Released: January 1, 2008

Songwriter: Beyoncé

Producer: StarGate

[Verse 1]
She was lost in so many different ways
Out in the darkness with no guide
I know the cost of a losing hand
There for the grace of God go, I

[Chorus]
I found Heaven on earth
You are my last, my first
And then I hear this voice inside
Ave Maria

[Verse 2]
I've been alone when I'm surrounded by friends
How could the silence be so loud?
But I still go home knowing that I've got you
There's only us when the lights go down

[Chorus]
You are my Heaven on earth
You are my hunger, my thirst
I always hear this voice inside
Singing Ave Maria

[Bridge]
Sometimes love can come and pass you by
While you're busy making plans
Suddenly hit you and then you realize
It's out of your hands, baby, you got to understand

[Chorus]
You are my Heaven on earth
You are my last, my first
And then I hear this voice inside
Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Ave Maria

Beyoncé

In the twenty-first century, no pop star was as poised, as polished, or as generally fierce as Beyoncé. She scored early success with Destiny’s Child, who started out as a sexier and sassier (if less adult) version of TLC, then steadily became more and more of a vehicle for Beyoncé’s operatic vocals and general diva-tude, which may have been the plan all along.

Whether appearing in TV spots, co-starring in films like Dreamgirls, or killing it every night on stadium tours, Beyoncé was omnipresent in the 2000s. Almost everybody, Beygency member or otherwise, loved shiny, hip-hop-fueled hits like “Crazy in Love”, and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Moving into the 2010s, Beyoncé fights on, gaining more and more traction in pop culture with her work and music.

She has made a significant impact upon the music landscape in general with her recent albums 4 and BEYONCÉ, which explored complex themes like motherhood, feminism, marriage, sexuality, and doubt in a greater depth. With Lemonade, she went a step further—the fierce, intimate exploration of marriage, infidelity, and forgiveness was her most personal and musically daring album yet.