Bigger (Beyoncé song)

The song was penned at a writing camp at Beyoncé's studio and was created due to a bond with British singer-songwriter Raye and US songwriter Stacy Barthe. Raye told BBC Newsbeat: "I remember we were both in a really dark, sad place and we wanted to create something to empower ourselves. We spent maybe two or three hours on it. It was 3 a.m. and I remember Beyoncé's team coming in and hearing what we'd created so far and just completely freaked out. It was incredible."{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49065655|title=Beyoncé Lion King album: The young Brit who wrote the first track|date=July 22, 2019|publisher=Newsbeat|access-date=April 22, 2020}} Raye also told Official Charts: "I wrote a lot of songs - I put a shift in. But [Beyoncé] fell in love with Bigger."{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/raye-talks-new-single-love-me-again-and-writing-for-beyonce-ive-earned-the-right-to-put-out-an-album__26983/|title=Raye talks new single Love Me Again and writing for Beyonce: "I've earned the right to put out an album"|date=August 2, 2019|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=April 22, 2020}} Beyoncé informed Raye that "Bigger" would be the first song on the album at the 2019 The Lion King European premiere, and her reaction, as caught on video, went viral.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/BeyLegion/status/1151219538995793920|title=The moment Beyoncé told me the song I wrote was track 1 on the album." — @raye|publisher=Twitter|access-date=April 22, 2020}} Raye tweeted "Beyoncé told me I’ve written Track 1 on the new album ... it’s called Bigger . I can’t I can’t."{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/raye/status/1151170782653030401|title=Beyoncé told me I've written Track 1 on the new album ... it's called Bigger . I can't I can't|publisher=Twitter|access-date=April 22, 2020}}

"Bigger" is preceded by "Balance", a Mufasa interlude voiced by James Earl Jones, which samples his "Circle of Life" speech from the 2019 film. The two tracks segue into each other. Dazed described this shift as "tying in nicely with the track’s lyrics."{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/45335/1/watch-the-new-visuals-for-beyonce-bigger-lion-king-album-blue-ivy-carter|title=Watch the new visuals for Beyoncé's 'Bigger'|date=July 21, 2019|publisher=Dazed|access-date=April 24, 2020}} According to The Atlantic, "Bigger" has an overarching theme of "royal succession" as well as an undercurrent exploration of the "ecological and existential" aspects of the "Circle of Life."{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/beyonces-lion-king-album-gift-tells-deep-story/594640/|title=Beyoncé Remixed the Meaning of The Lion King|date=July 26, 2019|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=April 22, 2020}} Matzav Review described "Bigger" as an "ode to the natural riches of the African continent" whilst also serving as a tribute to Beyoncé's children, showing them the paraphrased "power of collective knowledge."{{cite web|url=https://matzavreview.com/2020/03/28/beyonce-leads-your-children-an-honest-important-lesson-in-bigger-jenesaispop-com/|title=Beyoncé leads your children an honest important lesson in 'Bigger'|date=March 28, 2020|publisher=Matzav|access-date=April 24, 2020}}

A music video was released on July 19, 2019, as the second part of an extended edition of the music video from "Spirit", the lead single from the album.

A second music video was released in Black Is King. It features snippets of the original video with new footage filmed specifically for the movie.

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Category:2019 songs

Category:Beyoncé songs

Category:Songs written by Beyoncé

Category:Songs written by Stacy Barthe

Category:Songs written by Raye (singer)

Category:Song recordings produced by Beyoncé