Beyoncé’s ‘Irreplaceable’ Was Co-Written by This Major Celebrity
“Irreplaceable” is one of Beyoncé’s most famous songs, however, it wasn’t originally hers. In fact, the song was written by another prominent R&B artist who didn’t want to give it away. Here’s a look at what this R&B singer had to say when people accused him of disrespecting Beyoncé by saying he didn’t want to give the song away.
Beyoncé’s ‘Irreplaceable’ taught its famous co-writer a lesson
“Irreplaceable” was a huge hit. Its combination of R&B crooning and a guitar hook that has elements of soft rock and country music gives it a perfect crossover appeal. In fact, the song’s gentle instrumentation isn’t too different from a lot of the songs Ne-Yo released in the mid-2000s. This might be because Ne-Yo was one of the song’s co-writers.
According to MTV News, Ne-Yo discussed giving “Irreplaceable” to Beyoncé. “One song that I gave away and didn’t want to, but it’s actually a good thing that I did, is Beyoncé’s ‘Irreplaceable,’” he revealed. “I honestly wrote that song for myself, but that song taught me a very interesting lesson: Many women don’t think that differently…. However, a man singing it comes across a little bit misogynistic, a little bit mean.”
Ne-Yo responds to fan backlash over his comments about Beyoncé’s ‘Irreplaceable’
These remarks sparked a fan backlash, but Ne-Yo defended himself. “Aiight my dude,” Ne-Yo wrote. “Send me the link to where I said anything disrespectful about Beyoncé, please! Dying to hear this,” he wrote. “Just heard the audio where I supposedly dissed Beyoncé. Are y’all serious!?! Did y’all even listen to what I said!?!”
Afterward, Ne-Yo clarified his statement that he didn’t want to give the song away. “I said I originally wrote the song for me,” he reiterated. “That’s true, so of course, I didn’t want to give it away originally. It was for me. Once I realized how the song comes across if sung by a guy, that’s when I decided to give it away. How is that dissing Beyoncé!?!”
Did Ne-Yo have a major career of his own?
While “Irreplaceable” was a massive hit, Ne-Yo managed to have a number of big hits on his own. Two of his songs — “So Sick” and “Give Me Everything” — became No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, he released 10 other songs top 10 hits that became top 10 hits on the chart: “Closer,” “Miss Independent,” “Knock You Down,” “Time of Our Lives,” “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself),” “Because of You,” “Hate That I Love You,” “Sexy Love,” “Bust It Baby Part 2,” and “Make Me Better.”
In addition, two of his albums — Because of You and In My Own Words — reached the top spot on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, another four Ne-Yo albums — Year of the Gentleman, Libra Scale, Non-Fiction, and R.E.D — reached to the top 10 of the chart. While Ne-Yo gave “Irreplaceable” to Beyoncé, he has a successful career of his own.
