Beyoncé is truly living out her new Renaissance era. The Queen of Pop had the Internet in a frenzy over the weekend after releasing the “Queens Remix” to her 2022 smash hit “Break My Soul,” which featured bits of inspiration from Madonna’s infamous 1990 single “Vogue.” On the track, Beyoncé paid homage to some of music’s most iconic Black singers of the past and present, as well as a few legendary Ballroom Houses by reciting their names on the record, much like Madonna did on the original version.
As part of the list of icons worthy of her honor, Bey name-dropped everyone from Aaliyah, Rihanna, Lizzo, Kelly Rowland, Lauryn Hill, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Alicia Keys, and Whitney Houston to her sister, Solange Knowles, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and more. Grace Jones received her flowers from the Texas-bred star by not only being mentioned on the remix track twice but being one of very few featured guests on Queen Bey’s latest album.
Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Madonna and Beyonce attend the Tidal launch event #TIDALforALL at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images For Roc Nation)
Stars like Lizzo, Jill Scott, Tierra Whack, and Alicia Keys took to social media to share their excitement about the prestigious shout-out. Lizzo opened up about how a Beyoncé name drop was a full circle moment for her career. Sharing in a video, she said, “I remember when I was telling my friend’s mom what my major in college was going to be, and I told her I was going to major in music performance and she laughed in my face. She said, ‘Music performance? Like Beyoncé?’ and laughed in my face. Only have one thing to say: BYE.”
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Jill Scott has never been shy about her love for Beyoncé and the Carters as performers. After receiving an extra special shoutout from Bey on the “Queens Remix,” the Philly legend wasted no time sharing her excitement via social media, tweeting, “I’m in tears. Ya’ll know I’m in tears. You KNOW!!”
Check out the full version of “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” below.
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Quotable Lyrics
Betty Davis, Solange Knowles
Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl’ (You know you can do it)
Lauryn Hill, Roberta Flack
Toni, Janet, Tierra Whack (Let your body move to the music)
Missy, Diana, Grace Jones
Aretha, Anita, Grace Jones (Hey, hey, hey)
Helen Folasade Adu, Jilly from Philly, I love you, boo