Saturday 21 February 2015

5 Reasons Why Beyonce Annoys Me

Just when I start to like Beyonce again…this happens:

beyonce-kim-north-image

And it’s not just me who noticed Beyonce throwing an unbelievable amount of shade at Kim/North.

kim-beyonce-north-fashion-show-image

Funny, she doesn't seem too fond of "Beautiful Princess North" (or indeed, North's mother), in these pics - body language speaks volumes!

So, I like to listen to music while I’m blogging. About a week ago, tired of my playlist I let YouTube do its thing, which decided to select a few Beyonce tracks from her most recent album.

I don’t know if it’s because I wasn’t expecting it, but I suddenly found her stuff more tolerable, getting pumped up and bopping along to "Bow Down/Flawless", "Grown Woman", and feeling quite zen and chilled out listening to "XO" and "Blue".

All of a sudden, I was regretting turning down those O2 Beyonce tickets last year, when an ex tried to lure me back after being an ass.

YouTube also got pretty clever that day and decided to run "Throwback Thursday" adverts of old Destiny’s Child videos before each song played. I found myself listening to songs like "Survivor", "Say My Name" and "Bootylicious", which took me way back to my teen years, a time when I could stand not only Beyonce, but Destiny’s Child too.

I'm puzzled as to when this aversion and intense dislike for Beyonce developed, especially when remembering how much I used to love her as a kid.

I have this rule where if I like at least 4 songs off an album, I buy it. But I just can’t bring myelf to buy a Beyonce album. I feel like by doing so, I'm behaving just as brainless as her diehard fans.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t disagree that Beyonce has an amazing voice, is beautiful to boot and she has released some decent songs. But everything that she does in the media these days just seems so OTT and disingenuous, I can’t take it seriously.

Here are some examples:

1) Beyonce’s multiple on-stage personas - She goes way OTT in live performances with her various alter egos. I think she decided to channel/morph into Tina Turner pretty early-on in her career.

When she’s popping, jerking and grinding energetically, all wild and crazy eyes, it’s hard to keep a straight face. It’s like she’s possessed - calm down dear!

crazy-funny-beyonce-concert-image


2) "Of-course sh*t goes down when it’s a billion dollars in an elevator" - Beyonce's justification and only acknowledgment of the infamous elevator incident, via a remix version of "Flawless".

Erm ok. So if Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg ever find themselves riding an elevator together, we can expect fisticuffs/handbags at dawn.

Actually, those with a rational mind don’t expect such a trashy display of behaviour from billionaires, who are meant to be an example of powerful and influential people.

The fact that the attack was one-sided, while Jay-Z held it together, shows this ghetto behaviour is a Knowles thing. When you read about her father, it kinda confirms the ratchet-ness. (I know you can’t judge people based on their family members, but Beyonce mentions both her father and her sister as people who inspire her in a verse in "Flawless").

3) Beyonce tries to be humble and graceful, but it just ends up being patronising and fake - In interviews or with her social media interaction, she’s very careful about how she comes across . It’s all a laboured effort. It’s like she’s in fake-smile-beauty-queen-mode ALL the time.

It’s also like she’s having an identity crisis; she can’t decide if she wants to be high-fashion, edgy and current (like Rihanna), or classy and elegant like iconic stars from the past.

She’s kind of set herself up, because any media mishap now seems a million times worse, because it’s at odds with the perfect image she’s crafted.

Going back to the whole Solange elevator/father’s-multiple-illegitimate-children incidents, I do think Beyonce at least tries to behave classier than her family members, and so far only included them in her fame to try and show how family-orientated she is.

Again, it’s a confused, constructed image because she’s not being herself. Which if that elevator footage indicated, is slightly hood/ghetto and dare I say, trashy. Certainly not as classy and intellectual as she'd like us to believe.



4) She tries to outsmart the media through her Instagram page...and fails, epically - The press speculate on her marriage to Jay Z…she posts an intimate pic of the two of them. More recently, the press picked up on the frosty vibes between Kim and Beyonce on the catwalk front row at New York Fashion Week. She posts a pic with Kim/North from earlier in the show captioned “Beautiful Princess North” (note the lack of acknowledgement of Kim).

It might convince her army of loyal fans, but those who are media-savvy are left bemused at her indirect responses to media speculation, which aren’t entirely convincing.

If Beyonce insists on using Instagram as her own personal PR outlet, she should perhaps leave it to a professional, especially with all those not-so-subtly Photoshopped images that find their way onto her account. 

5) Her army of ghetto/trashy fans that worship her endlessly - The only thing more annoying than someone selling a false image, are those stupid enough to buy into it. Those people that are so star blinded, they will violently defend Beyonce because they’re now trained to believe she’s perfect.

It’s like they’re brainwashed. I like some of Beyonce’s songs, especially the ones with an R&B/Hip Hop beat, but my gosh, how crap and just plain embarrassing are some of the lyrics? This is my personal fave:

“Your breastases is my breakfast, we going in” - Jay Z, "Drunk in Love"

But it doesn’t matter how sh*t the song/lyrics are, people act like Beyonce and Jay Z are the second coming. If there’s a gimmick in the song or video, you can be damn sure these uber-fans latch on like sheep, hailing the song as a masterpiece in the process. Which then validates the artist and the garbage they’re releasing.

So back to the original point: when did I start disliking Beyonce? Is it just I’ve grown up and no longer follow her blindly, or is that she’s just so overexposed now in the media? Great for sales, not so much for your reputation?

Perhaps a time when celebs weren’t so accessible in the media allowed them to maintain some of their allure. Not knowing such intimate details about their personal life meant they were able to maintain an aura of mystery, and therefore, our respect.

Now, celebrities who have a constant presence in the media leaves more opportunity for them to grate on you, like an annoying song that’s being overplayed on the radio.

To end on a nice note, I actually miss this Beyonce: genuine, sweet and likeable. I reckon marriage is taking its toll on her, making her defensive, arrogant and not so carefree.

Then:



Now:


2 comments:

  1. Yeah I agree with everything you said here. She is quite annoying. I can actually enjoy her stuff when forced to but otherwise I avoid it like the plague because her fans are off putting

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    Replies
    1. Totally! It's a shame her actual talent is overshadowed by all the hero-worship and media antics.

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