Crossword Genius

Beyonce first to sing once free - Put A Ring On It follows (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

obeys

'follows' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'beyonce first to sing once free put a ring on it' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'ring' could be 'o' (letter resembling a ring) and 'o' is found in the answer.
'it' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is located in the answer.
'beyonce first' could be 'b' (1st letter of 'beyonce') and 'b' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

(Other definitions for obeys that I've seen before include "Submits to authority" , "Follows orders" , "Does what one is told" , "Listens to" , "Complies with orders" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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