Beyonce's 'Run The World' Started Off As 'A Joke'?

'It was a song we did, kind of like a funny, kind-of-a-joke song,' Diplo tells BBC Radio of B's 2011 single, which sampled his Major Lazer song.
By James Montgomery

Beyoncé
Photo: Columbia

This may come as a surprise to devoted disciples of the Queen B, but according to producer Diplo, Beyoncé's 2011 single "Run the World (Girls)" actually started as "a joke."

"I think a lot of people don't even realize where that song came from," Diplo told BBC Radio's Newsbeat. "That song never really had a push. It was a song we did, kind of like a funny, kind-of-a-joke song."

"Run the World" was released as the first single from Bey's much-anticipated 4 album, though it was met with a slightly puzzled reaction from some of her die-hard fans and failed to generate much heat on the charts, reaching only #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles "Best Thing I Never Had" and "Love on Top" fared slightly better, going as high as #16.

Of course, Diplo isn't actually credited as a producer on "Run the World" (that honor would go to The-Dream, Switch, Beyoncé herself and Shea Taylor), but he did snag a writing credit, thanks to the song's hefty sample of his Major Lazer track "Pon de Floor." But he did produce the 4 track "End of Time" and remembered the experience as a surreal one.

"We had to finish up a few records we were working with her on," Dip said. "That was super-weird, man. Like, I remember we were in the studio working with her and I still couldn't believe it."

Related Artists

• Beyoncé
• Diplo

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