Sweet Dreams (Beyoncé song)

"Sweet Dreams" was acclaimed by critics, some of whom praised its dark tone and electropop sound that is different from Knowles' previous work. James Montgomery of MTV News wrote that Knowles' vocals, which he called, "icy and cool, slippery like mercury [and] nothing to scoff at either", help make the song an "undeniable smash" that is unique compared to the work of other artists.[1] Jennifer Vineyard of the same publication argued that the rock elements and smooth vocals contribute to Knowles' "fierce" alter ego, who "dares the listener to dream of her, warning that it might be a 'beautiful nightmare'."[8] Arielle Castillo of Miami New Times noted that "Sweet Dreams" is another one of Jim Jonsin's productions with a keyboard-propelled arrangement, but unlike the material Jonsin crafted for Soulja Boy, the song is "swirling, and darker".[7] Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle and Gary Trust of Billboard magazine agreed and said the song is one of Knowles' purest dance songs and is "an irresistible call to the dance floor".[27][28] Describing "Sweet Dreams" as a "cool dance track", Dennis Amith of J!-ENT complimented its arrangement, calling it "experimental" with "cool transitions".[29]

Adam Mazmanian of The Washington Times described the song as "a gritty slow grind with a salacious bassline" and noted that Knowles "delivers a near parody of a good-girl voice" while singing the chorus.[15] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media wrote that "Sweet Dreams" sounds like a song Rihanna would sing.[30] Echoing Dombal's sentiments, Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote that the best song on the Sasha Fierce disc is a "dark[ish] electropop track called 'Sweet Dreams', [which] actually sounds like the cousin of Rihanna's 'Disturbia'".[31] On a separate review for the single, Levine awarded "Sweet Dreams" a rating of four stars out of five, and commented that the song seduces listeners with its catchy chorus hook, and thereafter keeps them intrigued by "placing a hint of darkness just beneath the shiny, synthy surface".[9] Spence D. of IGN Music wrote that though "Sweet Dreams" is not a "stellar track", it is superior to other album tracks, including "Diva" and "Radio".[11] Similarly, Vicki Lutas of BBC Music wrote that even though "Sweet Dreams" appears to lack something, it is undeniably a good song overall.[16] She added that "Sweet Dreams" may not be Knowles' finest or most memorable work, but it remains her best offering since her 2003 song "Crazy in Love".[16] Lutas also commended Knowles' vocal delivery, which he described as "beautiful and soft, yet strong and powerful".[16] Talia Kraines of the same publication wrote that "Sweet Dreams" is one of the standout tracks on the Sasha Fierce disc though she believed Knowles did not get as experimental as she did on her 2006 song "Ring the Alarm".[32]

"Sweet Dreams" earned Knowles the Best Female Vocal accolade at the 2009 Music MP3 Awards.[33] It was nominated for Best R&B/Urban Dance Track at the 25th Annual International Dance Music Awards, but lost to the Black Eyed Peas's 2009 song "I Gotta Feeling".[34] It was also nominated for the Viewers Choice Award at the 2010 BET Awards.[35] The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized "Sweet Dreams" as one of the most performed songs of 2009 at the 27th ASCAP Pop Music Awards.[36] On the occasion of Knowles' thirtieth birthday, Erika Ramirez and Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine ranked the song at number 21 on their list of Knowles' 30 biggest Billboard hits, and noted that its electropop sound, which was in contrast to Knowles' previous singles, showcased her range of talent.[37] On The Village Voice's 2009 Pazz & Jop singles list, "Sweet Dreams" was ranked at number 115.[38] In 2013, John Boone and Jennifer Cady of E! Online placed the song at number five on their list of ten best Knowles' songs, writing that Knowles "stepped away from R&B roots with this surreal electropop tune, which features these standout lyrics: 'My guilty pleasure, I ain't going nowhere / As long as you're here, I'll be floating on air' (which, from Bey's mouth, sounds like the greatest threat ever)".[39]

The golden robot suit that Knowles wears in the music video (pictured) was designed by Thierry Mugler

The accompanying music video for "Sweet Dreams" was directed by Adria Petty,[52] whom Knowles chose because of her intelligence and beautiful visual references.[22] After Knowles learned the choreography in Los Angeles,[22] the video was shot in a studio in Brooklyn, New York City.[52] It was the seventh video from the album,[53] and the second to have complete color, being "Halo"'s the first.[22] Knowles described it as more "graphic" when compared to the previous six videos, and commented it took "Sasha [Fierce] to the next level".[22] In the video, Fierce is symbolized by the golden robot suit she wears;[1] it was designed by French fashion designer Thierry Mugler.[22]

A green-screen and computer-generated imagery (CGI) were used for the video to create a minimal and performance-based clip.[54] The CGI was employed to create a context-less void,[54] as the background was deleted and a void-like digital canvas was created for the dance routine[54] that is executed by Knowles and her dancers Saidah Nairobi and Ashley Everett, who all sport numerous flashy and symmetrical costumes throughout the video.[1] Accordingly, there were no concerns of cutting as the images were merged into one another using computers.[54] A high number of camera lens glare effects was used in the video,[53] part of which was inspired by British designer Gareth Pugh's Autumn/Winter 2009 video presentation.[55] Knowles further commented about the fashion and choreography:

The fashion was extremely important in this video because everything was so minimal ... With the choreography, we really focused on hitting all of the accents in the drum beat. What makes this choreography so interesting is that in one instance, it is very staccato and hard... And the next instance; the movement is very smooth and there are lots of melts with inter-kit movement in the fingers and hands.[22]

On June 12, 2009, a behind-the-scenes video with Knowles' dance rehearsal was released; Knowles was dressed in golden costumes and was performing some robotic movements.[23] A 30-second clip from the video was posted online on July 8, 2009; it showed Knowles alongside her two female back-up dancers in a virtual desert.[56] The following day, the full video was leaked online but was soon deleted after Knowles' label issued warnings to infringing websites.[57] The video for "Sweet Dreams" premiered on MTV later the same day.[58]

The video opens with Knowles tossing and turning in her bed; her idea was to make the opening shot look like "a dark fairy tale".[22] As she tries to sleep, Johannes Brahms's "Wiegenlied" plays softly in the background.[16] She then levitates off her bed using her stomach muscles to move the top half of her body.[22] Knowles said that the levitation shot was the hardest one as she had difficulties making her neck look straight. She added that the scene represents the nightmare and the white bird flying above her takes her into her dream,[22] which unfolds after the screech of an electric guitar.[16] Knowles is transported to a desert and several clouds are present in the background. She wears a black Roberto Cavalli dress and boots;[22] as the music begins, her two backup dancers wearing Gareth Pugh pieces appear.[22] The scene changes into a computer-generated sci-fi landscape where Knowles is inscribed with a circle and square in a similar fashion to Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.[54][55] The first chorus is brought in by a subtle glass-breaking sound effect as the sci-fi special effects disappear and Knowles appears in a silver one-shouldered mini dress on a white background.[54] Accompanied by her backup dancers, she performs dance moves described as "sophisticated", "street and hip-busting".[54][59]

The second chorus shows Knowles wearing a silver-lined bodysuit while smashing mirrors. During the bridge, the video fades to black and white and Knowles appears wearing the gold robot suit, and gold and diamond nail rings valued at $US 36,000 and designed by Jules Kim.[60] With it, she executes some robotic movements. As the chorus begins to play for the third and final time, digital doubling and mirroring are used to create a collection of dance moves and multiple images of Knowles arching her back.[54] The gold outfit is then reused, this time in color. Knowles performs another dance routine with her two backup dancers, then says, "Turn the lights out", and the video ends.

James Montgomery of MTV News wrote that the video is "an eye-popping, herky-jerky, high-fashion" one. He praised the way Knowles "[pops] her pelvis in ways never imagined", and the wardrobe changes in the clip, before concluding: "She expands on her burgeoning robot fetish, flashes the crazy eyes and contorts her body in downright unsettling ways. All of which is to say that 'Sweet Dreams' is just like every amazingly crazy Beyoncé video from the past three years, which — to extend the point — also means that it's pretty great."[1] Olivia Smith of Daily News noted that in the video, Knowles references Jane Fonda in the movie Barbarella (1968), Tin Woodman and Pamela Anderson through the different costumes she wears.[57] Smith further compared the video with the one for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", writing that Knowles reprises some of the moves she performed there.[57] Brandon Soderberg of Slant Magazine described the introductory part of the video as a David Lynch-like mixture of eroticism and symbolism. He added that the video was "one part Victoria's Secret commercial, another part dream logic anti-narrative, and a CGI-assisted freakout all around", and commended the video for being "an excess of body and action, not filmic techniques", adding that the dancing in the video "blow[s] our minds anew".[54]

Rolling Stone found similarities between the video for "Sweet Dreams", Kanye West's video for "Paranoid" (2009) and the cover artworks of English rock band Yes.[53] Canadian magazine Dose also compared the video with "Paranoid" due to their similar dream sequences.[59] Vicki Lutas of the BBC did not appreciate the first 30 seconds of the video, writing that "the dark, horror-type music, the pumping heartbeat, the equally spooky lullaby, the screech of an electric guitar", gave her the impression that she was watching "some [19]80s magician, with a Knowles soundtrack".[16] However, she complimented the rest of the video writing that "things (thankfully) move away from the Hallowe'en cheese and into familiar Beyoncé territory (right from the fact it's proper [19]80s pop through to the video essentially being 'Single Ladies' with Beyoncé and 2 dancers)".[16] Lutas concluded that the video might not be remembered for long or hailed as Beyoncé's finest and more memorable work, but it remains one of the best music videos from Knowles she has seen since "Crazy in Love".[16] Nick Levine of Digital Spy compared the dancing moves in the video with those in "Single Ladies".[61]

It was ranked at number 13 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.[62] Tamar Anitai of MTV placed the video at number three on his list of the best five videos of 2009, wrote that it "isn't just another high-fashion look at Beyoncé", and continued, "It's the dark yin to the brighter, lighter fare of 'Single Ladies.' This is a 360-degree look at Beyoncé's life: Beyoncé the woman, Sasha Fierce the performer, and the powerful force that occupies the spaces in between."[55] In 2013, John Boone and Jennifer Cady of E! Online placed the video at number ten on their list of Knowles' ten best music videos, praising Knowles' sexy robotic look.[63]

On March 28, 2012, Jessica Sanchez, a contestant of the eleventh season of American Idol, covered "Sweet Dreams" performing a slow-tempo ballad version of the song accompanied at the beginning by harps.[85][86] Her performance received favorable comments and a standing ovation from the judges of the show.[87] Jennifer Lopez commented, "You did a beautiful job on it ... If I was Beyoncé and I was home and I heard that, I'd be like 'I got to do that in my next concert, slow that one down.'"[88] Steven Tyler described Sanchez's performance as "great" while Randy Jackson noted that it was "unbelievable, sensational".[88][89] James Montgomery of MTV News graded her performance with a B, and called the cover "a bit of an odd choice, and yet also a supremely confident one".[90] He added, "For once, she pulled things back, and maybe suffered a bit for doing so, but there were still plenty of subtly great moments, particularly in the verses. Might not have been her best—it definitely lacked in vocal fireworks ... And really, it was good enough".[90]

Mellisa Locker of Rolling Stone praised Sanchez's performance, calling it a "brilliant job" and adding that "it's risky, but Beyoncé has done it, and if anyone can pull off a dazzling repeat performance, it's Jessica".[86] She further compared the performance with the dream sequence from the 1945 film Spellbound but noted that it was "slightly weirder".[86] Jim Farber of the Daily News commented that "her take on a song by her clear role model, Beyoncé, showed too much similarity in their timbres and phrasing, making Sanchez's voice seem redundant ... despite the fact she switched up the arrangement of the bootylicious song she chose, 'Sweet Dreams.'"[91] Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Sanchez gave yet another perfectly calibrated performance with Beyoncé's 'Sweet Dreams,' balancing restraint and power. Everything from her voice to her dress to the red door she walked through seemed polished and tour-ready".[92] The Arizona Republic's Randy Cordova praised the performance, saying that the slow-tempo version allowed Sanchez "to really delve into the song's emotional core".[93] The Hollywood Reporter's Erin Carlson praised the tonned-down theatrical stage during the performance and Sanchez's vibrato voice, further describing the performance as a "near-perfection".[94]