Numerous artists have hit massive solo fame after departing from the bands they got their start with. Perhaps the greatest example is Michael Jackson who entered the music industry with his brothers in the group Jackson 5, but who broke free and went on to earn himself the moniker King of Pop (a title the world certainly agrees with). Then there’s Peter Cetera who was once a member of the hugely successful band Chicago, but who took flight into a well-received solo career.
Of course, no conversation on this topic could be complete without mention of the one and only Beyoncé – revered today as Queen Bey. After saying a professional farewell to her Destiny’s Child bandmates, Beyoncé marked the beginning of her solo endeavors with the release of “Crazy In Love.” With the track’s brassy, funky horns grabbing your attention from the get-go, people instantly went gaga for it.
The four-minute song was produced by Rich Harrison in collaboration with her soon-to-be husband Jay-Z (they got married in 2008). It established the Queen’s stature as the dominating superstar she is today.
The song immediately became the summer track of the year in 2003, proving once and for all that no-one could resist that “uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no no” bridge. The album Dangerously In Love charted no. 1 upon its release, and also ranked no. 1 for three weeks after garnering 72,201 sales. It dethroned Daniel Bedingfield’s Never Gonna Leave Your Side.
Today, it has sold more than 1.1 million copies across all formats, digitally and physically. It has also amassed a total of 50.2 million streams and 342,000 downloads.
“Crazy In Love” was the first single of Queen Bey to land at the top of the charts, but it certainly wasn’t the last. The release of “Déjà Vu” in 2006, another collaboration with Jay-Z, marked the beginning of a pattern of topping the charts as one of the world’s most successful solo artists.