Songfacts®:

• "Alien Superstar" is a dancefloor odyssey where Beyoncé flexes her otherworldly class. She boasts:
  
  One of one, I'm number one, I'm the only one
  No one else in this world can think like me
  I'm too classy to be touched
  I'm U-N-I-Q-U-E
  
  And of course Queen Bey is an:
  
  Alien Superstar
• The dance track opens with a warning sampled from American deep house DJ Foremost Poets' 1998 track "Moonraker" ("Please do not be alarmed, remain calm...").
  
  On the hook, Beyoncé interpolates Right Said Fred's 1991 worldwide hit "I'm Too Sexy." Other artists that have sampled the UK dance-pop classic include Sugababes ("Get Sexy"), Taylor Swift ("Look What You Made Me Do"), Sofi Tukker ("That's It (I'm Crazy)") and Drake and Future ("Way 2 Sexy").
  
  The outro features a portion of a speech by National Black Theater founder Barbara Ann Teer, as sampled in "Do It Your Way," a track from Mood II Swing.
• Beyoncé teamed up with an army of writers for this throbbing dance track. They are (deep breath): American House DJ, Honey Dijon, Kanye West's go-to co-producer Mike Dean, production duo Nova Wav, Bey's husband Jay-Z, Jay-Z collaborator Levar Coppin, R&B singer-songwriter Lucky Daye, UK singer-songwriter Labrinth, rapper/singer 070 Shake, 070's producer Dave Hamelin, Swedish producer Rami Yacoub, Dutch singer-songwriter Leven Kali, Austrian House producer Peter Rauhofer, New Jersey singer-songwriter Kam DeLa, California producer Sal Dali, Georgia songwriter Ink, London producer Luke Solomon and multi-national deep house producer Chris Penny.
  
  Foremost Poets, under his real name John Holiday, "I'm Too Sexy" writers Rob Manzoli, Richard Fairbrass and Christopher Fairbrass, and Barbara Ann Teer all receive songwriting credits as well.
• Beyoncé, Honey Dijon, Penny and Solomon produced "Alien Superstar" with co-production by The-Dream and Mike Dean and additional production by Nova Wave.
• Right Said Fred brothers Fred Fairbrass and Richard Fairbrass claimed that Beyoncé used elements of their 1991 hit "I'm Too Sexy" on "Alien Superstar" without first asking permission.
  
  "Normally the artist approaches us," they told The Sun, adding that Beyoncé didn't and suggesting they only became aware of the use after the fact. They contrasted this with other artists, including Drake and Taylor Swift, who contacted them directly when referencing their work.
  
  Beyoncé's team strongly disputed the claim. According to their response, rather than sampling the original recording, "Alien Superstar" interpolates the composition of "I'm Too Sexy," meaning the underlying songwriting - not the master recording - was used.
  
  The statement detailed that permission was requested from the duo's publisher on May 11, 2022, approved on June 15, and payment was issued in August. It also noted that the Right Said Fred writers received a significant share of the songwriting credit on the track, reportedly more than any other individual contributor.
  
  Beyoncé's Renaissance album makes extensive use of samples and interpolations. Another artist, Kelis, also publicly questioned the use of her song "Milkshake" on the track "Energy," highlighting the complexities - and occasional misunderstandings - that can arise when modern pop music borrows from the past.