Alien Superstar
"Alien Superstar" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. It is the third track on her seventh studio album, Renaissance, which was released on July 29, 2022, through Parkwood and Columbia.
Composition
Pitchfork writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd described the song as an "old way house anthem", comparing the track's musicality to that of Vanity 6. The "futuristic" dance-pop and R&B song features heavy synthesizer production and elements of ballroom music, such as usage of the term "category", throughout the song. Beyoncé raps in a monotone delivery during the verses, before singing over stacked vocals during the choruses.The song features some cultural references, including Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise". The song samples an autobiographical recording by American writer and producer Barbara Ann Teer featured in Black Drama: "We dress a certain way. We walk a certain way. We talk a certain way. We paint a certain way. We make love a certain way, you know? All of these things we do in a different, unique specific way that is personally ours".
Critical reception
Upon release of the parent album, "Alien Superstar" received positive reviews from critics. The New York Times called the song a "bold pop homage to ballroom culture" that delves into themes of Afrofuturism, and self-celebration. Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast deemed it as RenaissanceRanking it as the eighth best song off the album, [Billboard (magazine)|Billboard] praised the song's unconventional song structure, "warbling synths", and utilization of rapping and stacked vocals. Pitchfork and NPR both placed the song on their "Best Songs of 2022" lists, ranking at number five and number two respectively. The former publication called it a "new-gen ballroom staple" and compared its funky and electronic sound to that of Prince; in September 2024, they included it on their list of "The 100 Best Songs of the 2020s So Far", ranking it at number 24.
Commercial performance
After the release of Renaissance, "Alien Superstar" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 19 and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number eight.Personnel and credits
Samples
- contains an interpolation of "I'm Too Sexy", written by Rob Manzoli, Richard Fairbrass, and Christopher Fairbrass, and performed by Right Said Fred
- contains a sample of "Moonraker", written by John Holiday performed by Foremost Poets
- contains a sample of Barbara Ann Teer's "Black Theater" autobiographical account
- contains a sample of "Unique", written by Kim Cooper and Peter Rauhofer and performed by Danube Dance
Recording locations
- The Juicy Juicy
- Parkwood West
Personnel
- Vocals by Beyoncé
- Background vocals by Blu June
- Mike Dean – synths
- Honey Dijon – additional programming
- The-Dream – synths
- Chris Penny – keys and programming
- Luke Solomon – drum production and programming
- Beyoncé – production, vocal production
- Matheus Braz – assistant engineering
- Chi Coney – engineering
- John Cranfield – engineering
- Mike Dean – co-production
- Honey Dijon – production
- The-Dream – co-production
- NovaWav – additional production
- Chris Penny – production
- Andrea Roberts – engineering
- Luke Solomon – production
- Stuart White – mixing, recording
Live performance
Beyoncé wore a number of outfits during this section over the course of the tour, starting with a custom Courrèges outfit from the fall 2023 collection. At later dates, she wore a custom Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini bodysuit, a metallic Balmain bodysuit, and a silver-and gold Lanvin bodysuit with cutouts.
During a performance of the song at a show in Arizona, an audio malfunction caused Beyoncé and her dancers to temporarily retreat. She then restarted the performance, wearing a new metallic outfit with wings designed by Juraj Zigman.
"Alien Superstar" remained on the setlist for the Cowboy Carter Tour in 2025 with a performance similar to how it was during the previous tour, omitting the "Lift Off" outro.