Beyonce has evolved into something of an American icon when it comes to pop music and culture, and unlike many of her contemporaries, the general consensus seems to say that she's reached such dizzying heights because she's actually quite talented, and not just some figurehead for record labels to modify and refine for the masses. This being the case, one might think that doing a cover of such a popular name (hers) might be a bad move when the obvious comparisons to the original will almost certainly mean that the new version will be found lacking in some way. Beyonce kills it on the regular, and even Tei Shi knows that. However, there's something to be said for meddling with the music of an unapproachable pop star, and, so long as you don't try to beat them at their own game, you really don't have anything to worry about. It's pretty much a forgone conclusion that Tei Shi wouldn't stack up if she went toe to toe with the Queen Bey, but as long as she focuses on making the track different instead of better, the results could be great. As it turns out, that's exactly what Tei Shi did, and the final product is, in fact, something we love. Tei Shi's voice is much different than Beyonce's (it's a lot lighter and brighter), but she's definitely no slouch in the vox department, so you'll find yourself enjoying many of the same parts of the track that you did in the original, except for now you're hearing it in a much different light. The real kicker, though, is the production work. It's got a fresh new coat of paint, and the bare-bones beat that eventually gives way to an energetic build halfway through the runtime is fantastic. Tei Shi sidestepped a head-on collision with the original version, certainly, and in the process, came out on the other side with an awesome rendition of an already great song.
Tei Shi