Beyonce KnowlesWell, with the exception of one lady I know, most women who read this are going to respond with hate (my wife included). I watched the Grammys last night... what little of it I could stand because I hate most awards shows. For me, the highlight of it all was watching Beyonce and Tina Turner perform "Proud Mary". I believe that most of the media agrees with me because every article in every paper and on every website I have surfed concerning the Grammys has a photo of Beyonce & Tina Turner performing. Some might say that all of the articles and sites were written and created by males. I don't know... but, does it matter?
I have followed this young lady's career ever since the first Destiny's Child CD dropped in 1999. Has she really been part of American Pop culture that long?) Let's face some facts that can't be denied:
1. The girl can sing... No, she's no Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, or Whitney Houston... but, she holds her own and she sings a lot better than Janet Jackson yet, Janet never gets the hatred from other women that Beyonce gets.
2. She can write a little bit... No, her songs are not as poeticly deep as say a Smokey Robinson or a Bob Dylan, nor are they as melodically catchy and creative as a Stevie Wonder... but, they do speak to her generation and they are catchy.
3. She can dance as well as she needs to for what she does... Take that with a grain of salt.
4. She can act... Again, she's not going to win an Oscar anytime soon but, poor Mariah Carey's two tanked and she hasn't gotten the hatred that comes Beyonce's way. Beyonce has been in some hit movies.
The bottom line is that the girl is a pretty good entertainer. She may not be deep but, neither were the Beatles at first... it took awhile. It took growth, maturity, life, and living... something we all have to attain. Isn't it time we show Beyonce some love?
And, just in case you missed this "once-in-a-lifetime"
performance, watch it here and judge for yourself...
1 comment:
A word of response from my grandmother...
Let me start by saying that I am not a Beyonce hater. My husband actually summed up my feelings regarding the young songstress and entertainer when he named several examples of who she is NOT, to which I whole-heartedly agree. It is for that reason that I have never personally understood how it is that Beyonce receives the same degree of accolades as the persons she is NOT.
There are actually some young female entertainers who have the "the chops" and could "fill the shoes" of the persons that Beyonce is NOT yet, they receive no accolades at all. One such example I can think of off the top of my head would be Kelly Price. When Aretha is ready to hand over her crown (and, I'm not rushing her to do so), Kelly has the type of voice that can fill her shoes. But, because she may not (in the eyes of some) have "the look" to fill Aretha's shoes, she may be denied the opportunity to hold the title of "Queen of Soul".
As for Beyonce, the looks are there and can take her far; but, she is definitely NOT the "cream of the (today's) crop" when it comes to talent.
The Wife
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