Bodyguard (Beyoncé song)
"Bodyguard" is a song by American singer Beyoncé. It is the eighth track on her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, which was released on March 29, 2024, through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records as an album track. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, becoming Beyoncé's third nomination in the category.
Composition
The song was written by Beyoncé herself with Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Shawntoni Ajanae Nichols, Leven Kali, Ryan Beatty, and Raphael Saadiq, who also produced the song. Critics described the song as a country pop, with elements form R&B and soft rock, with music influence from British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac.Critical reception
The song received rave reviews from critics after the album release and was considered one of the best songs of 2024. Michael Cragg of The Guardian defined the song "excellent" witch "unspools like a lost Fleetwood Mac classic, all rippling 70s soft-rock melodies". Chelsey Sanchez of Harper's Bazaar described the song as "a bouncy dance anthem that illustrates her desire to protect and care for her lover".Dan Rys, ranking the best songs of 2024 for Billboard, wrote that "Bodyguard" is "maybe musically the simplest though also the most engaging" song of the album, in which "Beyoncé's vocals really begin to soar, which elevates the song beyond what it could have been in anyone else's hands".
| Publication | List | Rank | |
| Billboard | The 100 Best Songs of 2024 | 7 | |
| The Independent | The 20 Best Songs of 2024 | 4 | |
| New York Post | The 10 Best Songs of 2024 | 8 |
Promo video
On November 5, 2024, Beyonce released a video for the song, the first full performance visuals featuring the singer for her music since her release of Black Is King in 2020.The video, alternately titled "Beywatch", pays homage to actress and model Pamela Anderson, with Beyonce dressed in three costumes worn by Anderson: the first one referencing Anderson's role as C. J. Parker in Baywatch, the second one referencing her role as Barb Wire in Barb Wire, and the third one referencing her outfit at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video ends after the second verse, with white text on a black background saying "Happy Beyloween" and encouraging viewers to "Vote", as the video was released on Election Day in the United States.
Anderson told Variety that she had been unaware of Beyoncé's homage prior to its release. In August 2025 on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Anderson told Cohen that she did not know that Beyoncé knew who she was.