Pretty Hurts

A frank and very personal take on what beauty is, the Sia-written opening track of Beyoncé’s groundbreaking self-titled album offers the very first point of social relevancy in the record: perfection and the impossible standard of beauty set in society is corrupting the nation. We all try so hard to reach that singular, narrow-minded idea of “perfection” despite the fact that beauty itself is subjective. Directed by Melina Matsoukas, the first video in the so-called “visual album” has Bey playing a beauty pageant contestant who does everything in her power to look flawless — but still can’t achieve perfection. “Well I think we definitely wanted to speak to as many women as we could and all the pain and struggle that we go through as women to maintain this impossible standard of beauty,” Matsoukas explained to MTV News. “We wanted to give it a darker edge and take it there and not give you the Disney version of that struggle. And Beyoncé was more than willing to go that far with it. And I applaud her for that.” At one point, a frustrated Bey knocks down her wall of trophies, which is supposed “to represent knocking down those beauty standards and falling into a victim of that.” In the end, even as hard as Miss Third Ward tries to beat out her competition, she loses. That idea came straight from the pop star. “Originally, I had her win and I had it mean nothing,” she said. “And then she didn’t want to win. And then, actually, the woman who wins is an albino woman. And we thought it was really important and interesting to break those ideas of what the classic beauty standards would be and to do this with this beautiful albino woman, I thought was really great. And to show ‘Yeah she’s not perfect, she doesn’t always win and you put your best foot forward and you may still lose.’”

[Intro: Harvey Keitel & Beyoncé] Ms. Third Ward, your first question: What is your aspiration in life? Oh, well my aspiration in life would be... to be happy [Verse 1] Mama said, "You're a pretty girl What's in your head, it doesn't matter Brush your hair, fix your teeth What you wear is all that matters" [Pre-Chorus] Just another stage Pageant the pain away This time I'm gonna take the crown Without falling down, down, down [Chorus] Pretty hurts We shine the light on whatever's worst Perfection is a disease of a nation Pretty hurts, pretty hurts Pretty hurts We shine the light on whatever's worst Tryna fix something But you can't fix what you can't see It's the soul that needs a surgery [Verse 2] Blonder hair, flat chest TV says bigger is better South beach, sugar free Vogue says thinner is better [Pre-Chorus] Just another stage, pageant the pain away This time I'm gonna take the crown Without falling down, down, down [Chorus] Pretty hurts We shine the light on whatever's worst Perfection is a disease of a nation Pretty hurts, pretty hurts Pretty hurts We shine the light on whatever's worst We try to fix something But you can't fix what you can't see It's the soul that needs the surgery [Bridge] Ain’t got no doctor or pill that can take the pain away The pain's inside and nobody frees you from your body It's the soul, it's the soul that needs surgery (It's my soul that needs surgery) Plastic smiles and denial can only take you so far Then you break when the fake façade leaves you in the dark You left with shattered mirrors and the shards of a beautiful girl [Chorus] Pretty hurts We shine the light on whatever's worst Perfection is a disease of a nation Pretty hurts, pretty hurts Pretty hurts We shine the light on whatever's worst Tryna fix something But you can't fix what you can't see It's the soul that needs a surgery [Outro] When you're alone all by yourself And you're lying in your bed Reflection stares right into you Are you happy with yourself? You stripped away the masquerade The illusion has been shed Are you happy with yourself? Are you happy with yourself? Yeah, yes (Ah, ah, ah)