It's a common music thing that Beyoncé's fandom "The Bey Hive" is all kinds of extra. We know it. We understand. We've accepted it. Move on. Where people get beside themselves is when they think that just because "The Hive" is so exaggerated with their support (as any fandom should be) that there is a possibility that Beyoncé and all of her wonder is also exaggerated! We're gonna clock that right now!
What's funny is that Queen Bey's incredibly strong fan base is met by almost equally as strong haters. People work full-time, clocking in and out, to make Beyoncé look bad. Saying all kinds of stuff: she's Satan's mistress (not wife, but mistress), she's the queen of the Illuminati, she's the most politically divisive celebrity in history, she faked her pregnancy, she practices deep dark witchcraft! There are articles, websites, a lot of stuff really trying her life! A few honorable mentions are: "Why I Hate Beyoncé" , "6 Signs Beyonce Is In The Illuminati, Regardless Of What She Says In 'Formation'," "Beyoncé's Illuminati-worshiping Coachella performance,decoded." The Hive is laughing because these people are seriously reaching. What we understand is that Beyoncé is so unproblematic that people really have to say she's the devil's spawn to make her look bad. They don't have an affair, or nip slip, or fist fight to bring up. So instead, they come up with all these cray stories.
This leads me what is fact. Beyoncé works so hard her success can only be credited to divine intervention. But, we're not gonna act like she hasn't been doing this her entire actual life. Destiny's Child's first album was released when she was 17 years old. Since then, the group has become one of the best-selling female groups of all times; ranking third according to Billboard. They've earned three Grammys and sold over 60 million albums worldwide. Sooooo, this was before Bey released her first solo album in 2003.
Now that that's out of the way, we can talk about her actual career and what makes her better than literally everyone else.
1. She's so extra.
GiphyPersonally, I adore Beyoncé because she's all kinds of extra. Beyoncé never halfway does a performance. She's notorious for her live performances. This is also why she's been given so many larger than life performance opportunities: two Super Bowl Halftime shows, being the first black woman to headline the Glastonbury Festival, being the first black woman to headline Coachella, performing at President Obama's first and second inaugurations. It's the little things that make everything so memorable.
No one needs 50 backup dancers. No one needs a full marching band behind you. No one needs a levitating stage that flies over the audience. These are things that make a Beyoncé performance, a Beyoncé performance. Each detail is carefully crafted and well thought out. There is an incredible usage of space, visuals, and each and every person.
This also carries over to her albums and their promotion. Bey has been huge on visuals accompanying her music. Since her second album "B'Day" in 2006, she's really put a lot of time into music videos. For "B'Day," she shot a video for every single track. "Sasha Fierce" in 2008 really put her on the map with videos like "Singles Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" and "If I Were A Boy." Then, self-titled in 2013 and "Lemonade" in 2016 were both visual albums. So, what I'm saying is, Beyoncé is no longer putting out albums, but feature films. "Lemonade" was an HBO exclusive when it first aired. How is this not spectacular?
2. Versatility.
Beyoncé in "Don't Hurt Yourself"
GiphyStripping everything down, Beyoncé is an R&B/Pop artist! Still, as any good artist should, she has never been shy about showing off her diversity. Beyoncé has time and time again stepped outside of her niché.
Let's travel all the way back to the start of her solo career. Bey has done tributes for many artists: Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner, and Judy Garland. Singing everything from "The Way We Were" to "All That Jazz," to "Proud Mary." Then, let's talk about all the times she's jumped straight into other genres. Her 2010 Grammy Award performance of "If I Were A Boy" was mashed up with Alanis Morisette's "You Oughta Know." Her 2016 performance of "Daddy Lessons" at the Country Music Awards brought the show it's best ratings in history. And let's not forget her "The Beautiful Ones/ Sex On Fire" mash up!
She also found time to appear in plenty of feature films: "Carmen: A Hip Hopera" actually had her rapping! "Dreamgirls" and "Cadillac Records" showed of so much more of her acting and vocal abilities. You're crazy to even think that Bey is a one trick pony!
3. Charity.
GiphyThe Queen has always been an advocate for gender equality and women's rights. She's been handing us female anthems since day one: "Independent Women," "Irreplaceable," "Diva," "Formation," This is not the only cause she's which linked herself.
Bey helped in raising funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina. She was an open advocate for both former President Obama and Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign. She endorsed same-sex marriage back in 2013 after the Proposition 8 debate. Most recently, Beyoncé has focused her attention on racial matters and equality for the black community. Much controversy was behind her second Super Bowl halftime show performance and its references to the Civil Rights Group, The Black Panther Party. Moreover, she has become more vocal with these values through her performances. Most notably, her BET Awards performance of "Freedom" with Kendrick Lamar, and her singing of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at Coachella.
4. Image.
Beyoncé in "Grown Woman"
GiphyWhat people possibly hate the most and what is possibly the most impressive aspect of Beyoncé is her image. I like to look at her as a concept. Although she's a regular person, she manages to keep a near perfect reputation. You never hear about Bey being any kind of problematic. Any controversy around her is due to her being bold and producing quality art, other people, or straight up haters.
But, the whole thing about Beyoncé is that she's everything she's supposed to be. She's classy, smart, confident, vulnerable, strong, relatable, successful, self made, wife and mother material... Just going down the list. And people hate that because it's unrealistic. But the fact that she works every second of every day for exactly this is why it's possible! It's not like she woke up one day and was at the top of her game. 1998 Bey is not 2003 Bey is not 2008 or 2018 Bey! Over time she just becomes more and more refined and that much closer to perfect. She's literal proof that hard work and dedication breaks barriers.
If you read all of this and still don't' like Beyoncé, I'm not sure what's wrong with you. It may seem like a bandwagon obsession but, the lady is great at everything! I'll be Bey Hive until the day I die.
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