| "6 Inch" | |
|---|---|
| Song byBeyoncé featuringthe Weeknd | |
| from the albumLemonade | |
| Released | April 23, 2016 |
| Studio | Record Plant (Los Angeles) |
| Genre | R&B |
| Length | 4:20 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters | |
| Producers | |
| Audio | |
| "6 Inch" onYouTube | |
"6 Inch" is anR&B song[1] by American singerBeyoncé featuring Canadian singerThe Weeknd. It is the fifth track on her sixth studio album,Lemonade (2016), released throughParkwood Entertainment andColumbia Records. The song's music video is part of Beyoncé's 2016 filmLemonade, aired onHBO alongside the album's release.[2]
The song's original portions were written by the artists alongsideDannyBoyStyles,Ben Billions,The-Dream,Belly, andBoots. Also credited as songwriters areBurt Bacharach andHal David (for thesample of Americansoul musicianIsaac Hayes' 1969 version of "Walk On By") andAvey Tare,Panda Bear, andGeologist ofneo-psychedelic bandAnimal Collective (for an interpolation of their 2009 song "My Girls").
Music producerBen "Billions" Diehl talked toBillboard about his work with great artists and mentioned that Beyoncé had already known of a song named "6 Inch" since 2013. According to Diehl, he, rapperBelly and producer DannyBoyStyles met in October of the same year to work on music. "Originally a Belly song with participation fromFrench Montana," Diehl said. "We got a response that Beyoncé had liked and then we decided: we should continue working together, I think they get somewhere. It turns out you do not know when that day will come." When she releasedher surprise visual album in December 2013, Diehl was quick to check out the track listing of songs, but "6 Inch" was not there."Everything went well," Diehl concludes. After three years, in 2016, the song finally came out on Beyoncé's sixth album,Lemonade, with a guest appearance fromthe Weeknd.[3]
The Guardian writerAlexis Petridis described the song as a "weird, affecting mixture of defiance and vulnerability" on which Beyoncé "slurs and snarls about being rich and hard-working" in "ominous electronics" sounds.[4] Larry BartleetNME defined the song the "personal track" of the album and the "Beyoncé’s ode to hard-working women".[5]
Emily J. Lordi ofThe Fader wrote that the song sound "aggressive and lively", believing that it "exploits Hayes' great orchestral work to tell the story of one woman", considering the latter to be "the cleverness" thing as the song "inserts the stories of multiple women into the image of a singular figure".[6]
After the release ofLemonade, "6 Inch" debuted onBillboardHot 100 chart at number 18, becoming Beyoncé's twenty-sixth top 20 on the chart.[7] "6 Inch" also entered on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart at number ten, becoming Beyoncé's twenty-seventh top-ten single on the chart.[7] In overseas charts, the song entered in digital charts in top five, including Greece and Sweden. As of June 2016, the song has sold 265,607 downloads in US.[8]
"6 Inch" was first performed at aTidal charity concert.[9] It was also included on the set list of the final concert onThe Formation World Tour, on October 7, 2016, atNew Jersey'sMetLife Stadium with the singer performing the song while suspended upside down.[10]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[26] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[27] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[28] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[29] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
