Nope

It's still too young to be called a classic but I do think it's one of her best lead singles of her career.

It was a cultural moment for the Superbowl and the political discussion afterwards but not a classic

The way the usual racist Swifties ran in here.

Sheesh.

Nope

Voted yes but it's very debatable really.

It's actually in a very unique spot when it comes to its status as a classic or forgotten song because of how the whole single rollout happened

She could get away with leaving it off the tour setlist now, at least for a while. It feels a little forced into every show atp.

It definitely had its moment and fans appreciate it, but it's kinda forgotten overall.

If anything, it's remembered as a key hit of the woke era. Peak 2016.

It's acclaimed, but it's not a classic. You need a great amount of public consumption in order to be a classic, and this one has poor sales, views and streams.

A really great song, with a dope MV, but I think the way it was so slowly and gradually released kinda dampened its effect on becoming a "classic". Still, love it.

Slay trick, or you get e-lemonade-d.

14 hours ago, Maxxxine said:

It was iconic.. at the time. Looking back I think the GP was so parched for new Bey music that they Stockholm syndrome'd themselves into thinking it was a good song.

That can be said for her entire career. Self-inflicted gaslighting is a major epidemic upon those who swear up and down she's God himself

Edited March 31Mar 31 by dumbsparce

I said yes because it is for people who actually CARE about the art of pop culture, an undeniable classic. Might not be a geepee super classic but it does have its moments, especially in the US I guess, with the hot sauce line and everything. I mean, it's a Beyonce lead single so can it really NOT be at least part-classic?

5 hours ago, superben said:

It's acclaimed, but it's not a classic. You need a great amount of public consumption in order to be a classic, and this one has poor sales, views and streams.

lol meanwhile she didn't sell it for its crucial first three months, didn't put it on streaming for an even more crucial first three years, and only uploaded its public video ten months after it came out.

the fact that people love to talk about it's "consumption" as if the public just totally snubbed it but never contextualize WHY this is the case.

It's my favourite Beyoncé Song. It's incredible.

4 hours ago, dumbsparce said:

That can be said for her entire career. Self-inflicted gaslighting is a major epidemic upon those who swear up and down she's God himself

Talking about "self-inflicted gaslighting" while making something up so you can hate on her more.

No one swears up and down that she's "God himself", and if they do, it's such a small amount of people it's not even worth bringing up.

But sure, they're gaslighting themselves, while you, you who sees people swearing she's "God himself" are totally not.

The video was ethereal. Visual art beyond compare.

19 hours ago, Maxxxine said:

It was iconic.. at the time. Looking back I think the GP was so parched for new Bey music that they Stockholm syndrome'd themselves into thinking it was a good song.

Was the GP really so parched for new Beyoncé music on February 6th 2016, twelve days after Hymn for the Weeknd was released and eight days after its music video came out?

Edited March 31Mar 31 by swissman

I just checked and it is my 4th most streamed Bey song, but I think it's become my favourite. It's so good.

In the streaming age, u know the number of streams does not depict the truth. Alien Superstar is my #1 Beyoncé song by streams, but Formation takes it for the quality and artistic vision and the track is just divine.

I think it is iconic for people who paid attention to pop culture during Lemonade but I do not think it's a classic that is played as much as a classic should be 10 years after release. This could change eventually though

Just now, Just a Gay on ATRL said:

I think it is iconic for people who paid attention to pop culture during Lemonade but I do not think it's a classic that is played as much as a classic should be 10 years after release. This could change eventually though

I think the audience would erupt during a show when the first sounds of Formation come on.

On 3/31/2026 at 10:14 PM, swissman said:

lol meanwhile she didn't sell it for its crucial first three months, didn't put it on streaming for an even more crucial first three years, and only uploaded its public video ten months after it came out.

the fact that people love to talk about it's "consumption" as if the public just totally snubbed it but never contextualize WHY this is the case.

The excuses

It barely has 100k daily Spotify streams ffs.

1 hour ago, superben said:

The excuses

It barely has 100k daily Spotify streams ffs.

It's not an excuse but an explanation.

If you don't put a song on streaming platforms for its first THREE years while simultaneously not sending it to radio so people can't engage with it that way ... is it likely your song will magically have major consumption ten years later? You didn't allow it to find its audience so why would it have a huge audience?

Can you think of any examples of songs that had all this going against it and still has whatever threshold of acceptable daily streams you decide for it?
The only examples I can think of remotely like this are 1989's singles, but during the actual era Taylor still did the work to make the singles hits (promoting/performing them, sending them to radio, allowing them to be purchases, releasing timely [new] music videos, etc.] which inevitably made the desire and consumption for them once on streaming to be there.

Songs that have impressive amounts of daily streams are either hits singles, songs with adequate promotion (thereby creating a habit of consumption for it at the time of its peak/release that will follow it years later), or from an album of similar or consumption promotion that people still go back to. Formation, being a song that was largely blocked from public consumption, on an album that was withheld from streaming is simply not on paper a contender for massive daily streams. Thus, to fault it heavily for that is unfair. It's not an excuse, it's common sense. Coming here to deride a song that had limitations on it that literally NO OTHER pop girl has ever done for their lead single is at best unfair and at worst ignorant and petty.

Absolutely.