Beauty in the World

"Beauty in the World"
Single by Macy Gray
from the album The Sellout
ReleasedMarch 30, 2010[1]
Recorded2009
GenrePop
Length3:51
LabelIsland, Concord
Songwriter(s)Macy Gray, Kannon Cross, Joshua Lopez, George Reichart
Macy Gray singles chronology
"Can't Hold Back"
(2009) 		"Beauty in the World"
(2010) 		"Kissed It"
(2010)

"Beauty in the World" is a song by American singer Macy Gray from her fifth studio album, The Sellout (2010). It was released digitally in the United States on March 30, 2010, as the album's lead single.[2] The song was featured in the final scene of the series finale of the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty on April 14, 2010, titled "Hello Goodbye", as well as in the films Killers (2010) and A Little Bit of Heaven (2011),[3] and in Microsoft videos for Internet Explorer 9.[4]

Background and writing

The Sellout, Gray's fifth album and first since her under-performing 2007 album, Big. Gray spoke on how she was disappointed during this period. "I thought after Big flopped maybe I should do what everyone else was doing," she said. "Go out and hire the hottest producers, the best writers, get real skinny. But none of those people called me back."[5]

The song was inspired by hearing her daughter's laughter on a down day. "I didn't even know what she was laughing at. I thought 'at least she's happy.' And I felt at least I hadn't failed there, because my daughter's happy."[6]

Promotion

Gray performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 12.[7] She also went to Good Morning America on June 23,[8] and on The View on June 24.[9]

Track listing

  1. "Beauty in the World" – 3:52

Reception

Monica Herrera from Billboard magazine gave a positive review for the song, saying that: "Gray makes a strong case for her ability to craft another anthemic pop song. Nonthreatening folk pop is the vehicle of choice here: Over hand claps, a casual guitar strum and jangly tambourine, Gray sings, 'Listen to the sound, and lose it/Its sweet music, and dance with me.' While the concept feels a little hokey—as does rhyming 'beauty in the world' with 'shake your booty, boys and girls' in the chorus—it's the kind of song that should appeal to the singer's original fan base."[10] John Bush from AllMusic did not find the song appealing, going on to say that it "has a lyric and melody by Gray alone, and despite the positive sentiments in the song, its melody is unmemorable and it includes a few embarrassing lines (e.g., 'There is beauty in this world/So much beauty in this world/Always beauty in this world/So much beauty in this world/Shake your booty boys and girls/For the beauty in the world')".[11]

Music video

First version

The video for the song, directed by Adria Petty premiered on April 9, 2010, and features Gray performing the song with cheerleaders, kids jumping rope, dancing and hand-clapping.[12]

Second version

A second version of the video was made due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was titled "Beauty in the World Cup". The World Cup-themed music video for "Beauty in the World" shows Macy with models and soccer players in dresses and heels.[13]

Charts

Dami Im cover

Dami Im Australian pop singer, who won the fifth season of the Australian X Factor and placed second at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest performed a cover of the song for the Australian 2015 film Paper Planes.[20] She recorded a version of the song for her studio album Heart Beats which was released on 17 October 2014.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Beauty In The World: Macy Gray: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  2. ^ "Beauty in the World - Single by Macy Gray". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  3. ^ "Macy Gray". IMDb.
  4. ^ "A year of Internet Explorer 9". Microsoft. 2011-03-12. Archived from the original (flash video) on 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  5. ^ "Macy Gray - Beauty In The World (Music Video!)". Directlyrics.com. 2010-04-09. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  6. ^ Macy Gray premieres Beauty in the World Accessed in April, 2010
  7. ^ Macy performs on the Jay Leno Show Retrieved 2010-05-12
  8. ^ "Catch me on ABC's "Good Morning America" tomorrow morning!". Macy Gray. 2010-06-22. Archived from the original on 2011-12-29. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  9. ^ "Catch me performing on ABC's "The View" and NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" this Wednesday!". Macy Gray. 2010-06-23. Archived from the original on 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  10. ^ "Macy Gray, "Beauty in the World"". Billboard.
  11. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1737389
  12. ^ Macy Gray Beauty in the World music video premiere Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine Popcrunch. Accessed on April 9, 2010
  13. ^ Beauty In The World Cup video - Macy Gray News[usurped]. MacyGray.com. Retrieved 2010-06-19
  14. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 [2010/04/07 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "Macy Gray – Beauty in the World" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  16. ^ "Macy Gray Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  17. ^ "Macy Gray Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  18. ^ "Macy Gray Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  19. ^ "Dance Club Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-09-08. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  20. ^ Bestawros, R. (24 October 2014). "Interview: Dami Im Talks New Album & More!".
  21. ^ Wass, Mike (25 September 2014). "Dami Im Unveils Her Gorgeous 'Heart Beats' Album Cover". Idolator. Spin Media. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014.