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Songwriter Diane Warren Asks How Beyoncé Has 24 Writers On One Song–And Instantly Regrets It
Diane Warren is the very definition of a songwriting legend.
She's penned some of the best known pop songs in music history, is an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a 13-time Oscar nominee and has everything from an Emmy to a Grammy to a Golden Globe decorating her mantle.
But not even she can come for Beyoncé and make it out unscathed.
After Queen Bey's new album Renaissance broke the internet over the weekend, Warren attempted to shade the singer with a subtweet that was obviously about her and her new song "Alien Superstar."
\u201cHow can there be 24 writers on a song?\ud83d\ude44\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
Warren wrote:
"How can there be 24 writers on a song?🙄"
Bey's track "Alien Superstar" lists 24 different songwriters because it uses samples of several other songs, including Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" and 90s club anthem "Unique" by Danube Dance and Kim Cooper.
Beyoncé credited all writers on each song, leading to the whopping 24 credits for the song's writing. Simple enough and something Beyoncé is already famous for.
Her 2016 song "Hold Up" famously lists 15 songwriters, including The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, whose parody of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' song "Maps" inspired Beyoncé's song's chorus.
Warren later acknowledged the song's samples in a follow-up tweet, but Bey's fanbase being as large and dedicated as it is, her tweet went instantly viral.
\u201cOk, it's prob samples that add up the ammount of writerrs\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
One of the 24 writers of "Alien Superstar," The-Dream, replied to Warren's tweet with a pointed explanation for the huge songwriting roster.
\u201c@Diane_Warren You mean how\u2019s does our (Black) culture have so many writers, well it started because we couldn\u2019t afford certain things starting out,so we started sampling and it became an Artform, a major part of the Black Culture (hip hop) in America.Had that era not happen who knows. U good?\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
The-Dream wrote:
"You mean how’s does our (Black) culture have so many writers, well it started because we couldn’t afford certain things starting out,so we started sampling and it became an Artform, a major part of the Black Culture (hip hop) in America."
"Had that era not happen who knows."
"U good?"
That pretty much clears it up.
On Twitter, Warren's tweet went over just about as well with everyone else as it did with The-Dream.
\u201c@Diane_Warren you've been in the music industry since beyonce was a child and you still don't know how samples work?? really??\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@Diane_Warren This you? https://t.co/jYxj3m0CS1 Sounds like she not the one who has an issue with crediting others.\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@Diane_Warren When you are the most grammy nominated... and can afford to pay people and your songs reach no1... as for miss... you will never have an oscar.... carry on writing your songs alone... \ud83d\ude02\ud83e\udd23\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@Diane_Warren\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@Diane_Warren @dylanbehavior You don\u2019t use them, and instead of asking your industry friends privately, how this works, you ask Twitter? Interesting. Also interesting that you have worked with the likes of Beyonc\u00e9 and a number of Black artists and still never knew how this works.\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@Diane_Warren I \u2764\ufe0f @Beyonce giving Everyone Credit. For Decades usually only Celebs Took all the credit and royalties, paying ghost writers Pennies or nothing, and sampling without credit\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201cI thought about tweeting something rude about Beyonce just to troll but umm\u2026 nevermind, y\u2019all tried to kill Diane Warren \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Eve 6000 \ud83e\udd8b (@Eve 6000 \ud83e\udd8b) 1659405926
\u201cDiane Warren ran up on Twitter and got done up on Twitter. \n\nShe wanted the smoke with that subtweet at Beyonc\u00e9 and she got it. lol\u201d— Ernest Owens (@Ernest Owens) 1659383034
Warren later apologized for the tweet, saying she "meant no disrespect."
\u201cOk, I meant no disrespect to @Beyonce, who I've worked with and admire. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659391456
Some lessons have to be learned the hard way—"don't come for Beyoncé" is one of them.