The OG Queen of Pop has officially given her blessing to Queen Bey. Madonna and Beyoncé have teamed up for the aptly titled, “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix).”
As the first single from Renaissance, “Break My Soul” introduced us to Beyoncé’s new disco-influenced, club-ready era. It makes total sense, then, that the “Queens Remix” would center on a sample of “Vogue,” Madonna’s 1990 classic that helped introduce Ballroom culture to a greater audience. It doesn’t appear that Madonna offered any new vocals to “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix),” but rather gave Beyoncé permission to use “Vogue”‘s famous piano riff (which is important, given recent discourse surrounding Beyoncé’s failure to secure permission before sampling songs).
Of course, Beyoncé wouldn’t just sample “Vogue” without making it her own. In this version of “Break My Soul,” Bey offers her own spin on Madge’s spoken-word bridge — in which she name-drops such cultural icons as Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean, Gene Kelly, and Fred Astaire — by pointing to her own cultural icons — most of which are Black women.
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“Queen Mother Madonna, Aaliyah, Rosetta Tharpe, Santigold, Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Betty Davis, Solange Knowles,” Beyoncé sings. “Lauryn Hill, Roberta Flack, Toni, Janet, Tierra Whack. Missy, Diana, Grace Jones, Aretha, Anita, Grace Jones.”
For now, “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” is only available on Beyoncé’s online store for $1.29.
Days after releasing Renaissance, Beyoncé was swayed to remove a word from the song “Heated” after many pointed out that it was often used as an ableist slur. Soon after, Monica Lewinksy implored the singer to think twice about her song “Partition,” where she name-drops Lewinsky for her infamous involvement with President Bill Clinton.
Beyonce ft. Madonna – Break my soul (Queen’s Remix)
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— STREAM Break My Soul (Queen’s Remix) (@playbcartiii) August 5, 2022
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— STREAM Break My Soul (Queen’s Remix) (@playbcartiii) August 5, 2022