Say Yes (Michelle Williams song)

[1] Upon release, "Say Yes" received universal acclaim from contemporary music critics who called the song infectious and praised its catchiness.It received generally positive reviews from critics who accredited it as a reunion of Destiny's Child and praised its feel-good nature.[5] The song marked the third collaboration of the trio consisting of Williams, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, after their group Destiny's Child disbanded in 2006.Williams' executive producer Phil Thornton spoke about the feature in a 2016 Centric documentary: "We were in the final stages of recording 'Journey To Freedom' and Michelle and I talked about having Kelly and Beyoncé join her on a track.[7] Williams sent an advanced demo of the album Journey to Freedom to her former bandmates Beyoncé and Rowland which contained the song as a solo track titled "When Jesus Says Yes".[12] In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said that she "hated" the fact that an unfinished version was released although noted that she was not angry and felt "overwhelmed" by the positive support.[8] Prior to the song's debut, several publications reported that Beyoncé's sister, Solange Knowles, also appeared as a featured artist in "Say Yes"; however, the claims were later proved to be wrong.[6][13] A final official version of the song premiered on June 2, 2014 and was released to radio and made available for digital download the same day.[12] Eric Corpus from The Christian Post interpreted the song's lyrics as a praise of God's sovereignty and "magnetism" of Jesus' love.[26] "Say Yes" opens with a message of faith as Williams sings the first lines, "I'm not worried about a thing/'Cause I know you are guiding me / Where you lead me / Lord I will go / I have not fear / 'Cause I know who's in control.[24] Mike Wass from Idolator praised the song's catchiness, describing it as an "infectious gospel club-banger" and an invitation to the dance floor for listeners.[11] Describing the song as "kinetic", Marc Hogan of Spin magazine called it "not only star-studded, but damn near impossible to get out of your head, too".[27] Rolling Stone writer Jon Blistein described the horn stabs as "heavenly" and praised the trio's "always potent harmonies"."[21] Brownie Marie of Christian Today praised Williams' vocal performance during the song's hook, along with the "well-controlled riffs".[50] Luis Gomez in an article for the Chicago Tribune opined that the song's religious message was the reason for its mild reception and performance on the mainstream charts.Beyoncé, wearing an apostolic-like gown to fit the theme of the track,[9] appears at 90 seconds into the song to deliver her verse in a forest in front of a tree hung with paper lanterns.[18] The singers appear together in the video's last section when Williams, Beyoncé and Rowland sing and dance together at a street-party scene along with dancers who are shown waving their flags and playing drums.[9] Tom Breihan of Stereogum said that each singer looked "seriously happy", further praising Beyoncé's style as reminiscent of the Destiny's Child-era.[24] Similarly, Zach Frydenlund from Complex wrote that he had a "great time" watching and remembering his "favorite Destiny's Child moments".[29] Mikael Wood from Los Angeles Times found the choreography performed by the trio to be "light" and described the clip as "pretty festive".[75] The program titled, The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House was broadcast on June 26, 2015, on PBS stations and simulcast on TV One.