Video will appear as you scroll through the story
Beyoncé · S3 E6
Dreamgirls
Acting, Effie White, a Golden Globe nomination, and what Hollywood taught her about control
2006. Beyonce takes the role of Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, playing a woman who becomes the face of a girl group while her more talented bandmate gets pushed aside. She has already lived this story.
"Deja Vu" official music video, Beyonce ft. Jay-Z (2006). Released the same year as Dreamgirls, this B'Day lead single channels raw physicality and the performance confidence she gained on a film set.
Deja Vu (2006)
Rodney Jerkins builds the beat on a live funk guitar loop layered with horns and a deliberately unpolished drum pattern. Unlike the sample-driven approach of "Crazy in Love," everything here is played live, giving the track a raw, sweaty energy closer to a James Brown recording than a modern R&B single. Beyonce's vocal is her most physically demanding studio performance to date. She moves between a low growl, full chest voice, and falsetto within single phrases, often sounding breathless because she was dancing while recording. Jerkins has said she recorded several takes while doing choreography in the studio to capture the intensity she wanted.
The Role She Was Born to Play
Dreamgirls is based on the story of The Supremes, but everyone in the audience sees Destiny's Child. Beyonce plays Deena Jones, the singer who becomes the group's face while the more technically gifted Effie is sidelined by a controlling manager. The casting is uncomfortably perfect: Beyonce understands exactly how it feels to be the one the spotlight chooses.
TAP TO REVEAL: What song did Beyonce fight to record?
Which Dreamgirls cast member had won the Academy Award for Best Actor two years earlier for playing Ray Charles?
Suga Mama (Beyonce)
A B'Day deep cut that channels raw funk energy and fearless attitude. The performance confidence Beyonce gained from Dreamgirls is all over this track, with a vocal that swings between playful and commanding.
Dreamgirls proves she can act, but Beyonce is not finished reinventing herself. She walks off the film set and straight into a studio, and what comes out two weeks later sounds like nothing she has made before.
0 XP earned this session