Beyoncé has been hailed and awarded for pretty much every aspect of her skill as a musician, dancer, and actress, and compared to big diva names ranging from Diana Ross to Marilyn Monroe. What is about the super-poppy "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" that goes so perfectly with her ever-growing image as a contending queen of pop?
There's the female independence theme, and the perfection of the Sasha Fierce alter-ego. But for "Single Ladies," the outstanding feature—and the one that's gone beyond viral on the internet—is the music video. Shot in black and white in order to pair it with the video for "If I Were A Boy," the "Single Ladies" video features Beyoncé with two back-up dancers in black leotards doing an original dance that has become "the single ladies dance." As if we needed to tell you that.
And we probably also don't need to tell you that a gazillion people have made YouTube videos imitating the dance, and that of these gazillion, a few of them were very young children.
On top of that, you have probably already picked up on the fact that Justin Timberlake attempted the dance on Saturday Night Live, and that Kanye West made a fool of himself defending the music video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
We might need to tell you, however, that even President Barack Obama reputedly has his own version of the dance. At least, that's what he told Beyoncé when he met her backstage at his inauguration.
You know you're a big deal when everyone from small children to Barack Obama wants to be like you, and most of the rest of the country approves. For the time being, Beyoncé's calling card, perfected in the "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" music video, is being a ridiculously talented woman who is about as widely imitated as anyone in the world.