Beyonce says ‘triggering’ claim black and white images of her wouldn’t sell led to ‘Single Ladies’ video

Singer based all artwork for 2008 album ‘I Am... Sasha Fierce’ on black and white photography

Beyonce has revealed how a “triggering” claim that black and white images of her wouldn’t sell impacted her aesthetic choices for the music video for “Single Ladies”.

The singer told Harper’s Bazaar in a new interview that she was once told in a meeting that “the research discovered that my fans did not like when my photography was black and white” and that images “wouldn’t sell if [they weren’t] in colour”.

“That was ridiculous,” she added. “It pissed me off that an agency could dictate what my fans wanted based on a survey. Who did they ask? How is it possible to generalise people this much? Are these studies accurate? Are they fair?”

The comment, Beyonce added, “triggered [her]” and left her “exhausted and annoyed”.

As a result, she “based [her] whole next project off of black and white photography”. This included the video for “Single Ladies”, as well as that of “If I Were a Boy”, and all of the artwork for the 2008 album I Am... Sasha Fierce, on which both songs feature.

The album, Beyonce noted, “ended up being [her] biggest commercial success to date”.

It was a chart-topping release and is certified platinum both in the US and in the UK. “Single Ladies” won Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, among many other accolades.