Beyoncé is the best performer on the planet

[Katsuki Bakugo 9,788]

ONE of THE not THE. 

[chiuga 1,970]

On 10/18/2016 at 4:57 AM, StrawberryBlond said:

Disagree. She's good, but not the best. I'll explain why below. But to be honest, I don't know why Beyonce's considered the best at anything really. Her music is so average for the most part, so that cancels out how well she can sing and dance, in my opinion.

I can definitely appreciate choreography and spectacle - I like Gaga's shows, after all. And while I like rock music, playing an instrument is not necessary to a great live performance, although it can help considerably. But I could never get into the idea of Beyonce as the best live performer because to me, she has no heart and soul in her live singing. She's so distanced from her audience, just shouting out cliche phrases that live singers have used for years ("How are y'all doing tonight?, How are you beautiful people feeling?" "I wanna see everybody on their feet" etc). There's no evidence that she cares one iota about her audience. When singers who were performing in France post-Nice attacks were bringing up the situation in a spoken segment of the show and calling for peace, Beyonce didn't say a cheep about it when she performed in Paris. Despite Paris supposedly being so close to her and her husband's heart. She was actually criticised by one French critic for saying nothing about it, actually. Part of the beauty of watching someone live is that there's an un-rehearsed feeling to it, they might decide to do something unexpected. Not at a Beyonce show - everything is run like a Swiss watch. A live show also has the air of imperfectionism to it. But that's honest, that's real, in the moment, it sounds good. Beyonce's incessant need to be perfect live is what puts me off. I'm not interested in watching a live show that sounds exactly like the recorded album. I think live singing is about being raw, honest, real. Beyonce is too perfect and polished. Even when she's supposed to be being all honest and emotional, it still feels like it's all a carefully constructed act. She's too focused on looking perfect and is against "ugly" singing, which explains why she wanted those Superbowl pictures of her removed because they looked so unflattering and destroyed her image of perfection. I also think she has a bad habit of shouting her lyrics instead of singing them and like many people have said, she just repeats the same performance ideas over and over. If you're going to be the kind of performer that dances and puts on a spectacle, I want to see more variety in every possible way.

The only times I've been really moved by a live Beyonce performance was 1+1 on American Idol and Ave Maria at the I Am... show. And as far as duets go, the Alexandra duet on X Factor. Those were the real times when she seemed to show true authenticity. Other than that, she just doesn't thrill me live.

Wow wow wowthis is exactly what i thought about her and why she's overrated after watching some performances of her Mrs Carter tour yesterday.

 

it just resonates with what gaga said the other day about Madonna as a performer. it's always perfectly choreographed and lacks spontaneity. (but I do think Madonna's are more interesting in terms of her themes back in the day. Her interaction with the audience feels more authentic too compared to Bey). it's only workmanship and entertainment to me, not art. A simple acoustic performance on a piano can win over a 15-min Superbowl 'spectacle' if you ask me.

 

People can analyze the technicalities of a performance (the longest/highest note a performer can hold/reach and how big of a production it is) all they want but to me heart, soul and passion are what count and Beyonce either still doesn't get it or just doesn't have it.

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

This topic always comes around and it boils down to

"I dislike Beyonce, she's so "extra" and fake, so I don't recognize her talent or underestimate it to make a point  " and

"Omg, Beyonce is literally the best singer/dancer in the world slay my bussy kween! "

 

 

[Modern Ecstacy 3,871]

Yes. I agree. I'm a Gaga stan and I believe Beyonce is the best performer on the planet. And then comes Gaga.

[He8MyHeart 9,765]

I went to her Mrs. Carter show. It was pretty good but she didn't really engage the audience like Gaga does. Gaga actually talks to the audience which I like.

[StrawberryBlond 14,862]

17 hours ago, Kayla said:

Taylor Momsen puts on SUCH a good ****ing show. Saw her open for Marilyn Manson and I enjoyed her set better than his! She brings such good energy and a really unique vibe to the stage. 

 

On Bey again though, I'm amazed by how she's still going so strong. It's like she exists on this planet of popstars that keeps themselves as a person separate from the world and only exists on our planet as some powerhouse individual. Like...we've never seen her break down or falter. Even when relationship issues and whatnot were happening it became a career thing. (Whether or not it's genuine or respectable is not what I'm focusing on here- I'm focusing on the sheer fact that pretty much EVERYTHING we see and experience of her is so...CAREER-oriented. I actually think it's smart of her- she'd be the last celebrity I'd expect a breakdown from.)

For one so young, she has a really strong voice, which is refreshing. I think actually going through what she's gone through in the lyrics is what makes her performances so believable. Plenty of young rockers now haven't actually had troublesome lives, they just pretend they do. But she's been through some pain in her life and it comes across as so honest when she sings about it. Under The Water always makes me want to cry when I think about how her parents didn't want to know her anymore.

And that's the part of Beyonce that makes me really hard to like her. She never fails. She's too perfect. It reduces her humanity. I always thought that people were drawn to artists that reminded them of themselves and because of this, I thought that Beyonce would be seen as too unattainable to relate to.

17 hours ago, Kayla said:

And I feel like...people who view less of Beyonce because she doesn't do EVERYTHING in the creative process...I get it, but I also don't. I mean, if working with a team produces an awesome product, why not have a lot of people work on something to make it great, y'know?

We tend to require a musician to do EVERYTHING to be respected, but if their talent is vocals and someone else's talent is visuals, why not let those people work together to let their strengths be highlighted?

And we don't apply this to other professions. When you see an actor do you say, "Well, they don't even write their own lines. They didn't even help produce that movie." etc? Of course not- because you recognize that such a production succeeds because MANY people work together to bring their individual talents to life. 
Why can't a musician do the same?

Because music should be done by the artist who's the face of it, for the most part. I don't mind them working with people with different talents, but they should only be praised for the musical aspects that they themselves produced. If someone else did the visuals, why is the singer getting praised for it?

An actor is different from a singer. An actor's only job is to act, not to write lines. Provide a believable portrayal of the lines they are given. A screenwriter writes. I praise an actor for their acting but not for the lines themselves, for they didn't come from them. But for a singer who calls themselves an artist, well, I expect more of a hand in the actual writing. If you just sing, then you are just that, a singer, not an artist.

[Omar Vela 2,744]

She does almost the same always, her concerts are boring IMO... 

[Kayla 7,595]

8 hours ago, StrawberryBlond said:

Because music should be done by the artist who's the face of it, for the most part. I don't mind them working with people with different talents, but they should only be praised for the musical aspects that they themselves produced. If someone else did the visuals, why is the singer getting praised for it?

An actor is different from a singer. An actor's only job is to act, not to write lines. Provide a believable portrayal of the lines they are given. A screenwriter writes. I praise an actor for their acting but not for the lines themselves, for they didn't come from them. But for a singer who calls themselves an artist, well, I expect more of a hand in the actual writing. If you just sing, then you are just that, a singer, not an artist.

Then you're just arguing semantics.

I mean, Kim Kardashian has her own makeup artists and stylists, does she not? She's well-known largely because of her aesthetic, which is created by those people. But she's calling the shots. Same with Beyonce. 
It's also like how the President is credited as the face of the nation and blamed for all the success or failures by a population that can barely name their own state's Senators and Representatives.
We SHOULD know the names of the people behind the scenes and they should be more highly regarded. When Bey accepts an award for her work they should be up there with her talking just as much as she is, tbh. 

If Beyonce is just a good singer with good team building skills I don't feel she should be looked down on for that. I actually hate this idea that an artist has to do every little thing to have respect. I respect people for their talents. The only time an "artist" should lose respect is when they're just someone's money-making puppet. At least Bey is calling the shots. 
The issue isn't with Beyonce getting too much attention, it's with her team not getting enough, imo. 

[Kayla 7,595]

8 hours ago, StrawberryBlond said:

And that's the part of Beyonce that makes me really hard to like her. She never fails. She's too perfect. It reduces her humanity. I always thought that people were drawn to artists that reminded them of themselves and because of this, I thought that Beyonce would be seen as too unattainable to relate to.

As a whole it's hard to relate to her, but in certain pieces what she puts out is relatable. Or at the very least it looks amazing. And some of it's about how it makes the listener or viewer feel. And hell, some of it is just for fun. I have art hanging in my house that I don't "relate to" on a personal level, but I love it and something about it draws me to it.

I don't need a musician to connect with my life story to appreciate their talents. I have other musicians and other outlets for that. And frankly, just because being more relatable and open makes someone a more genuine "artist" that doesn't mean it's the only type of art that should be allowed to exist as something respectable or enjoyable. 

 

[JupiterDrive 2,788]

Now she only needs good music to perform to

 

[StrawberryBlond 14,862]

10 hours ago, Kayla said:

Then you're just arguing semantics.

I mean, Kim Kardashian has her own makeup artists and stylists, does she not? She's well-known largely because of her aesthetic, which is created by those people. But she's calling the shots. Same with Beyonce. 
It's also like how the President is credited as the face of the nation and blamed for all the success or failures by a population that can barely name their own state's Senators and Representatives.
We SHOULD know the names of the people behind the scenes and they should be more highly regarded. When Bey accepts an award for her work they should be up there with her talking just as much as she is, tbh. 

If Beyonce is just a good singer with good team building skills I don't feel she should be looked down on for that. I actually hate this idea that an artist has to do every little thing to have respect. I respect people for their talents. The only time an "artist" should lose respect is when they're just someone's money-making puppet. At least Bey is calling the shots. 
The issue isn't with Beyonce getting too much attention, it's with her team not getting enough, imo. 

But I think being an artist is more than calling the shots. An artist creates. If you don't create, you're not an artist. And no, I don't consider interpreting a song vocally to make it your own counts as creating art (Beyonce, however, does because she wants credit for everything).

The problem I have is that so many of her fans talk about her as if she did create every little thing, even something that she obviously didn't, like her music videos. I wouldn't mind if they just separated what she clearly did and what she clearly didn't. Her goddess image is so huge that everything she does is perceived to have come directly from her, even though there is proof that she has outright stolen concepts from other artists. She even once said her work "is all me." And this was back in the B'Day era that she said this. I'd find this admission slightly more believable now but she was clearly lying when she said this back in the day.

10 hours ago, Kayla said:

As a whole it's hard to relate to her, but in certain pieces what she puts out is relatable. Or at the very least it looks amazing. And some of it's about how it makes the listener or viewer feel. And hell, some of it is just for fun. I have art hanging in my house that I don't "relate to" on a personal level, but I love it and something about it draws me to it.

I don't need a musician to connect with my life story to appreciate their talents. I have other musicians and other outlets for that. And frankly, just because being more relatable and open makes someone a more genuine "artist" that doesn't mean it's the only type of art that should be allowed to exist as something respectable or enjoyable.

Some of her stuff is a bit relatable but unless you're super in love or have broken up, her work isn't diverse enough to have appeal to that many people. I Was Here and Listen are the only songs of hers I can truly relate to. I like to think I'd be like the Beyonce of 1+1 and Partition if I was in love or the Beyonce of Ring The Alarm and Don't Hurt Yourself if I got cheated on, but unless I ever get into a relationship and/or be cheated on, I'll never know. Basically, I value an artist more if they sing about something other topics beside relationships. Because not all of us have any luck on that field. And if you're asexual, well, the music world must be a very unrelatable place.

I don't have to relate to an artist to find their music good by any means but if I can't relate, their work has to at least be compelling and Beyonce's music just doesn't provide that for me with only a few exceptions. I have no problem with unrelatable art or artists existing, my only question is why they're so popular. Especially when there's better art or artists who actually are relatable or more appealing who can't get anywhere.