Ring the Alarm

Name	Ring the Alarm
Cover	Ring the Alarm low.jpg
Artist	Beyoncé
Album	B'Day
Released	October 17, 2006 (US)
Format	CD single, 12", digital download
Recorded	2006Sony Music Studios(New York City, New York)
Genre	R&B;, Hip hop
Length	3:23 (Album Version/Main Version)3:16 (Radio Edit)
Label	Columbia
Writer	Beyoncé Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Sean Garrett
Producer	Beyoncé Knowles, Swizz Beatz, Sean Garrett
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Last single	"Déjà Vu"(2006)
This single	"Ring the Alarm"(2006)
Next single	"Irreplaceable"(2006)

"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American R&B; singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day (2006). It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett. Columbia Records released "Ring the Alarm" as the second single from B'Day in the United States on October 17, 2006, while Irreplaceable (2006) was serviced as the album's second international/third US single. The song's development was motivated by Knowles's role in the Broadway musical adaptation Dreamgirls (2006). "Ring the Alarm" is an R&B; song with punk rock influences. It makes use of a blaring siren as its introductory sound, creating an aggressive tone in the song.

Lyrically, "Ring the Alarm" features Knowles impersonating a threatened girlfriend and shows her unwillingness to let another woman profit from all the work she did to improve her love interest's life. Critical reception of the song was generally mixed to positive with several music critics noting that the song was different from Knowles's previous work. While some complimented the distorted, angry and assertive vocals, others were disappointed with the lyrical arrangement. The lyrics of the song were rumoured to be chronicling R&B-;pop star Rihanna's relationship with Jay-Z, a suggestion which Knowles refuted in an interview with Seventeen Magazine in mid-2006. Frances Romero of Time Magazine listed "Ring the Alarm" ninth on her list of "Top 10 Angry Breakup Songs" of the 2000s. The song was nominated for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards.

The single debuted at number twelve on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 2006, becoming Beyoncé's highest ever US debut. It reached number eleven on the Hot 100, becoming her first solo single to miss the top ten. The single's music video was inspired by the 1992 film Basic Instinct and was directed by Sophie Muller. It was shot inside a cavernous hangar on the Brooklyn waterfront in New York City. After its premiere at Yahoo! Music on August 16, 2006, the music video garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics who universally thought that it was an eccentric one. Knowles promoted "Ring the Alarm" through various live performances in televised shows and awards ceremonies, including the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was also a part of her set list on The Beyoncé Experience in Los Angeles and her world tour, I Am... Tour.

Background

Writing and recording

In 2006, Knowles had a starring role in the Broadway musical adaptation Dreamgirls that "heavily" inspired the content and music of the album. While having a vacation after six months of filming, she went to the studio to begin working on her second solo album B'Day. She also contacted American hip hop producer-rapper Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, who co-produced "Check on It". Concerning her collaboration with Swizz Beatz, Knowles said: "I love working with Swizz. He's challenging. His beats are so complex it's hard to find a melody. But this just clicked".

Knowles' father-manager Mathew Knowles put out an official statement a few days later, stating:

"It is apparent that there is a consistent plan by some to create chaos around Beyoncés 'B'Day' album release on September 5 in the US. First, it was a petition against the single, 'Déjà Vu', then a rumor regarding conflict between Beyoncé and Rihanna, seizures caused by the 'Ring the Alarm' video, putting out a single to compete with LeToya's album and now to add to all the ridiculous rumors, is my plan to postpone the release of her 'B'Day' album. What will be next? Beyoncé's cut off all her hair? Dyed it green? Maybe she's singing the songs in reverse with some hidden subliminal message!"

Music, theme and lyrics

Accordong to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, "Ring the Alarm" is an R&B; song set in common time and performed in a moderately slow tempo of eighty-five beats per minute. is composed in A minor and Knowles' vocals range from the note of C₄ to F₅. "Ring the Alarm"s instrumentation includes drums and other percussion instruments clattering percussion, which further demonstrates the aggressiveness of the lyrics. Knowles personally commented on the song: "It's energetic, aggressive and filled with hard beats". She also stated that the album was completed in three weeks, and that was the reason most of the record's content sounds aggressive. Darryl Sterdan, writing for the Canadian website Jam!, described "Ring The Alarm" as "a shrill tantrum of green-eyed monsterdom", while Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times noted that the song is a "canny display of emotional vulnerability." Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media noted Knowles vocals in the song as being "thrillingly sharp with anxiety and paranoia."

The song opens with Knowles telling her love interest "I can’t let you go" and declaring that she would not allow any other woman to take everything she owns. According to Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly, Knowles delivers the refrain—"Ring the alarm, I've been doin[g] this too long / But I'll be damned if I see another chick on your arm"—"through a thick fog of distortion." Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe commented that the singer delivers this particular line with "grit and urgency" that feel genuine, In an interview with an editor of the monthly magazine, Seventeen, Knowles clarified that the lyrics of the song had nothing to do with Rihanna. She further said that she honestly was not aware of the rumors that had been circulating.

Release

{| width="25%" cellpadding="5" align="right" style="font-size:85%;border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;" | width="20" valign=top | | align="left" |I want to personally respond to the report on Vibe.com about my next single, 'Ring The Alarm.' I am very proud of this song and I believe the video is one of the best I have ever done. I am excited about its premiere on Yahoo today, Wed[nesday], Aug[ust] 16[, 2006]. It's energetic, aggressive and filled with hard beats and I cannot wait for my fans to see it. I always believed this would be a powerful song. My thoughts about releasing 'Green Light' (2007) and 'Get Me Bodied' was to go first to the international market, but the vibrancy of 'Ring The Alarm' is something I wanted the whole world to see and hear right now. 'Green Light' and 'Get Me Bodied' are definite single contenders, but right now it's all about 'Ring The Alarm.'" |- | colspan="3" | |} In June 2006, Knowles invited Tamara Coniff of Billboard to a New York recording studio where she played "Ring the Alarm" and "Freakum Dress" (2006) for the prospect of the next two singles,

Critical response

"Ring the Alarm" was received by the public with polarized responses, with most of them noting that the song is completely different from Knowles' previous work. Eb Haynes of AllHipHop referred the track as "emotionally high-powered" which "rose speculations so arresting, while insignificant". The Boston Globe Sarah Rodman complimented the way the song's lyrics exhibits rage and vulnerability and praised its "dread-filling siren blare", its beat, and the distorted vocals of Knowles. He also commented that "Ring the Alarm" finds "Beyoncé in full hell-hath-no-fury mode". Chris Richards of The Washington Post defined Knowles' character in the song as a "jealousy-crazed ex". He also expressed his disappointment about the fact that the song could not manage a more convincing refrain. Billboard viewed "Ring The Alarm" as another female empowering track of Knowles.

Andy Kellman of Allmusic described it "an angered, atonal, and out-of-character song". Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly referred to "Ring the Alarm" as a "torrid" track and praised the lyrics where Knowles explains how she was going to get back everything that her love interest took from her to give to another woman. Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone stated that Knowles sings "with enough frantic, quavering intensity" to make listeners believe that she really is really madly in love. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that "Ring The Alarm" was a a bold choice for a single. This was somewhat echoed by Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic who said that the song was a brave choice for a single. He went on praising the "angry and lyrically incendiary and the intricate beats." Norman Meyers of Prefix Magazine said the "Ring The Alarm" is evidence of Knowles' willingness to take chances.

Bill Lamb of About.com commented that surprisingly the first two singles released from B'Day, being "Déjà Vu" (2006) and "Ring the Alarm," are among the weakest songs. However, he placed "Ring The Alarm" at the eighty-eighth position on his list of the Top 100 Pop Songs 2006, writing: "Beyonce's second single from B'Day featured one of the most intense videos of the year...and those sirens." He also ranked it at number nine on his of the Top 10 Most Annoying Pop Songs of 2006. writing that "it possibly helped save B'Day from sinking out of the public eye before we all got to rejoice in the splendor that is "Irreplaceable." However, those sirens, that maniacal Sharon Stone shtick in the video... it was all a bit much." Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald referred to it a "posturing and eventually annoying" track which "highlights another problem with the album." Additionally, Vibe Magazine placed the song at the forty-eighth place on its list of the Top 60 Songs of 2006, complimenting the vocal distortion of the song and the way Knowles shouts while delivering some of the lyrics in the chorus and the hook. Frances Romero of Time Magazine listed "Ring The Alarm" at the ninth position on her list of the "Top 10 Angry Breakup Songs" of the 2000s decade, writing: "Critics had mixed feelings about the song, which was a marked departure from Beyoncé's previous material. [...] In the end, what it does show is that Beyoncé will have her way."

Chart performance

"Ring the Alarm" was released as the second US single from B'Day, while "Irreplaceable" was serviced as the second international single elsewhere and later as the third US single. On September 23, 2006, the song debuted at number twelve on the US Billboard Hot 100, selling more that 56,000 digital downloads. It became the highest US debut of the week and Beyoncé's career. The single peaked at number eleven on September 30, becoming Beyoncé's lowest peaking single until "Get Me Bodied" which peaked at number sixty-eight. Several weeks after falling off the Hot 100, the single charted again, on January 13, 2007, at number eighty-one, appearing on the chart for 14 weeks. The single was more successful on Billboard's component charts. "Ring the Alarm" reached the top spot on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles Sales and Hot 100 Singles Sales, number three on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs and number seven on the Hot Digital Songs. It appeared on the Rhythmic Top 40 at number twenty-one. Elsewhere, "Ring the Alarm" had poor reception. In Sweden, the single debuted at number fifty-seven on January 15, 2007, a week after it re-entered the Hot 100. The video was shot inside a cavernous hangar on the Brooklyn waterfront in New York City. Beyoncé went back to the studio to continue working on B'Day after the shoot ended for three days. "Ring the Alarm" remakes a scene from the 1992 film Basic Instinct, referred by Natalie More of In These Times an infamous scene. Knowles told Elysa Gardner of USA Today that she considered the video of "Ring The Alarm" to be a movie scene; "I put six months aside, worked with a coach for two months. And that carried through to my music. I treated the video for 'Ring the Alarm' like a movie scene. I was thinking, 'I've got to make my acting coach proud." Knowles wears a white skirt and turtleneck, emulating Sharon Stone. The video reached number one and remained on the show for 35 days until it was replaced by "Irreplaceable". The video for "Ring The Alarm" was released to iTunes Store in the United States as a Video Triple on November 21, 2006.

Synopsis and critical reception

The video starts with Knowles lying on a table, lit with a flashing bright red light. While the siren is blaring, she half-stands and sings while dancing on the table. She then proceeds to an interrogation room set in an environment similar to the one in the film Basic Instinct. Knowles sings the first verse in a house with a seashore backdrop. She wants to escape and struggles with masked and uniformed guards in a hallway. She is then brought back to the interrogation room. In between cuts, she sings in a corner of a room, screaming in a mirror and amongst reporters. She cries while singing towards the end of the song. The video ends, with a close-up view, of Knowles putting on red lipstick. The scene shows only Knowles' lips.

The video gained mixed responses from critics. Kellman stated that the video "invited all kinds of perplexed analysis". Elizabeth Goodman of Rolling Stone speculated that the use of guards in riot gear is a reference to Alias. Tom Breihan of The Village Voice called it "quick-and-dirty" video and a "fast montage of disconnected and disconnecting images". Roger Friedman of Fox News found it a "bizarre video depicting a wildly angry and unappealing Beyoncé telling off someone (maybe Jay-Z?) for cheating as if she were an enraged guest on Maury Povich."

Live performances

Knowles performed the song at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards on September 1, 2006, wearing a flowing trench coat and a sexy corset as well as hotpants. James Montgomery of MTV News commented that as Knowles sang, she "stripped and stalked." She later performed the song on the American morning news and talk show, Good Morning America. In addition to her live performances of "Ring The Alarm" in awards ceremonies and televised shows, the song was a part of her set list on The Beyoncé Experience in Los Angeles and I Am... Tour during various stops including the Odyssey Arena in Northern Ireland, the O2 Arena in London, Athens in Greece, and Sydney in Australia.

During her night performance in Orlando, Florida on July 26, 2007, Knowles sang "Ring The Alarm" after having finished with "Dangerously in Love 2" (2003). She later joked about the fall, telling the audience that it "hurt so bad" and imploring, "Don't put [the footage] on YouTube." She was wearing the same long red overcoat that she was wearing on the day she collapsed on stage in Orlando, Florida. When Knowles performed the song in Sunrise, Florida on June 29, 2009, she was wearing a glittery gold leotard. As she sung, animated graphics of turntables, faders, and other club gear throbbed behind her and her dancers as well as musicians. Knowles was accompanied by her two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three imposing backup vocalists called the Mamas and a lead guitarist, Bibi McGill. "Ring The Alarm" was included as on her live albums The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007),.

Formats and track listing

US CD single and 12-inch vinyl # "Ring the Alarm" – 3:26 # "Ring the Alarm" (instrumental) – 3:25

US CD single # "Ring the Alarm" (Karmatronic Remix) – 3:21 # "Ring the Alarm" (Migtight Remix) – 3:21 # "Ring the Alarm" (Tranzformas Remix) – 4:14 # "Ring the Alarm" (Jazze Pha Remix) – 3:48 # "Ring the Alarm" (Grizz Remix) – 3:32 US Dance Mixes EP

# "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix) - 8:33 # "Ring the Alarm" (Karmatronic Remix) - 3:19 # "Ring the Alarm" (Migtight Remix) - 3:19

US Urban Mixes EP

# "Ring the Alarm" (Tranzformas Remix) (feat. Collie Buddz) - 4:12 # "Ring the Alarm" (Jazze Pha Remix) - 3:47 # "Ring the Alarm" (Grizz Remix) - 3:32

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from B'Day liner notes.

Recorded by: Jim Caruana

*Assisted by: Rob Kinelski

Mixed by: Jason Goldstein and Swizz Beatz

*Assisted by Steve Tolle

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable" !align="left"|Chart (2006) !align="center"|Peakposition |- |- |UK Singles Chart |align="center"|112 |- |- |- |}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (2006) !Position |- |US Hot R&B;/Hip Hop Songs | style="text-align:center;"|55 |- |}

Certifications

In popular culture

"Ring the Alarm" has featured in the third series premiere of popular UK teen drama Skins.

References

Category:2006 singles Category:Beyoncé Knowles songs Category:Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Category:Songs produced by Swizz Beatz Category:Songs written by Sean Garrett Category:Songs written by Beyoncé Knowles Category:Songs written by Swizz Beatz