Feeling Myself

The Making and Chart History of "Feeling Myself"

"Feeling Myself" is a collaboration between Nicki Minaj and Beyonce, released in March 2015 as part of Minaj's third studio album The Pinkprint. The song was written by Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Chauncey Hollis, Aldrick Robinson, and several additional contributors, reflecting the collaborative approach that characterized both artists' recording processes during this period. The production, handled by Hit-Boy and Chauncey Hollis, built the track around a confident, propulsive beat that blended hip-hop and R&B elements, creating a sonic backdrop suited to the assertive, celebratory tone of the song's lyrical content.

The song's release was notable for its exclusive connection to Tidal, the streaming platform that had been co-launched by Jay-Z in early 2015 with significant involvement from numerous prominent artists, including both Beyonce and Minaj. "Feeling Myself" was made available exclusively on Tidal at a time when debates about streaming exclusivity and artist compensation were particularly heated in the music industry, and the decision to limit the song's availability contributed to substantial media coverage of both the track and the platform. This release strategy was unusual and commercially significant, as it positioned the song as a premium offering tied to a subscription service rather than making it immediately available through the broader streaming ecosystem.

The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 3, 2015, with an initial entry that reflected digital and streaming activity during the promotional period surrounding The Pinkprint campaign. It spent 20 weeks on the chart and reached its peak position of 39 on June 6, 2015. The chart performance was influenced by the restricted streaming availability, as the Tidal exclusivity limited the volume of plays that could be counted toward streaming-based chart metrics during the period when streaming was becoming an increasingly significant component of the Hot 100 calculation methodology.

The accompanying music video, directed by Benny Boom and released on Tidal prior to wider distribution, featured Minaj and Beyonce in a visual narrative built around themes of luxury, friendship, and self-possession. The two artists were depicted in a series of playful, glamorous scenarios that emphasized their camaraderie and mutual celebration. The video's eventual wider release drew enormous viewership and contributed significantly to the ongoing conversation about both artists' cultural prominence. The chemistry between Minaj and Beyonce as collaborators had been established through earlier encounters in the music industry, and "Feeling Myself" served as the fullest creative expression of that working relationship to that point.

Critical reception of "Feeling Myself" was broadly positive, with reviewers emphasizing the song's unapologetic energy and confident production. Publications including Rolling Stone and Pitchfork praised the song as a standout moment in Minaj's album campaign, noting that the presence of Beyonce elevated the track's profile and that the two artists' contrasting yet complementary vocal styles created an effective dynamic. The track was recognized as a statement of female empowerment and self-celebration in a year when such themes were receiving increasing critical attention within popular music discourse.

The Pinkprint had been released in December 2014 and was performing well commercially, and "Feeling Myself" contributed to the album's sustained chart presence into the following spring. Minaj's career at this point represented one of the most commercially dominant in contemporary hip-hop, and the collaboration with Beyonce reinforced her positioning at the very top of the pop and hip-hop marketplace. Both artists were in extremely prolific and commercially successful periods of their respective careers, and their combination on a single track was treated as a significant cultural event within music media.

The song has maintained cultural relevance in subsequent years as a reference point for discussions of streaming exclusivity, celebrity collaboration, and the self-empowerment themes that came to define a significant strand of popular music in the mid-2010s. YouTube view counts continued to accumulate steadily as the video received broader distribution, reaching well over 150 million views and reflecting the song's enduring popularity beyond its original release window.