Not only did 'Single Ladies' cement the reign of The-Dream and Tricky Stewart as the premier pop songwriters and producers of the late 2000s (later on, Scott Storch), it also allowed Beyonce to stake a claim to the title Queen of Pop (TM). So there's hope for the rest of us? And there's that intermittent but ominous grinding at the low end of the song, which only make it more obvious that Beyonce's vocals, layered though they might be, are the only thing holding the song together.

Jay-Z locked it down! Which Beyonce makes clear in the video: That ring is definitely on her finger (though she does look a little shocked to see it around 1:55). After all, we know that he did put a ring on it.

It could be the meta cognitive dissonance between the lyrics and the facts of life.

Everything about it feels calculated, but the disheveled, breathless mess that results from putting 'Single Ladies' on in earshot of a group of happy people - regardless of marital status or gender - proves that something is going on underneath the surface. Aside from the bass drum, the perfectly mussed hand-claps and the Phantom of the Opera organ way in the back row, all the extras that give the song its depth and creeping discomfort could have been jacked from Need for Speed if the cars were mounted with lasers (stop lying you post up at ESPN Zone too sometimes). In 'Single Ladies,' Beyonce sounds like a total pro: contained, on-message. Not least because she had one of the best videos of all time. (Though, admittedly, some would argue that it's neck-and-neck with Miley Cyrus' 'Party in the U.S.A.') Beyonce has given us, finally, a dance craze that requires little more than the deployment of jazz hands with a wrist twist, thus inspiring countless episodes of behind-the-wheel above-the-waist breakdowns and an unfortunate number of full-body dance-floor takeovers. But, since we don't have numbers on this year yet, it's fair to argue that it's the jam of 2009. Sure, Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' actually came out in 2008. In the video for 'Single Ladies,' Beyonce and her back-up dancers spawned parody after parody, featuring everyone from toddlers to grown men to animated chipmunks.

Beyonce single ladies