Déjà Vu (Beyoncé song)

2006 single by Beyoncé

"Déjà Vu" is a song by American singer Beyoncé, featuring rapper Jay Z. It was produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, 808 Ray and Beyoncé for her second solo album, B'Day (2006). "Déjà Vu" is an R&B song, which incorporates elements of 1970s funk and soul music. Its music is largely based on live instrumentation, including bass guitar, hi hat and horns, except the Roland TR 808 drum machine, which is a non live instrument. The song's title and lyrics refer to a woman being constantly reminded of a past lover. "Déjà Vu" was released as the album's lead single to US radio stations on June 24, 2006. The song received generally mixed critical reviews. Many critics noted the similarities of "Déjà Vu" with Beyoncé's own 2003 song "Crazy in Love". Critics commended the assertiveness and the sensuality with which Beyoncé sings the lyrics and compared her vocal delivery to that of Tina Turner in the late 1980s. "Déjà Vu" and its Freemasons club remix version received three nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards. It was recognized as the Best Song of 2006 at the Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards. Commercially, "Déjà Vu" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart, the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, and the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Déjà Vu" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top ten in over fifteen countries. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Sophie Muller. About 5,000 fans petitioned online for a re shoot of the video, complaining about, amongst other factors, the lack of theme, the wardrobe choice, and the allegedly sexual interactions between Beyoncé and Jay Z.

"Déjà Vu" is a contemporary R&B song, performed in a moderate hip hop groove. It is also influenced by late 1970s funk music, and it contains elements of soul music as well as dance pop music. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes. com by EMI Music Publishing, the song is composed in the key of G minor with a time signature in common time, and a moderate groove of 106 beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocals range from the note of D4 to F5. including a bass guitar, conga, hi hat, and horns. Other music critics also noted that Knowles' vocal performance as well as the easiness and the sensuality with which she sings the lyrics to the song would remind listeners of Tina Turner when she was still young. The title refers to the déjà vu phenomenon. The lyrics to "Déjà Vu" follow the verse–pre chorus–chorus pattern, and feature two rap verses. On June 24, 2006, it was released to radio stations in the United States, four weeks after Beyoncé informed Columbia, her record label, that B'Day was completed. Over one month later, it was released to physical formats; the track was released as a CD single on July 31, 2006, in the United States. An enhanced CD was released on September 12, containing five tracks and an additional "Déjà Vu" multimedia track. In the United Kingdom, the digital download became available on August 15, 2006. A CD maxi and a 12 inch single were released on August 21, 2006. Beyoncé's manager approached English production team Freemasons to remix "Déjà Vu" after hearing a remix they made for a song by singer Heather Headley. A club oriented version was produced and appeared on a "Green Light" Freemasons EP, released on July 31, 2007. A maxi single, featuring the album version of the track and Freemasons club mix, was released on August 5, 2006, in European countries. The UK hits compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 65, released in 2006, features an alternative version of the single, omitting Jay Z's parts and running to 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

"Déjà Vu" debuted to mixed and positive reviews among critics. Mike Joseph of the international webzine PopMatters' believed that it was "fantastic to hear Beyoncé singing her lungs out over a full bodied groove featuring live instruments". Describing "Déjà Vu" as a magnificent song, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian complimented Beyoncé and Jay Z collaboration calling it "feverish as pre watershed pop gets". Bernard Zuel The Sydney Morning Herald praised the assertiveness with which Beyoncé delivers her lines and considered buying "Déjà Vu" as worthwhile. Several other music critics have compared "Déjà Vu" to Beyoncé's 2003 single, "Crazy in Love", the lead single of her debut album. According to Gail Mitchell of Billboard magazine, the song is viewed by many as a sequel to "Crazy in Love". Jason King of the Vibe magazine deemed the song as "cloned from the DNA of the raucous 'Crazy in Love'" while Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine referred to it as "'Crazy in Love' lite". Some reviewers, however, were negative to the parallels drawn between the two songs. Andy Kellman of AllMusic, an online music database, wrote that "['Déjà Vu'] "had the audacity to not be as monstrous as 'Crazy in Love'",

Sasha Frere Jones of The New Yorker deemed the lyrics as a "perplexing view of memory", while Chris Richards of The Washington Post characterized Beyoncé as a "love dazed girlfriend" in the song. Jody Rosen of the Entertainment Weekly referred to "Déjà Vu" as an "oddly flat" choice as a lead single. Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Music regarded "Déjà Vu" as a good choice for a single but concluded that it does lack "the kind of killer chorus" to suggest that Beyoncé would take one further step "to outright global domination". On the other hand, Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that Jay Z shows up "as calmly boastful as ever" in the song but he only makes Beyoncé's "sound more insecure". Kelefa Sanneh of the same publication noted that "the refrain doesn't give Beyoncé a chance really to show off" and further described the song as a "fair to middling single from a singer who is the opposite of desperate". It was also nominated for Best Collaboration alongside Beyoncé's other song "Upgrade U" featuring Jay Z, at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards. "Déjà Vu" won Best Song at the 2006 MOBO Awards in the UK. The following year, it also received two nominations for the Best R&B/Urban Dance Track and Best Pop Dance Track at the 22nd Annual International Dance Music Awards in 2007. The writers of Rap Up magazine put the song at number ten on their list of the ten best singles of 2006. In 2013, John Boone and Jennifer Cady of E! Online placed the song at number six on their list of ten best Beyoncé's songs. In a 2013 list of Jay Z's 20 Biggest Billboard Hits, "Déjà Vu" was ranked at number 19. In 2022, Rolling Stone named the track Beyoncé's best song.

"Déjà Vu" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 44 a month before its physical release. After the release of the digital and physical components, the song sold 75,000 downloads in its first week. It eventually peaked at number four on the Hot 100 chart. The track's Freemasons/M. Joshua remix topped the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, while the album version peaked at number 18 on the same component chart. "Déjà Vu" also reached the top spot of the Hot Dance Singles Sales and Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs charts, number nine on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart, and number 14 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. Having sold 29,365 units on its first week, the single reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming both Beyoncé and Jay Z's second number one single in the UK. The single reached the top five in Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland and entered the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, and Germany. In Oceania, "Déjà Vu" peaked on the Australian Singles Chart at number 12, and on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 15.

The music video for "Déjà Vu" was filmed by British director Sophie Muller in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 20 21, 2006, with parts of the video shot at the Maple Leaf Bar and the Oak Alley Plantation in Carrollton, Louisiana and Vacherie, Louisiana respectively. The footage features couture inspired outfits, It reached the top spot on the TRL, Yahoo!, and MTV countdowns. The "Deja Vu" video topped the UK TV airplay chart in late July 2006. The video begins with showing Beyoncé against a green wall and Jay Z sitting on a chair inside a dark room. Beyoncé and Jay Z then start to simultaneously play imaginary instruments, mimicking the song's tune. Scenes of Beyoncé are then shown in several different rooms wearing different outfits. As the chorus begins, she is shown running around and dancing out in a large sugarcane field. At the end of the chorus, she dances in a red dress in front of a pond and in a large red dress out in front of a mansion. When Jay Z's verse begins, the two are shown alone inside a room, Beyoncé is now barefoot and bare legged, she dances seductively around Jay Z, and leads to the controversial oral sex scene. Beyoncé is then shown wearing a green skirt and bedazzled bra while dancing Mbalax (a Senegalese & Gambian dance) around in sand. As the song progresses, she is shown dancing alone in a dark forest wearing a sparkling black dress as fireflies circle around her head. The song ends with Beyoncé leaning back in a pose as fireflies race away.

Reactions to the video were mixed. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented it is "more thematic and thought provoking than the videos for 'Baby Boy' and 'Naughty Girl'", Beyoncé's songs from her debut album, Dangerously in Love. Natalie Y. Moore of In These Times magazine echoed the latter's commentary, writing that the video showcases Beyoncé "strutting her sexuality", and that in Jay Z's scenes it "looks as if any minute now she'll give him fellatio". The video later appeared on a list of Yahoo! Music News' Worst Videos of All Time, which pointed to the negative fan reaction and stated, "It's probably the least horrific video listed but as far as Beyoncé videos go, it is [sic] a stinker." The music video was awarded Best Video at the 2006 MOBO Awards.

"Déjà Vu" was performed by Beyoncé at the 2006 BET Awards on June 27 at the Shrine Auditorium. The show was opened with a performance of the song and Jay Z joined Beyoncé onstage during the second half of the song. William Keck of USA Today commented that Beyoncé "sizzled in a revealing silver ensemble" as she performed the song. She also performed "Déjà Vu" at the Fashion Rocks on September 8, 2006. She performed the song on the American morning news and talk show, Good Morning America during an episode which aired on September 8, 2006. Beyoncé also performed the song at The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 9, 2006, and at The Tyra Banks Show on September 15, 2006. At the 2006 World Music Awards on November 15, 2006, Beyoncé opened the show with a performance of "Déjà Vu". In addition to her live performances of "Déjà Vu" in awards ceremonies and televised shows, the song was included on the set list for her tours The Beyoncé Experience and I Am World Tour. During Beyoncé's performance of "Déjà Vu" at a concert in Toronto on August 25, 2007, she had a wardrobe malfunction as her dress flew over her head and was speculated to reveal her breast. However, a spokesperson for the singer denied speculations saying, "She's wearing a flesh tone bra! Do you really think Beyoncé would go onstage like that?". The video which was uploaded to YouTube went viral. Ann Powers of Los Angeles Times discussed about the malfunction, saying: "As a pop queen, Beyoncé is almost too perfect [a] 'wardrobe malfunction' in Toronto garnered far more attention than was warranted partly because these mistakes contradicted her fiercely athletic style." During the revue I Am Yours which was a part of the tour, Beyoncé performed a jazz medley of "Déjà Vu", "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" and "Bootylicious" and continued with a full version of the first song. Concert performances of "Déjà Vu" were included on her live albums The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007), I Am Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas (2009) and I Am World Tour (2010). Beyoncé performed Déjà Vu during her 2018 Coachella Performances on April 14 and 21, 2018, with a guest appearance by Jay Z, along with a live orchestra. It had been more than 8 years since she last performed the song. The same performance was featured on her and Jay Z’s co headlining On the Run II Tour the same year.

On January 31, 2009 Jade Ewen performed the song during the Eurovision: Your Country Needs You show. During the finale of the tenth season of American Idol on May 25, 2011, the lady contestants joined together onstage to perform "Déjà Vu" along with a medley of Beyoncé's other hit singles.

+ Release dates and formats for "Déjà Vu" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. (Reference(s)) United States June 24, 2006 Urban contemporary radio Columbia Records, Columbia, Music World Entertainment, Music World Japan July 26, 2006 CD Sony BMG Australia August 7, 2006 United States August 15, 2006 Columbia, Music World Germany August 18, 2006 CD, maxi CD Sony BMG France August 21, 2006 CD Sony BMG United Kingdom Twelve inch single, 12 inch vinyl, CD RCA