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Beyoncé’s ‘All Night’ Might Not Exist Without Rihanna and Outkast

Beyoncé’s album Lemonade wouldn’t be the same without the work of many other artists. For example, her hit song “All Night” might not exist without Rihanna. In addition, Outkast was pivotal to the song’s creation. Here’s a look at the story behind “All Night” and what Beyoncé thought about it. Why the writer of Beyoncé’s …
by Matthew Trzcinski
Published on
2 min read

Beyoncé’s album Lemonade wouldn’t be the same without the work of many other artists. For example, her hit song “All Night” might not exist without Rihanna. In addition, Outkast was pivotal to the song’s creation. Here’s a look at the story behind “All Night” and what Beyoncé thought about it.

Beyoncé and Rihanna with a dark background
Beyoncé and Rihanna |

Why the writer of Beyoncé’s ‘All Night’ felt the song wasn’t right for her

One of Beyoncé’s most famous albums is Lemonade. An album about her rocky relationship with Jay-Z, Lemonade is musically eclectic. It sees Queen B collaborating with major artists like The Weeknd, Jack White, James Blake, and Kendrick Lamar, and sampling everyone from Malcolm X to Led Zeppelin. The album also includes genres ranging from reggae to country music

“All Night” is a reggae song, which made one of its writers worry might not suit Queen B. Rolling Stone reports the track originated when EDM artist Diplo played an instrumental for songwriter Theron Thomas after one of his DJ sets. “We just wanted to write a good love song and have Caribbean vibes to it,” Diplo revealed. 

“All Night”

Thomas was concerned “All Night” wouldn’t work for Beyoncé. “I was like, ‘You serious? I mean, it’s like reggae. How’s that going to sound with her singing that?” he wondered. However, he had a different reaction upon Lemonade’s release. “I hadn’t heard Beyoncé’s version of it until the album came out. She killed it.” In 2016, the year of Lemonade’s release, Thomas said he’d never met Beyoncé even though he’d written a song for her.

How Rihanna and Outkast were important to the creation of Beyoncé’s ‘All Night’

While Thomas helped write “All Night,” the track might not exist if not for Outkast. Specifically, Outkast’s track “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” from their album Aquemini is sampled on the track “All Night.” In addition, Thomas revealed “All Night” was not initially intended for Beyoncé. “We wrote it for Rihanna and never sent it to her,” said Thomas. Rihanna, who is from Barbados, is more associated with Caribbean music than Beyoncé.

Rihanna’s “Pon de Replay”
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How the public and Queen B reacted to the song

The world reacted well to this combination of Outkast and Beyoncé. “All Night” reached No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lemonade was an even greater chart success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It even outshined the success of Aquemini, which merely reached No. 2 on the same chart.

In addition, “All Night” has a special place in Beyoncé’s heart. According to Bustle, she revealed “All Night” is her favorite track from Lemonade. “All Night” also garnered attention when country singer Marren Morris covered it, showing the song could be reinterpreted in a different genre. While “All Night” wasn’t meant for Beyoncé, her version of it impressed both Thomas and the public — and she has a special fondness for it.

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