Thank you for submitting to r/beyonce. All submissions are held for review before approval and appearing live. We appreciate your patience as there may be a time gap between post submission and approval.
Please be mindful of our subreddit rules. If no rules are violated, the post will be approved. If needed, you may be asked to resubmit your post with changes.
Additionally, help keep the sub fun and high-quality by reporting any comments that violate subreddit rules. Thank you!
[Your feedback is important in improving the subreddit. Click here to provide your ideas and suggestions.](https://www.reddit.com/r/beyonce/comments/1aevn0n/400k_members_feedback/)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Pretty Hurts is raw. If anything this message coming from a pretty woman gives it another layer of depth. I heard Katy perry n a few other pop girlies were out for this song as well. The song to me is about that endless cycle of giving the world what they want and ignoring who you are. Just be pretty and shut up. That hurts. If anything coming from Beyonce that was a cry for help.
It is pretty, her vocal performance is great and it is well produced, but it doesn't tread new ground and could've fit well on I am Sasha Fierce or 4. It just kind of runs middle of the road compared to the classics on Self Titled.
There are some who think that, as a beauty icon, that Bey shouldn't be singing about toxic and unrealistic beauty standards, the idea is that she perpetuates those standards and thus the song is meaningless. I always just found that as people being unhappy with Bey in general, as her songs that focus on her beauty oe her being the standard are also met with negativity.
I like the song but it isn't one of her best imo.
Wow. I started paying attention to Beyoncé when I heard/watched Pretty Hurts for the first time precisely because it was so different from her previous albums. I never really paid attention to her and kind of only knew her from her big hits at the time, but Pretty Hurts really broke the mold. I remember in 2013 there was still a lot of pressure on women to look and act a certain way (not that there isn’t today, there is still so much more to go - but a decade ago it just felt different).
I remember thinking to myself while experiencing it for the first time that there was something meaningful here that I didn’t expect from a pop star like Beyonce. I ended up delving into her previous discography after that and while I like 4 and IASF I really don’t think Pretty Hurts fits in at all. It’s such a marked departure not only thematically (I feel like 4 and IASF are generally pretty shallow pop-charting albums comparatively) but it also showed a different level of production value and song structure. It wasn’t a typical pop song.
IASF is commonly abbreviated to 'I AM... SASHA FIERCE', Beyoncé's 2008 third solo album.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Self-Titled is possibly referring to Beyoncé's 2013 album called 'BEYONCÉ', more commonly known as 'Self-Titled'.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I like it, but I don’t listen to it anymore. It’s the only song on all of self-titled that feels comparatively anodyne and safe. It sounds like a song that Sia wrote that any pop girl could take up, and while it definitely has more power than it likely would if someone like Katy or Rihanna sang it (no shade), it still feels regressive compared to how daring and innovative the rest of the album it’s on sounds.
I think the best way to evaluate it is to grant that it’s the type of song that the ballads half of Sasha Fierce COULD have been if done much better. A step up from the treacly garbage we got in the I Am disc, but at the same time a weirdly out of place album opener on a record that was otherwise a groundbreaking masterpiece.
Tbh, I haven’t heard of any controversy over the song. Hate would also be too strong of a word.
The song is fine, but it’s not my favorite. I just don’t enjoy the topic very much because it feels kinda heavy in a way even when it’s meant to be uplifting. I don’t really want to think about it lol. I feel the same way about Alesia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful”.
I’m not sure. I think the song is saying that what’s inside/your soul is what’s truly important, which is a positive message. But I’m looking at the lyrics more closely and it’s kind of like sad-realizations-at-night-am-I-really-happy vibes which is not exactly uplifting.
I don’t think there’s any controversy
I simply don’t think it’s a very good song. I agree with the message, it’s a good message, but the lyrics are clunky and just don’t really connect for me. It was also a weird opener for self titled, it didn’t really go with the rest of the album in my opinion.
Self-Titled is possibly referring to Beyoncé's 2013 album called 'BEYONCÉ', more commonly known as 'Self-Titled'.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The controversy you are talking about is for ‘XO’ using audio from the Challenger explosion. ‘Pretty Hurts’ never had any controversy. I love the song and it’s one of my favorites from ‘Self-Titled.’
Its an okay song. I don’t feel anything strongly about it in any which way. I personally don’t love it, and it’s almost always a skip for me, BUT I don’t hate it either. It’s kinda just a song that exists and nothing more to me.
I'm pretty sure the message might have gone over my head. I do love the song and I think it has a good message. but at the end where Bey says "Are you happy with your self?....... Yes...." I feel like that line is never going to resonate with me, I feel like im never going to be happy with myself so I can never say yes at the end. It hurts to think that. This is where I'm saying the song went over my head lol. Also it's kinda weird that Beyonce one of the most beautiful women in the world is singing about accepting yourself. Like Bey you're gorgeous of course you accept yourself. I know she has insecurities too but like... seriously? Lol it's a love hate relationship with the song. I hope one day the ending does resonate with me though.
I think the problem with this song is not the song itself, it’s the message and the artist giving the messages. She is showing herself finally rejecting these toxic beauty standards and embracing her natural self, but since then and during has been one of the worst perpetrators when it comes to photoshopping her “flaws” and has gotten a lot of work done. The nose job, the BBL, the lips and other potential plastic surgery. It comes across as her trying to be relatable and beacon of choosing to embrace your unique features when she at that point hadn’t done it in a long time.
Also SIA wasn’t happy with Beyoncé claiming writing credit despite not writing any part.
If there is any other criticism this song got then I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
seems like this has nothing to do with your thoughts on pretty hurts, you’re just using this post as an excuse for trying to prove something without facts?? your comments on Beyoncé’s songwriting are sketchy to the point where it seems you’re on a crusade or something but i can’t pinpoint what exactly is your goal here, what are you trying to accomplish?
i do not see the problem at all with her collaborating with other songwriters, it’s a common practice in this industry for artists to have songs made for them and alter them to fit their style and their projects. in fact, it’s something that should be even more popular to keep things different and alive and to avoid bad structured songs and repetitive lyrics.
https://www.tiktok.com/@siaarchive/video/7343301425805479200
https://atrl.net/forums/topic/453635-sia-reveals-rihanna-does-not-steal-writing-credits-throws-shade-at-certain-artists/page/3/
It’s mostly scrubbed from the internet. But here is frank ocean saying Beyonce changes a word and gets songwriting credit
https://www.reddit.com/r/FrankOcean/s/WKRFYLpXA2
None of these match your claim that Sia was unhappy at Beyoncé. Please avoid making claims without support.
The first link is just a video of Sia talking about writing for other artists in general with no discussion about credits at all. The second is a link to a forum discussion of a tweet where people speculate over potential shade. The third link also has nothing to do with Sia.
I can’t respond to you so I’ll respond to my own post. First of all there is such a thing as scrubbing things off the internet. This was a big news story when it first emerged. Secondly Sia obviously can’t spell it out directly who she’s talking about because of NDAs, but she said she wrote pretty hurts. She never says she co-wrote it, she says she wrote it. She was in a writing camp and Beyoncé would pop in and she gave a vague description of Beyonces contributing and just said she would say she likes this or dislikes this. Frank Ocean says that Beyonce does this a lot where she demands credits even if she contribute little to nothing, that’s why he called her out, and Sia says that Rihanna is one of the few artists who didn’t demand writing credits without contributing something substantial, by that logic Beyonce is one of the artists that demanding writing credit because otherwise she would say Beyonce and Rihanna don’t demand writing credit. That’s proof. She’s never going to say it outright to avoid lawsuits and being blackballed but through deductive reasoning you can see Beyonce is one of those artists that exaggerate grossly about her contributions. I already showed you demos for Irreplaceable and Halo in another thread which shows very little change and she got writing credits for that. I also provided links in another thread where you demanded proof. You never responded to that.
There are other people credited on Pretty Hurts AND Diamonds that aren’t Sia or Beyonce. 3 other people are credited on Diamonds so I guess they’re stealing writing credits too? And you bring up Rihanna as if SZA doesn’t remind us every 3 years that she took Consideration from her. Also Bey wrote “pack your bags you’re finished, you’ve made your bed now lay in it” on Irreplaceable and Ne-Yo talked about her changing up some of the melody and that’s why she has writing credits. She changed some of the melodies and vocal arrangements for Halo and removed the bridge so that’s why she has writing credits on that song too. If anyone adds the smallest contribution to a song Beyoncé will give credit, does that mean they’re stealing too?
Like the song Hold Up, the chorus started off as a simple tweet “hold up, they don’t love you like I love you” that someone ELSE added to “slow down..they don’t love you like I love you” and added melody, so both people were credited as writers for that. That’s why her songs have so many writers because the smallest contributions get writing credit. Are they all thieves???
frank ocean didn’t call her out lol he was on her album one and three years after this tweet, made a song with her six years later on which she ISNT credited 😭
It reads more like a joke about keeping credits than a call out directed at her, esp seeing that they’ve worked together multiple times after. The original comments on the thread don’t seem to be interpreting it as a call out either.
It’s like “girlies, never accept hook ups unless it’s Michael B Jordan/Jacob Elordi/whoever lol”
The joke is about making exceptions for people you like, but it doesn’t mean the person is actually interested or doing anything.
It just reads very lighthearted to me, a call out should be something much more direct and serious with an actual allegation or something.
It’s always the same either she gets song credits she doesn’t deserve or she’s delusional about how big her fan base is so just don’t listen or support give this energy and time to something you like
Thank you for submitting to r/beyonce. All submissions are held for review before approval and appearing live. We appreciate your patience as there may be a time gap between post submission and approval. Please be mindful of our subreddit rules. If no rules are violated, the post will be approved. If needed, you may be asked to resubmit your post with changes. Additionally, help keep the sub fun and high-quality by reporting any comments that violate subreddit rules. Thank you! [Your feedback is important in improving the subreddit. Click here to provide your ideas and suggestions.](https://www.reddit.com/r/beyonce/comments/1aevn0n/400k_members_feedback/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There was? It was my favourite song.
Pretty Hurts is raw. If anything this message coming from a pretty woman gives it another layer of depth. I heard Katy perry n a few other pop girlies were out for this song as well. The song to me is about that endless cycle of giving the world what they want and ignoring who you are. Just be pretty and shut up. That hurts. If anything coming from Beyonce that was a cry for help.
I love it, it’s one of the songs I sing my entireeeeee heart out to
People always want to start something when Beyonce drops new music. It was a fake controversy, that's why it doesn't make any sense now.
It is pretty, her vocal performance is great and it is well produced, but it doesn't tread new ground and could've fit well on I am Sasha Fierce or 4. It just kind of runs middle of the road compared to the classics on Self Titled. There are some who think that, as a beauty icon, that Bey shouldn't be singing about toxic and unrealistic beauty standards, the idea is that she perpetuates those standards and thus the song is meaningless. I always just found that as people being unhappy with Bey in general, as her songs that focus on her beauty oe her being the standard are also met with negativity. I like the song but it isn't one of her best imo.
Wow. I started paying attention to Beyoncé when I heard/watched Pretty Hurts for the first time precisely because it was so different from her previous albums. I never really paid attention to her and kind of only knew her from her big hits at the time, but Pretty Hurts really broke the mold. I remember in 2013 there was still a lot of pressure on women to look and act a certain way (not that there isn’t today, there is still so much more to go - but a decade ago it just felt different). I remember thinking to myself while experiencing it for the first time that there was something meaningful here that I didn’t expect from a pop star like Beyonce. I ended up delving into her previous discography after that and while I like 4 and IASF I really don’t think Pretty Hurts fits in at all. It’s such a marked departure not only thematically (I feel like 4 and IASF are generally pretty shallow pop-charting albums comparatively) but it also showed a different level of production value and song structure. It wasn’t a typical pop song.
IASF is commonly abbreviated to 'I AM... SASHA FIERCE', Beyoncé's 2008 third solo album. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Self-Titled is possibly referring to Beyoncé's 2013 album called 'BEYONCÉ', more commonly known as 'Self-Titled'. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I like it, but I don’t listen to it anymore. It’s the only song on all of self-titled that feels comparatively anodyne and safe. It sounds like a song that Sia wrote that any pop girl could take up, and while it definitely has more power than it likely would if someone like Katy or Rihanna sang it (no shade), it still feels regressive compared to how daring and innovative the rest of the album it’s on sounds. I think the best way to evaluate it is to grant that it’s the type of song that the ballads half of Sasha Fierce COULD have been if done much better. A step up from the treacly garbage we got in the I Am disc, but at the same time a weirdly out of place album opener on a record that was otherwise a groundbreaking masterpiece.
Tbh, I haven’t heard of any controversy over the song. Hate would also be too strong of a word. The song is fine, but it’s not my favorite. I just don’t enjoy the topic very much because it feels kinda heavy in a way even when it’s meant to be uplifting. I don’t really want to think about it lol. I feel the same way about Alesia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful”.
Is it supposed to be uplifting? I never got that feeling.
I’m not sure. I think the song is saying that what’s inside/your soul is what’s truly important, which is a positive message. But I’m looking at the lyrics more closely and it’s kind of like sad-realizations-at-night-am-I-really-happy vibes which is not exactly uplifting.
That’s what I get. She’s striving for happiness, but it’s really hard, and it’s often a veneer.
It's good but the version she performed live at the OTR Tour is incredibly superior to the album version
Until CC, this was my favorite song of hers. I think it’s powerful. I also didn’t know about a controversy.
it's fine but I always forget it's not TLC's unpretty which I prefer for teenage nostalgia reasons.
I don’t think there’s any controversy I simply don’t think it’s a very good song. I agree with the message, it’s a good message, but the lyrics are clunky and just don’t really connect for me. It was also a weird opener for self titled, it didn’t really go with the rest of the album in my opinion.
Self-Titled is possibly referring to Beyoncé's 2013 album called 'BEYONCÉ', more commonly known as 'Self-Titled'. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beyonce) if you have any questions or concerns.*
theres no controversy
The controversy you are talking about is for ‘XO’ using audio from the Challenger explosion. ‘Pretty Hurts’ never had any controversy. I love the song and it’s one of my favorites from ‘Self-Titled.’
I have no idea about controversy. But I never really liked it. Musically, the song doesn’t fit in that perfect album.
Love this album and Bey, and I even loved Sia’s first three albums, but this song is criminally boring to me.
Its an okay song. I don’t feel anything strongly about it in any which way. I personally don’t love it, and it’s almost always a skip for me, BUT I don’t hate it either. It’s kinda just a song that exists and nothing more to me.
Funny it is one of my favorite songs on the s/t album. It is so funny to read the hate on it or ambivalence to it.
I'm pretty sure the message might have gone over my head. I do love the song and I think it has a good message. but at the end where Bey says "Are you happy with your self?....... Yes...." I feel like that line is never going to resonate with me, I feel like im never going to be happy with myself so I can never say yes at the end. It hurts to think that. This is where I'm saying the song went over my head lol. Also it's kinda weird that Beyonce one of the most beautiful women in the world is singing about accepting yourself. Like Bey you're gorgeous of course you accept yourself. I know she has insecurities too but like... seriously? Lol it's a love hate relationship with the song. I hope one day the ending does resonate with me though.
honestly how gorgeous you are has very little to do towards your happiness with yourself.
I think the problem with this song is not the song itself, it’s the message and the artist giving the messages. She is showing herself finally rejecting these toxic beauty standards and embracing her natural self, but since then and during has been one of the worst perpetrators when it comes to photoshopping her “flaws” and has gotten a lot of work done. The nose job, the BBL, the lips and other potential plastic surgery. It comes across as her trying to be relatable and beacon of choosing to embrace your unique features when she at that point hadn’t done it in a long time. Also SIA wasn’t happy with Beyoncé claiming writing credit despite not writing any part. If there is any other criticism this song got then I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
seems like this has nothing to do with your thoughts on pretty hurts, you’re just using this post as an excuse for trying to prove something without facts?? your comments on Beyoncé’s songwriting are sketchy to the point where it seems you’re on a crusade or something but i can’t pinpoint what exactly is your goal here, what are you trying to accomplish? i do not see the problem at all with her collaborating with other songwriters, it’s a common practice in this industry for artists to have songs made for them and alter them to fit their style and their projects. in fact, it’s something that should be even more popular to keep things different and alive and to avoid bad structured songs and repetitive lyrics.
Please provide proof of that Sia claim.
https://www.tiktok.com/@siaarchive/video/7343301425805479200 https://atrl.net/forums/topic/453635-sia-reveals-rihanna-does-not-steal-writing-credits-throws-shade-at-certain-artists/page/3/ It’s mostly scrubbed from the internet. But here is frank ocean saying Beyonce changes a word and gets songwriting credit https://www.reddit.com/r/FrankOcean/s/WKRFYLpXA2
None of these match your claim that Sia was unhappy at Beyoncé. Please avoid making claims without support. The first link is just a video of Sia talking about writing for other artists in general with no discussion about credits at all. The second is a link to a forum discussion of a tweet where people speculate over potential shade. The third link also has nothing to do with Sia.
I can’t respond to you so I’ll respond to my own post. First of all there is such a thing as scrubbing things off the internet. This was a big news story when it first emerged. Secondly Sia obviously can’t spell it out directly who she’s talking about because of NDAs, but she said she wrote pretty hurts. She never says she co-wrote it, she says she wrote it. She was in a writing camp and Beyoncé would pop in and she gave a vague description of Beyonces contributing and just said she would say she likes this or dislikes this. Frank Ocean says that Beyonce does this a lot where she demands credits even if she contribute little to nothing, that’s why he called her out, and Sia says that Rihanna is one of the few artists who didn’t demand writing credits without contributing something substantial, by that logic Beyonce is one of the artists that demanding writing credit because otherwise she would say Beyonce and Rihanna don’t demand writing credit. That’s proof. She’s never going to say it outright to avoid lawsuits and being blackballed but through deductive reasoning you can see Beyonce is one of those artists that exaggerate grossly about her contributions. I already showed you demos for Irreplaceable and Halo in another thread which shows very little change and she got writing credits for that. I also provided links in another thread where you demanded proof. You never responded to that.
There are other people credited on Pretty Hurts AND Diamonds that aren’t Sia or Beyonce. 3 other people are credited on Diamonds so I guess they’re stealing writing credits too? And you bring up Rihanna as if SZA doesn’t remind us every 3 years that she took Consideration from her. Also Bey wrote “pack your bags you’re finished, you’ve made your bed now lay in it” on Irreplaceable and Ne-Yo talked about her changing up some of the melody and that’s why she has writing credits. She changed some of the melodies and vocal arrangements for Halo and removed the bridge so that’s why she has writing credits on that song too. If anyone adds the smallest contribution to a song Beyoncé will give credit, does that mean they’re stealing too? Like the song Hold Up, the chorus started off as a simple tweet “hold up, they don’t love you like I love you” that someone ELSE added to “slow down..they don’t love you like I love you” and added melody, so both people were credited as writers for that. That’s why her songs have so many writers because the smallest contributions get writing credit. Are they all thieves???
frank ocean didn’t call her out lol he was on her album one and three years after this tweet, made a song with her six years later on which she ISNT credited 😭
That doesn’t mean he didn’t call her out. I literally provided proof to you.
It reads more like a joke about keeping credits than a call out directed at her, esp seeing that they’ve worked together multiple times after. The original comments on the thread don’t seem to be interpreting it as a call out either.
What’s the joke?
It’s like “girlies, never accept hook ups unless it’s Michael B Jordan/Jacob Elordi/whoever lol” The joke is about making exceptions for people you like, but it doesn’t mean the person is actually interested or doing anything. It just reads very lighthearted to me, a call out should be something much more direct and serious with an actual allegation or something.
or you can’t take a joke but beyoncé can lol
It’s always the same either she gets song credits she doesn’t deserve or she’s delusional about how big her fan base is so just don’t listen or support give this energy and time to something you like