Survivor (Destiny's Child song)

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"Survivor"
Destiny's Child - Survivor (Single).png
Single by Destiny's Child
from the album Survivor
ReleasedMarch 6, 2001 (2001-03-06)
RecordedJuly 2000[1][2][3]
StudioSugarHill (Houston, Texas)
Genre
Length4:14
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Anthony Dent
  • Beyoncé Knowles
Destiny's Child singles chronology
"Independent Women"
(2000)
"Survivor"
(2001)
"Bootylicious"
(2001)
Music video
"Survivor" on YouTube

"Survivor" is a song by American R&B group Destiny's Child. It was written and composed by group member Beyoncé, Anthony Dent, and Mathew Knowles for the band's third studio album of the same name (2001). "Survivor" was inspired by a joke that a radio station had made about the fact that three members had already left the group, comparing the band to the reality game show Survivor.[4] Beyoncé was inspired to take the negative comment and turn it into a positive by writing a song out of it.[4] The song won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2002 Grammy Awards.

The video won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video and a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo. The opening track of singer-songwriter Jill Sobule's 2004 album The Folk Years 2003–2003 is a cover of the song, and a pseudo-cover of the song also opens rapper Vanilla Ice's 2005 album Platinum Underground.

Billboard named the song number 40 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[5]

Background[]

In 2000, Destiny's Child members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett split from Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, and were replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. Soon afterwards Franklin was also dismissed from the group.[6] According to Knowles, the group was publicly compared to the reality series Survivor, which inspired her to "write us out of all that negativity."[7]

Additionally, the song was Black Entertainment Television's tenth best song of the 2000s (decade).[8]

Composition[]

The song is performed in the key of G minor, with a tempo of 81 beats per minute in common time. In the harmonic minor scale, it follows a chord progression of Gm–Cm7–D, and the group's vocals span an octave and a half, from G3 to C5.[9]

Music video[]

The music video for "Survivor" premiered on Making the Video on March 6, 2001, directed by Darren Grant and is styled in the sense of three survivors living on an uninhabited island. It also shows a brief prelude to how the girls got shipwrecked. Following their shipwreck, they uncover an island where they change clothes and walk into a waterfall leading to a deserted temple where it transforms into a dance break. It storms on through the dance bridge and the prelude of the shipwreck. After this, a helicopter starts buzzing leading to where Kelly, Beyonce and Michelle are racing out of the island for their escape.

The music video is featured on the DualDisc edition of the album #1's, on the international edition of the album Survivor (as an enhanced video), on the 2004 Walmart exclusive DVD titled Fan Pack, and on the group's 2013 Video Anthology DVD.

The remix video featuring Da Brat is not featured on any video compilation.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga got his start in the film industry as a camera production assistant on the video.[10]

DVD[]

The cover art for the DVD release of "Survivor", which reached the top 10 of the US Top Music Videos chart.[11]

The music video was released on DVD format, with a live performance of "Independent Women Pt. 1." at the 2001 Brit Awards. The release is a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original aspect ratio of the video, with an English soundtrack rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo.[12]

Chart performance[]

"Survivor" held the top position in the United World Tracks Chart for five weeks. It debuted at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the group's second highest debuting single to date, behind "Lose My Breath" at number 30, and quickly raced up the charts reaching its peak position of number 2 within a month. However, it was blocked out of the summit spot due to the massive success of Janet Jackson's overarching smash "All For You", the track remained at the second position for seven consecutive weeks. The song did not have a physical single release until after its airplay had peaked; The song topped the Billboard Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for eight weeks. The song only reached number five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The single reached number one on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for five consecutive weeks and peaked at number three on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. The DVD peaked at number nine on the US Top Music Videos chart.[11]

In the United Kingdom, "Survivor" debuted at number one on the singles chart, selling 104,000 in its first week, 260,000 copies by the end of the year, and a total of 832,000, as of April 2021.[13] It also topped the singles chart in Ireland, Netherlands, and Japan. It was ranked one in Canada, peaked second in New Zealand, placed in the top 5 in Australia and Germany, and reached number 12 in France.

Controversy[]

Former group members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson filed a lawsuit against Knowles, Rowland, and former manager Mathew Knowles; they claimed some of the lyrics in "Survivor", such as "You thought I wouldn't sell without you/sold nine million", violated a previous agreement that prevented either party from insulting the other.[14]

Formats and track listings[]

  • Australian Maxi-Single 670780 2
  1. "Survivor" (Album Version)
  2. "So Good" (Maurice's Soul Remix)1
  3. "So Good" (Digital Black-N-Groove Club Mix)1
  4. "Independent Women Part I" (Joe Smooth 200 Proof 2 Step Mix)
  • Dance Mixes (US) 44K 79566[15]
  1. "Survivor" (Remix Extended Version featuring Da Brat)
  2. "Survivor" (Calderone Club Mix) [aka "Victor Calderone Club Mix"]
  3. "Survivor" (Calderone Drum Dub Mix)
  4. "Survivor" (CB200 Club Anthem Mix)
  5. "Survivor" (Azza'z Soul Remix)
  1. "Survivor"
  2. "Independent Women Part I" (Live at The Brits 2001)
  • European Maxi-Single COL 670749 2[17]
  1. "Survivor" (Album Version)
  2. "Survivor" (Azza'z Soul Remix Radio Edit)
  3. "Survivor" (Digital Black-N-Groove Radio Mix)
  4. "Survivor" (CB200 Club Anthem Mix)
  1. "Survivor" (Album Version) – 4:14
  2. "Survivor" (Azza'z Soul Remix Radio Edit) – 3:56
  3. "Survivor" (Victor Calderone Club Mix) – 9:26
  • UK Part 2 COL 671173 5[20]
  1. "Survivor" (Jaimeson Full Vocal Remix) – 6:19
  2. "Independent Women Part 1" (Live At The Brits 2001) – 3:52
  3. "So Good" (Maurice's Soul Remix)1 – 7:35
  4. Footage of Independent Women Part 1 Live at The Brits 2001
  • UK Cassette COL 671173 4[21]
  1. "Survivor" (Album Version) – 4:14
  2. "Survivor" (Maurice's Soul Survivor Mix) – 7:51

Notes

  • 1 The remixes of "So Good" contain newly recorded vocals, different from the album version.

Official versions[]

-* These remixes contain new lead vocals by Michelle and Kelly and re-recorded vocals by Kelly on her verse and by Michelle on bridge, arranged by Maurice Joshua.

Credits and personnel[]

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[70] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[71] Gold 25,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[72] Gold 45,000double-dagger
Norway (IFPI Norway)[73] Gold  
Sweden (GLF)[74] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[75] Platinum 832,000[13]
United States (RIAA)[76] Platinum 1,000,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[77]
Video single
Gold 25,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States March 6, 2001 (2001-03-06)
Columbia [78]
Australia April 9, 2001 (2001-04-09) CD [79]
United Kingdom April 16, 2001 (2001-04-16)
  • CD
  • cassette
[80]
United States May 8, 2001 (2001-05-08)
[81]

References[]

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