Beyonce Frees The “Sorry” Video From The Confines Of Tidal
Nearly two months ago Beyonce released her visual album Lemonade on Tidal. Despite the time that’s passed, my social media timeline is still filled with tiny avatars reeling about the album; it is an ever-present small talk topic. Today marks the release of the first individual music video off the album–for “Sorry” which is the first single and one of our picks for song of the summer–emancipating the track from its Tidal-exclusive context.
“Sorry” opens with Beyonce reciting “Apathy,” a poem by Warsan Shire whose work is uttered throughout the album. By way of Shire’s words, Beyonce declares “dust to side chicks,” as most of the album is centered around the subject infidelity. While the lyrics insist on the romance-gone-wrong narrative, the visuals point to where we regain composure in situations of powerlessness–the support of others. The group of women who surround Beyonce in the video are in sync as they hold up their middle fingers, and as they wave “boy bye” while standing in front of a school bus that announces the same message (It literally says “BOY BYE” across the top).
As Bey complains about how he always has “those fuckin’ excuses” Serena Williams is at her left, arms crossed and eyes rolling. Constantly surrounded by other women, Beyonce briefly pulls back into a secluded room, but in the last seconds of the video she’s surrounded again, urging one very specific listener to call Becky with the good hair. Watch below.
