Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Are the Expectations too high?

Hello, everyone. I am going to make this entry as short as I can. I know I can be long-winded, but that's just the passion that I have for the phenom that is Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Anyways after participating in a couple of discussion, I decided on this topic to blog.

To give the short answer, I will say that pretty much it is too high. I will admit that at times, I can go too far in my expectations. Let me say that I appreciate what she has done as a performer and artist. I feel that she is one of the greats. No matter the debate of where she is placed, she has to be discussed as one of the greats and she's only 28. Still, being that she's 28, I am excited over the potential for more growth musicially and showmanship. There are so many directions and options for her to go and I don't want her to miss out of them because there are a lot of artists, past and present, who would love to be in her position.

So, yes, I do want her to take advantage and continue to mature as an artist. Yet, I find myself looking at posts with blank stares because of how high the bar is set with regards to critiquing her music. And I am not even talking just critics. I am talking about fans. It's mind-boggling to me that a 3 time contemporary R&B Album Grammy Winning Artist with all three of her officially released albums don't have one classic album in some of those fans' minds. *blank stare* Are we looking at the landscape of Contemporary R&B Music right now?

And worst, people want to compare her work to Albums like Thriller, Songs in the Key of Life and even The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Are people serious? To have discussion like, "Will Beyonce get her 'Thriller'?" is unbelievable. We are talking different eras of music. Even the 90s are different than what is going on now in the industry. It boggles my mind.

If I am looking from an objective pov, not just of my personal subjective pov then yes, Beyoncé has classic albums. All 3 of them are in their own way. They have made an impact, and have set the standard for her genre. It's why she's the Queen of Pop & Soul. That can't be taken away, no matter she does afterwards with her work and yes, I know that this is a society and age of, "What have you done for me lately?"

So with that being said, Beyoncé puts high expectation on her work. She is the same woman who said she recorded Deja Vu because she wanted something different than what she hears on the radio during that time. She's also the one who said that she hadn't done a classic album yet during the beginning of the IA..SF era and this is after putting out an album that I believe is the standard for Pop & Soul; B'day.

So from that pov, that excites me. She has the fortitude, the willingness to grow and not stay stagnant. She also has the pulse of her fans, for the most part, dig what she does and is willing to grow and mature with her and she has the backing from her label to do what she wants within the framework on the industry that she is navigating. I believe the best is yet to come. But while that is the case, hopefully people will appreciate what she has done in the framework of the age and genre that she is in while being open-minded enough to give her the freedom to grow as the artist that she desires to be. Thank you for reading this blog and I hoped that everyone had a great 4th of July.

1 comment:

  1. I think its sad how under rated Bey's album's are. Reading some of those reviews can have a bitch doing 180s. Bey's albums are top notch, It just doesnt get much better. I think all 3 albums are pretty much on the same level & all very good & way above the pack. I cant what till LP #IV comes out so she can out do them.

    ReplyDelete