<p id=”par-1_41″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/beyonce/”>Beyoncé</a> and Kanye West are two of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kanye-west-said-couldnt-make-album-better-the-beatles.html/”>the biggest names in music</a>. Despite this, their collaboration seems to have mostly been forgotten. Despite this, the track in question says a lot about West’s mindset. The entire track is about his ego.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kanye-west-showed-up-on-an-album-about-beyonce-s-emotions”>Kanye West showed up on an album about Beyoncé’s emotions</h2>
<p id=”par-2_78″>In 2008, Beyoncé released the first concept album of her career: <em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/single-ladies-wasnt-one-of-beyonces-biggest-hits.html/”>I Am… Sasha Fierce</a></em>. It was divided into two halves. The first part of the record explored her own feelings (hence the title <em>I Am</em>) and the second was about her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. The Sasha Fierce section of the album includes a simple R&B track titled “Ego.” The original version is a solo number where Beyoncé sings about her love of her man’s big ego.</p>
<p id=”par-3_107″>She also released a remix of “Ego” that has a guest verse from West. There’s even a music video for the remix that features both artists — although, tellingly, they are never in the same shot. While Beyoncé sang about loving someone else’s big ego, West sings about his own ego. He says his ego became the fuel for his dreams and that’s it’s been there for him from the beginning. Someone would need a huge ego to craft masterpieces like <em>808s & Heartbreak </em>and <em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kanye-wests-ego-almost-ruined-his-nicki-minaj-collaboration-monster.html/”>My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy</a></em>. Someone would also need a huge ego to do all the awful things that West has done.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-1″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Beyoncé – Ego (Remix) ft. Kanye West” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/iW5EzxFR4SM?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-beyonce-s-ego-was-a-minor-hit-but-the-kanye-west-version-completely-flopped”>Beyoncé’s ‘Ego’ was a minor hit but the Kanye West version completely flopped</h2>
<p id=”par-4_60″>While “Ego” is supposed to be about grandiosity, it didn’t make much of an impact on the charts. The original version merely reached No. 39 on the <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/artist/beyonce/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard Hot 100</a>. Despite this, it charted for 17 weeks. That’s a long time for a tune that barely cracked the top 40. Regardless, the remix with West’s verse didn’t chart at all.</p>
<p id=”par-5_56″><em>I Am… Sasha Fierce</em> became a much bigger hit. It reached the top of the Billboard 200 for 193 weeks in total. It remains Queen B’s longest-charting record in the United States. While critics were divided on the concept behind <em>I Am… Sasha Fierce</em>, it seems that audiences were intrigued to see two sides of Beyoncé.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Beyoncé – Ego” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/hbnPkK76Ask?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/1-song-kanye-wests-yeezus-almost-david-lynch-music-video.html/”>
1 Song from Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’ Almost Had a David Lynch Music Video </a>
</p>
</div>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-why-ego-failed-on-the-charts”>Why ‘Ego’ failed on the charts</h2>
<p id=”par-6_104″>So why did the public reject the remix of “Ego?” West had plenty of star power when it came out, so it could have been a big hit. Firstly, the song forces you to think of West and Beyoncé as a couple. When “Ego” came out, Beyoncé and Jay-Z appeared to have a perfect marriage, so the track seemed slightly off. Furthermore, plenty of fans probably couldn’t imagine West and Beyoncé romancing each other. They’re just completely different personalities. Even at his best, West never had the effortless poise of Beyoncé that has made her feel like a queen masquerading as a pop star.</p>
<p id=”par-7_49″>On top of that, “Ego” came out at the wrong time. It’s an old-school soul number. It sounds like Carole King wrote it for Aretha Franklin. Unfortunately, it was released in 2009, the year dance music took over the charts thanks to Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas.</p>
<p id=”par-8_18″>“Ego” might be a minor entry in Beyoncé’s discography — but it feels pretty telling coming from West.</p>