Ariana Grande’s “R.E.M” Is A Reworked Beyoncé Demo Called “Wake Up”
“R.E.M” was one of the first songs Ariana Grande teased from her Sweetener album. At one point, it was even rumored to be the project’s second single after she shared lyrics just before her Saturday Night Live appearance. Of course, the pop star ultimately went with ill-fated Nicki Minaj collaboration, “The Light Is Coming,” before abruptly switching to “God Is A Woman.” “R.E.M” is back in the news today after it was revealed (and confirmed) that the sleepy bop is a reworked version of an unreleased Beyonce song called “Wake Up.”
“Well, kind of, it’s an entirely new song now but the hook was so dreamy it had to find a home,” Ariana replied to a curious fan on Twitter. A thirty second snippet of “Wake Up” — credited to Beyonce and Pharrell — first surfaced online in 2017. It was originally thought to be a reject from Lemonade, but was then touted as a possible single from the NERD producer’s next solo album. Anyway, the track eventually found a home on Sweetener and the chorus is exactly the same as the side-by-side comparison below demonstrates. Check it out.
Compare the songs:
“R.E.M”, an upcoming song on @ArianaGrande’s album is in fact a scrapped Beyoncé song, created by Pharrell. Have a listen: pic.twitter.com/vP8IZ2LfDh
— BEYONCÉ HUB (@theyoncehub) July 12, 2018
Ariana’s confirmation:
.@ArianaGrande confirms that ‘Sweetener’ track “R.E.M” is a reworked version of @Beyonce’s scrapped song, “Wake Up.” pic.twitter.com/X4cF0BHaJb
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 30, 2018
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