Superpower (song)

It was written by Beyoncé and Ocean along with Boots (credited under his real name Jordan Asher) and Pharrell Williams who also served as its producer.

[1] Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Beyoncé's former bandmates from the group Destiny's Child provided background vocals along with Stefan Skarbek and Boots.

"[2] According to the sheet music published on the website Musicnotes.com, "Superpower" was composed using six-eight (6/8) time in the key of C Major with a slow tempo of 53 beats per minute.

[7] Beyoncé sings with her lower register and is later accompanied by multi-tracked harmonies which Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph compared with Destiny's Child.

[10] The instrumentation consists of "soft" strings and orchestral drum rolls, which McCormik of The Daily Telegraph compared to materials by Phil Spector "through a digital future prism".

[8][16] She describes the superpower of love and experiencing her own full potential in a relationship, evident through the lyrics "And when I'm standing in this mirror after all these years/What I'm viewing is a little different/From what your eyes show you/I guess I didn't see myself before you".

[5] Similarly, Cosmopolitan reviewer Alex Rees felt the lyrics analyzed the "power" of a firm relationship and its outcomes on a person's self-worth.

[17] Clíona Saidléar of Irish Examiner deemed "Superpower" to be the singer's most political song, challenging the notions of "current social practices".

She elaborated, Beyoncé eschews the patriarchy complicit shades of 'girl power', with its false dawn of nihilistic, individual empowerment without consideration for context.

Instead, she chooses 'Superpower' to talk about the 'laws of the world... a subtle power' (read 'current social practices' here) where the revolution will be based on human connectedness, honesty and fragility: 'Just like you I can be scared, just like you I hope I'm sparred, it's tough love.

'[18] Andrew Hampp and Erika Ramirez of Billboard described "Superpower" as "a cinematic gift" and "[a] sweet duet of an imaginable force" adding that it showcased Williams's musical capabilities.

[12] Greg Kot, writing for the Chicago Tribune felt that in the "marvelously understated duet", the singer "positively smolders" while showcasing strength due to a union.

[7] In a review of Beyoncé, Chris Kelly of Fact concluded that it "closes strongly and subtly" with the ballads "Superpower", "Heaven" and "Blue".

Later in the video, she takes the mask off and the people surrounding her set various objects on fire using Molotov cocktails, write graffiti on walls, and break a car.

[11] For the look in the video, she donned a cropped T-shirt, pants designed by Åkerlund, a green scarf by Michael Schmidt, shoes by Rodarte and rings by Lynn Ban.

[32] Sam Lansky of the website Idolator, noted how the video was a "high-concept" one further "balancing out the low-level minimalism of the... track with arresting visuals and a star-studded cast".

[34] MuuMuse's Bradley Stern felt the clip was one of the singer's "most artistic moment", praising her "ridiculously sexy stealth superhero outfit".

[11] The Fader writer Michael Zelenko said that the clip resembled a short movie with Beyoncé as "an Occupy-style protest heroine leading a ragtag gang".

[39][40] During the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, a short instrumental snippet of the song was played over a portion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk "We Should All Be Feminists" was heard before Beyoncé started her performance of "Flawless".