“Pretty Hurts” is the fourth single and music video from American R&B singer Beyonce‘s fifth studio album titled, Beyoncé.

The Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler wrote the song in collaboration with Ammo (credited as Joshua Coleman) and Beyoncé, while the production was handled by Ammo and Beyoncé.

“Pretty Hurts” is a smoky pop and neo soul song “with speechy lyrics about the tyranny of the beauty industry”, intended as a self-empowerment anthem as Beyoncé sings negatively of beauty stereotypes: “Brush your hair / Fix your teeth / What you wear / Is all that matters”. Beyoncé sings about “the fatal consequences that our common pursuit of the perfect body can have”.

To promote the single, Beyoncé launched a new site in April 2014 titled whatispretty.com, which stated: “How do you define pretty? Upload a photo or video to Instagram tagged #WhatisPretty that captures what the word means to you.”

“Pretty Hurts” was initially written by Australian singer Sia Furler. Furler subsequently sent the song to Katy Perry and Rihanna, who both ultimately passed on recording it. Furler then proceeded to send it to Beyoncé, who knew immediately that she wanted to record it.

Lyrics for Beyonce – Pretty Hurts

[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-Hook]
Just another stage
Pageant the pain away
This time I’m gonna take the crown
Without falling down, down

[Hook]
Pretty hurts
Shine the light on whatever’s worse
Perfection is the disease of a nation
Pretty hurts
Shine the light on whatever’s worse
Tryna fix something
But you can’t fix what you can’t see
It’s the soul that needs the surgery

[Verse 2]
Blonder hair, flat chest
TV says bigger is better
South beach, sugar free
Vogue says thinner is better

[Pre-Hook + Hook]

[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, its the that needs surgery
It’s the soul that needs surgery
Plastic smiles and denial can only take you so far
And you break when the fake facade leaves you in the dark
You left a shattered mirror
And the shards of a beautiful girl

[Hook]

[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?
It’s just a way to masquerade
The illusion has been shed
Are you happy with yourself? (x2)
Yes