"If I Were a Boy" is an introspective pop and R&B ballad which draws influences from folk rock through its instrumentation of which includes acoustic guitars, drums and strings.

Beyoncé promoted "If I Were a Boy" through live performances at venues including The Oprah Winfrey Show, the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, and the I Am... World Tour (2009–10).

[5] While preparing her third solo album, Beyoncé wanted to experiment with stronger lyrics and record ballads like "If I Were a Boy" because, "the music and the emotion in the story is told so much better.

[10] The Daily Telegraph reported that Beyoncé's father and then-manager Mathew Knowles pursued the publishing rights of "If I Were a Boy" after realizing that it had the potential to become a big hit.

[20] In the first verse, she envisions herself impersonating her unfeeling love interest[23] as she sings about consuming beer with other men, chasing after girls,[24] and treating her lover cruelly,[6] before adding that she would never be confronted for it.

[30] "If I Were a Boy" debuted on Z100's Elvis Duran and the Morning Show,[23] while "Single Ladies" first aired on New York mainstream urban radio station Power 105.1.

[39] Titled "Si Yo Fuera un Chico (If I Were a Boy)", this version was only included on copies of I Am... Sasha Fierce in Mexico, as well as iTunes Stores in Latin America and Spain,[40] where it was released as a stand-alone single on February 3, 2009.

[41] According to Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times, "If I Were a Boy" is Beyoncé's Streisand moment and "a tender, fairly simple ballad that [she] uses to prove she's a great vocal actress".

[22] Powers concluded, "This isn't just another breakup song; it's an elegy for female empowerment, Beyoncé's admission that no amount of money, fame or skill can solve the basic inequity between her man's heart and her own.

[47] AllMusic writer Andy Kellman felt that though the ballad sounds like "the watery backdrop for a singing competition finale", it is the most outstanding song on I Am... Sasha Fierce thanks to its lyrics and Beyoncé's tormented performance.

[12] Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle commented that "If I Were a Boy" is an "elegant new musical direction" for Beyoncé and praised it for being different from the songs played on Top 40 radio.

Club noted the song had both a "fresh perspective and a sense of self-awareness" but cast is as "a soppy wallow in whiny self-pity and broad stereotyping".

[72] On November 23, 2008, it rebounded to number one, selling 47,949 copies,[73] becoming Beyoncé's fourth number-one single in the UK as a solo artist; it was her sixth including her career with Destiny's Child.

[5] In an interview with Billboard magazine, Beyoncé revealed that the concept of the video is similar to the American comedy film Freaky Friday (1976); its theme is role reversal.

Her husband is a supportive spouse who makes her breakfast, spends time at work looking for a present for her and forgoes socializing with attractive coworkers so he can be available when his wife arrives home.

On December 12, 2008, a pre-taped performance aired on the eighth season of the French show Star Academy as Beyoncé could not appear due to busy schedule.

[100] She wore a "futuristic, spiked black" outfit with matching shoes, and "pranced, spun and did the Dutty Wine while the crowd cheered in approval", according to Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News.

[105] In addition to her performances of the song on television and at award ceremonies, "If I Were a Boy" was included on the set lists of Beyoncé's I Am... World Tour (2009–10)[106] and I Am... Yours revue.

Beyoncé later appeared performing "If I Were a Boy" wearing Ray-Bans, a leather breastplate, aviator shades and a bulletproof-looking one-piece further asking the crowd to sing along the track.

[110][111] During the bridge of the song, she included excerpts from Morissette's "You Oughta Know" and Tupac Shakur's "California Love" while imitating a male person with her moves.

[120] In 2013, "If I Were a Boy" was included in the set list of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour where it featured the string motif from The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997).

[121] "Despite the denials—and even as the original Today broadcast below shows—every time Beyoncé hits the high notes the camera jumps to a far away wide shot spotlighting the audience.

In January 2009, Matthew Zeghibe, a 26-year-old computer art student from Connecticut, used pitch-correction software to make a clip that he claimed was the soundboard recording of "If I Were a Boy" from Beyoncé's Today show appearance in November 2008.

[238] Nicole Sullivan and Tisha Campbell-Martin covered "If I Were a Boy" during the episode "The Shape of Things to Come" on the sitcom Rita Rocks which aired on October 13, 2009.

During the finale of the tenth season of American Idol on May 25, 2011, the lady contestants joined onstage to perform "If I Were a Boy" along with a medley of Beyoncé's other singles.

[256] Annie Barrett of Entertainment Weekly praised Hansen's singing, writing that she "stunned the crowd with a vocal so powerful" and "made the song her own".

[263] Later in the year McEntire recorded a studio version, for her album All the Women I Am (2010),[264][265] and performed it at the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards on November 10, 2010.

[268] The official music video, directed by Peter Zavadil,[269] premiered on Oprah.com on February 28, 2011 at midnight, followed by an exclusive interview,[270] and the song peaked at number 22 in April 2011[271] and at 23 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

"[279] Jillian Mapes and Megan Vick of Billboard wrote, "As if Beyonce's 2008 ballad 'If I Were a Boy' wasn't moving enough, country queen Reba McEntire's smokey twang and solemn stance turned the song on its head" and that the "simple and powerful performance" was "enough to inspire tears, or at least goosebumps.

[281] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times contrasted it with the album cut, hinting that nuance had proved out of reach in the studio and noting that she had "sound[ed] as if .. already inhabiting the role", but that at the Awards she "did something unexpected, softening her delivery and finding the creases in the song, as if Beyoncé were whispering to her from the wings.