"Irreplaceable" was successful on 2007 Countdowns especially in the US's Billboard's 2007: The Year in Music, where it appeared on four spots. It took the top spot on Billboard Hot 100, beating rival single "Umbrella" by pop artist Rihanna. It also charted at number seven on Billboards Hot Dance Singles Sales, number seven on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs behind Lloyd's "You" featuring Lil Wayne, and number nine on Billboard Hot Digital Songs behind Fergie's "Glamorous," In addition, it also took the spot on Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. Overall, it made to chart on United World Chart's 2007 Countdown at number eighteen for selling 3,724,000; for the inclusive year, and on the chart's Top Achievements from 1999-2007 at number forty-seven for selling 5,805,000; just below its 2003 predecessor "Crazy In Love."

Music video

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Knowles argues with a former lover in the music video.

The music video for "Irreplaceable" premiered on British music channel The Box on October 3, 2006. While it also premiered on various stations in United States during the week of October 16, 2006, the official edited video premiered on BET's 106 & Park countdown on October 19, 2006, where it was about twenty seconds shorter than the original version. A video edit was also created for the Spanish version "Irreemplazable".

Filmed by director Anthony Mandler in the week of September 11, 2006 in New York, the video is a simple story where Beyoncé's boyfriend is packing his belongings and leaving her house. Between cuts, she is seen dancing, looking at herself in the mirror, huge curlers, a high-waisted skirt, and lipstick, singing with her band, and enjoying herself. The video ends with Beyoncé's new boyfriend at her front door. The background music in the video varies from the album version; it contains more musical instruments. This video also featured a guest appearance by model Bobby Roache. During the video, Knowles is seen leaning on a 2007 Jaguar XK.

On MTV's Total Request Live, the video peaked at number one on the countdown. The video also peaked at number one on Yahoo! Music Top 100. The video was so popular at MTV, it was named the number-one video of 2006 by TRL. On January 18, 2007, "Irreplaceable" retired at number 1 on MTV's Total Request Live, having spent forty days on the countdown, with eleven days being number one, the most days at number one for any Beyoncé video. This was also her third video to retire on TRL, the others being "Naughty Girl" back in 2004 and "Beautiful Liar" in 2007.

The video for "Irreplaceable" has won been given many awards and nominations. It won the Video Of The Year Award at the 2007 BET Awards, a category in which "Beautiful Liar" was also nominated. On August 8, 2007, MTV announced that Irreplaceable was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music awards, to be held in Las Vegas on September 9 2007. On the night, it lost the award to Rihanna's Umbrella. Knowles was also nominated in six other categories including Best Female. This made her the most nominated artist that year, tied with Justin Timberlake, but she only won one award at the ceremony.

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Irreplaceable".

• Canadian/U.S. CD single

1. "Irreplaceable" (Album Version)
2. "Irreplaceable" (Instrumental)
3. "Irreplaceable" remix feat. Trina (New York bonus track)

• UK CD 1

1. "Irreplaceable" (Album Version)
2. "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix Radio Edit)

• UK CD 2

1. "Irreplaceable" (Album Version)
2. "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix Radio Edit)
3. "Ring the Alarm" (Karmatronic Remix)
4. "Ring the Alarm" (Tranzformas Remix featuring Collie Buddz)
5. "Ring the Alarm" (Video)

• Irreemplazable - EP (Spanish version)

1. "Amor Gitano" (featuring Alejandro Fernández)
2. "Oye" ("Listen" Spanish Version)
3. "Irreemplazable" ("Irreplaceable" Spanish version)
4. "Bello Embustero" ("Beautiful Liar" Spanish Version)
5. "Beautiful Liar" (Remix featuring Shakira)
6. "Beautiful Liar" (Spanglish Version featuring Sasha a.k.a. Beyoncé)
7. "Irreemplazable" (Norteña Remix)
8. "Get Me Bodied" (Timbaland Remix featuring Voltio)

• UK 12" vinyl single

1. "Irreplaceable" (Album Version)
2. "Irreplaceable" (Instrumental)
3. "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix Radio Edit)
4. "Ring the Alarm" (Album Version)

• Australian CD single

1. "Irreplaceable" (Album Version)
2. "Deja Vu" (Freemasons Club Mix)
3. "Deja Vu" (Remix)
4. Roc-a-fella mix feat foxy brown

• iTunes single

1. "Irreplaceable" (Ralphi & Craig Club Radio Remix)
2. "Irreplaceable" (Ralphi & Craig Club Voc Remix)
3. "Irreplaceable" (Ralphi Rosario Dub Remix)
4. "Irreplaceable" (Maurice Joshua Remix Edit)
5. "Irreplaceable" (Maurice Joshua Club Remix)
6. "Irreplaceable" (featuring Ghostface Killah)
7. "Irreplaceable" (DJ Speedy Remix)

• Miscellaneous

1. Irreemplazable (Remix featuring Pitbull)

Charts

"Irreplaceable" entered many charts around the world. The following table lists the various charts and peak positions. Vorlage:Col-begin Vorlage:Col-2

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	11
Belgian Singles Chart	13
Brazilian Singles Chart	1
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart	3
Dutch Singles Chart	3
European Billboard Hot 100 Singles	7
Finnish Singles Chart	13
French Singles Chart	10
German Singles Chart	11
Greek IFPI Singles Chart	17
Greek IFPI Singles Chart1	2
Irish Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	8
Italian Singles Chart 1	3

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Ibero-American Singles Chart	3
Latin America Top 40 Airplay1	3
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	8
Portuguese Singles Chart	2
Swiss Singles Chart	9
Swedish Singles Chart	12
UK Singles Chart	4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs 1	4
United World Chart	1

• ¹ "Irremplazable."

See also

• Hot 100 number-one hits of 2007 (USA)
• R&B number-one hits of 2007 (USA)
• Pop 100 number-one hits of 2007 (USA)
• Hot 100 number-one hits of 2006 (USA)
• R&B number-one hits of 2006 (USA)
• Pop 100 number-one hits of 2006 (USA)
• Number-one singles in Ireland (2006)
• List of number-one songs on American Top 40 of 2007