BEYONCÉ - act i RENAISSANCE

[mindtrappa]

I dunno... I kinda gave up when the premise of the article started to look like Beyonce getting praised for her work was a result of image-building rather than due to the quality of her output. Not to mention that within the first couple of paragraphs they say that her Coachella set became an HBO special (instead of Netflix)...it seems like basic fact-checking would be the bare minimum for that sort of article.

Yeah, I’m reading it now and clocked that. It’s not a bad article, but it’s more of a rundown of other journalist’s reviews over the last 20 years than anything else, but maybe charting that shift was the point. It is interesting to have it laid out like this. I actually had no idea that the public seemed tired of her by the time 4 was released. She’s always been beyond her peers in my eyes, so I guess I was too close to notice that perception. But I also think that has to do with being black and growing up with her vs how white people saw her in relation to a Britney or P!nk or Gaga.

I do know my ass was tired of her in 2013, though, because I just wanted the damn album dd

 

[scottdisick94]

Although the chart stats aren’t great for the 4 singles, and she was snubbed by the Grammys, I struggle to think of it as her ~flop~ era. The Run The World performance with the hundred dancers, the pregnancy reveal during Love On Top, headlining bloody Glastonbury. These were all key cultural moments in her own and general history. I think the album’s more muted reception was ultimately beneficial in the long run because it encouraged her to take a step back and reevaluate things resulting in … everything that’s come since. And I love that it’s regarded so warmly in hindsight and in the context of Beyoncé’s wider career. She’s a fucking brilliant album, and what a testament to Beyoncé’s musical output that an album as fantastic as 4 is only maybe her best. In anyone else’s career, it would be in clear-cut first place. The fact that the debate of her best body of work rages on so fiercely says everything we need to know about her music. There is no clear answer. Well actually there’s five clear answers, and they’re all correct.

 

[Ensnare]

Yeah, I’m reading it now and clocked that. It’s not a bad article, but it’s more of a rundown of other journalist’s reviews over the last 20 years than anything else, but maybe charting that shift was the point. It is interesting to have it laid out like this. I actually had no idea that the public seemed tired of her by the time 4 was released. She’s always been beyond her peers in my eyes, so I guess I was too close to notice that perception. But I also think that has to do with being black and growing up with her vs how white people saw her in relation to a Britney or P!nk or Gaga.

I do know my ass was tired of her in 2013, though, because I just wanted the damn album dd

Yeah, I actually think the article is rather good - certainly a very interesting read. I think the writer makes it quite clear that her work for the past decade has been of outstanding quality - I don’t think they undersold that element of her success - but as many of us are extremely familiar with, that alone is not enough to elevate someone to the stratospheric, peerless height Beyoncé finds herself at today. As you said, having it all laid out in this refreshingly time-capsuled, cohesive narrative actually helps to better answer the question posited by the article itself.

It’s like… if I emerged from under a rock, wanting to know who the greatest tennis player of all-time is, you could show me a handful of Serena Williams’s best games, and I’d believe you that she was #1. But having someone document how she managed it, what her motivations were, and all of the external factors she had to negotiate and overcome to get there makes for a more compelling portrayal and explanation as to why she is where she is today.

Probably shouldn’t have read that article at 2am, but here we are!

 

[relby]

I can't read every word of that endless article, but it very clearly states that the self-titled album was the shift that cemented her Legendary Legend status (sorry) and that is completely accurate.

 

[scottdisick94]

This is the shift that cemented her legend status and I’m only half-joking:

 

[BTG]

I know it didn’t do a thing for her stateside but the X Factor performance and Glastonbury were genuinely the shift moments in the UK. Then self-titled came along and cemented.

She’d already done years of groundwork by that state. Hits, little controversy, great performance skills, strong work ethic, all of which the goodwill was based on. We couldn’t have had the the Beyoncé of the last decade without everything that came before.

 

[Vasilios]

I remember getting Mrs Carter Tour VIP tickets (those inside the stage balcony ones with 30 people on each side, where she would hug / sing with / give towels to people and other shenanigans - like when she touched my beard - all four happened to me dd) with ease (like, they were available for days, weeks even) and then for Formation Tour the same tickets were for 500 people or more and they were gone in seconds.

It was definitely BEYONCÉ that turned the tide.

 

[HolyWater]

I have a friend who has a friend (I know but she’s legit) who works at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield stadium and she got in touch to say Beyoncé has a show booked there for the end of May.

 

[LuckyLucky]

To think this bop anthem album came on the heels of "Be Lifeless". My gawd.

I have a friend who has a friend (I know but she’s legit) who works at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield stadium and she got in touch to say Beyoncé has a show booked there for the end of May.

I heard that tour tickets are on sale in October, source is someone who knows someone who works at Ticketmaster. Might be a load of rubbish, might not!

 

[MusicLover1994]

I just tried to rank the tracks of this album to avoid doing uni work and it's honestly virtually impossible

The only thing I can decide is that Plastic Off the Sofa is my least favourite, but I never even skip that one dd

 

[FresherThanYou]

I think about which would be my least fave.. and it is so hard!

 

[suitechicguy]

Yea, basically for me they are all my favorites it’s just a matter of which ones are my extra favs….which I still can’t decide.

 

[bestinase]

It's difficult to describe to people outside of the UK the cultural earthquake that happened when she walked out to sing with Alexandra on X Factor. The entire country shifted on its axis for a second and it got seen by millions of people. It's one of the best British TV moments of the past few decades.

 

[Solenciennes]

It's difficult to describe to people outside of the UK the cultural earthquake that happened when she walked out to sing with Alexandra on X Factor. The entire country shifted on its axis for a second and it got seen by millions of people. It's one of the best British TV moments of the past few decades.

I think it's only become more special as time goes by too... Beyoncé doesn't do talent show appearances. It was elusive then and it's unheard of now, truly remarkable.

 

[Vasilios]

I think back then a lot of people watched X Factor UK from all over. It’s how LM have a following in Europe and elsewhere basically. I remember we the Beyandra duet being shared on Facebook every hour dd

 

[Andrew]

It's difficult to describe to people outside of the UK the cultural earthquake that happened when she walked out to sing with Alexandra on X Factor. The entire country shifted on its axis for a second and it got seen by millions of people. It's one of the best British TV moments of the past few decades.

That one guest performance turned her into an icon in the UK.
She knew what she was doing.


(It also helped that Season 5 was the biggest and best X Factor year)

 

[FresherThanYou]

Yeah my parents were like “Wow! She’s incredible” like they had been living under some kind of rock until that moment. It definitely shone a light on Beyoncé’s star power and live vocals on a more household level for those that didn’t care/follow her career outside of Crazy In Love.

 

[YourLeadSinger]

Stateside, she still had a hurdle to jump over unlike her peers (or even Gaga). Like sure, we bopped to hits here and there, but she wasn’t truly respected as a megaforce until the self-titled record. This I feel was due, in part, to many people seeing her as the girl from Destiny’s Child who “pushed” the other girls to the side. She was branded a Diva in the pejorative sense and she was also often pigeonholed to being just a “R&B artist”.

 

[Jersey]

Truly insane that she's been in an imperial phase for almost ten years.

 

[Solenciennes]

I think if anyone wanted proof of her Living Legend status you can point out that she's actually been very busy between Lemonade and Renaissance but the cultural impact is saved for the studio albums and allows her to do whatever she wants in between.