Beyoncé Strips Down In "Best Thing I Never Had"

Beyoncé reigns supreme yet again, thrilled fans Thursday with another excellent music video for her second single "Best Thing I Never Had." The powerful love-gone-wrong song is taken from her fourth solo studio album "4," which is currently ruling the U.S. album chart. Follow up to women-empowerment lead single, "Run the World," this Kenneth "Babyface" Edmond penned midtempo pop and R&B ballad turn "Best Thing I Never Had" is also strong, but more subdued and slow. The story of what happens after the prom when the high school sweetheart who broke your heart turns out to be the best thing you never had. You move on and find true happiness.
Lyrically, "Best Thing I Never Had" is all about telling a former lover she was the best he'd ever have and that she no longer has any feelings for him. In general, the lyrical content of the song revolves around revenge and karma. It kicks off with Beyoncé singing, "What goes around comes back around," before she proceeds to take a pop at a former lover after discovering his deceitful ways. Happy to have managed to avoid heartbreak, Beyoncé continues to sing about her ex-love interest in the song, who did not recognize the potential of a happy companionship with her, until the breakup took place.
"Best Thing I Never Had" sounds like a song people will hear during a Broadway musical, and it feels like the kind of crossover hit that will help "4" join the rest of Beyoncé's discography in multiplatinum land. The track finds Beyoncé mining the same kind of "girl-power imagery as she did on "Run the World (Girls)," but there is something more direct and honest about the lyrics on the new single. The Queen B had long since proven she could write a song for all the ladies. Songs that could deliver a shot of self-esteem. "Best Thing I Never Had" takes us back to those not-so-far-off days.
Before slipping into her wedding gown and walking down the aisle, Beyoncé takes time to recall the pain or hardship which led her to meet the love of her life. The Diane Martel-directed video opens with Beyoncé in an elegant dressing room wearing a sexy corset/lingerie combo, complete with garters. Beyoncé recalls her high school sweetheart who broke her heart on the prom night. Not only does Beyoncé pour her heart out about the former lover who did her wrong, but she also shows how grateful she is to end the relationship before it goes too far. She has now moved on and found her prince charming. Right on cue, the scene switches to a wedding scene where her true love is standing at the end of the aisle waiting for her.