Beyonce Runs (or Steals) the World

May 24, 2011 (Late Evening / Early Morning)

29-year old Beyoncé Knowles has definitely made a name for herself in the past 20+ years. America first saw her as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child in 1997 under the leadership and management of her father, Matthew Knowles. The group quickly became one of the world’s most popular girl bands of all time.

In 2003, she launched a solo career so successful it would lead to an amicable split of the group only a few years later. As a solo artist, her three released albums, Dangerously in Love, B’Day and I am … Sasha Fierce, have produced over 10 Billboard chart toppers and gained global music recognition from the entertainment industry. She is one of the most honored artists by the Grammys, and third among female artists,[1] with a total of 16 Grammy Awards[2] – 13 as a solo artist and 3 as a member of Destiny's Child.[3] She also broke the record in 2010 for winning the most awarded female artists by a female in a single night at the 52^nd Annual Grammy Awards.[4]

She’s moved passed being referred to as a “triple” threat to a “quadruple” or some even say a quintuple threat as she’s successfully had her hand in singing, songwriting, dancing, acting and fashion design. There is no question that Beyoncé has that “it” factor and will go down in history as a one of society’s most successful popular artists.

But what do we attribute her success with? Is it her talent, her management, her drive or a little of all of the above? I would vote for the latter. Yes, Beyoncé has a good voice, but in my opinion – not great. I’ve heard talents with much stronger voices who haven’t been able to achieve her status in twice the amount of time it’s taken her. Yes, media has attributed and also criticizes part of Knowles success to her father, Mathew Knowles’ hard-hitting, in your face management negotiation style that has pushed her to the top. But I also believe it to be that “hunger” that makes her want to always keep striving for more that makes her a force to be reckoned with.

So it was only expected that she would give yet another stirring performance at the Billboard Awards and she didn’t disappoint. Scheduled to receive the Millennium Award from Billboard for musical success, the artists was introduced and praised by numerous artists and family members congratulating her on her success in a short video which was followed by a live performance of her new single, ”Run the World” to then receiving the actual award presented by her mother, Tina Knowles. In receiving this award, Beyoncé is essentially credited with being a game changer and a recognizable force in the music industry. Therefore, this is why I’ve included all three pieces (the intro video, to the performance and the acceptance speech) to support her worthiness as the award recipient.

While Beyoncé has always been known for – and being awarded for her talent of taking her entertainment to imaginable heights, she continued this trend in her performance. She uses the vocal introduction to explain the song’s meaning (done in many of her other hits), brings in fascinating dancers and difficult choreographed routines and THEN adds a touch of digital flair to take it over the top! She uses computer imagery and replication to give the appearance of in-sync choreography between the two to wow the audience.

After watching the stirring performance, the use of digital imagery seems like undoubtedly the next step in on stage performances as we live in a computerized world. Graphics and animation contribute to so much of our society, why wouldn’t it become a part of an entertainer’s repertoire.

Receiving mixed reviews upon the song’s video release just less than a week ago, Beyoncé’s performance was a welcomed addition breathing in needed life to the song to go the distance of her previous single successes.[5] “Run the World”, an upbeat dance pop single, in my opinion will be viewed and promoted now more than before because hearing a vocal track with now hearing and SEEING it, now giving the audience a stimulating and memorable visual to rely on when listening in the future.

May 25, 2011

The piece above was written 1 day before conducting an online resource check for more reference sources. I was ASTONISHED when I then read the next night’s reviews that were like this:

Beyoncé’s Billboard Music Awards Show Strikingly Similar To
Year-Old Performance From Italian Singer[6]

In light of this, my title switches to:

“Beyoncé Steals Again!!”

Yet another drama arises behind Beyoncé “borrowing” from another artist’s work and making it a big hit (more reports are linked below). The controversy has critics chastising her for copying the exact performance from Italian singer, Lorella Cuccarini’s Billboard Award performance at last year’s event. As seen in in the pictures, the performances share an undeniable resemblance throughout. 24 hours later, Beyoncé releases an official response confirming that she was "inspired" when watching video of the original performance by Cuccarrini last year calling the concept “genius”.

"My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much," Beyoncé said Wednesday. I then met with the talented people who worked on it. The technology and concept were so genius. Thank god for YouTube or I would have never been exposed to something so inspiring," she went on to tell AOL Music Wednesday. "I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards."[7]

Which brings up the question of stealing versus flattery? I would say if this happened once … then maybe critics would turn a head. Twice audiences would think that maybe she DOES lack a bit of creativity but after claim after claim, Beyoncé, you appear to be a thief!! Really, can’t you come up with your own concepts? It also gives the impression of social fame making it easier to steal and make pop history off of other smaller artist’s works. Not a good look for her in any light. You be the judge.

Links to claims of stolen music and concepts by Beyoncé:

· “Smack” to “Smash Into You”

· Single Ladies Dance Moves Stolen

· “If I Were a Boy”