It’s simple to place Beyoncé on a pedestal. She has been carrying the music business on her back in the eyes of her millions of admirers since her Destiny’s Child debut in 1997. For more than two decades, the mother of three has been redefining what it means to be a music star by not just being at the top of her game, but physically altering it. She is her only opponent.
Is Beyoncé releasing a surprise album? It becomes into the most fascinating music marketing tactic of the decade. In 2018, did Beyoncé deploy a marching band at Coachella? Collegiate music becomes a mainstay on the mainstream charts. In her Renaissance period, Beyoncé adores all things disco and chrome? Throughout the summer, the high street is awash with silver. Time and again, the world’s beloved multi-hyphenate exceeds pop stardom and is only referred to as a “Alien Superstar” in her own words.
Here are seven reasons why she will always be That Girl.
She was her own opener.
When the Renaissance tour was announced in January, the beyhive’s main concern was who would be her opening act. The gossip mill indicated Bey’s buddies, maybe Tems or Chloe X Halle. The truth was much better. The audience (and those of us watching on a shaky Instagram live broadcast) waited with bated breath for the inaugural night at Friends Arena in Stockholm on May 10. Beyoncé took the stage in a bespoke Alexander McQueen metallic black and silver outfit to the mournful piano of Dangerously in Love, the title track from her 2003 solo album. As it became clear that Beyoncé would be her own opening act, confusion transformed to ecstasy.
That Grammys performance was incredible.
Think back to February 2017, when Beyoncé was scheduled to perform at the Grammys. The pregnant (with twins, no less) 36-year-old sat on a chair that reclined backwards at a 45-degree angle, suspending her throughout her melancholy and emotional renditions of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles.” Of course, no such act would be possible without comprehensive safety inspections and dummy runs, but it’s still a daring manoeuvre that seems like a precursor to a pregnant Rihanna’s soaring Super Bowl appearance.
The unexpected album
Not many album releases make headlines. Let alone breaking news that takes you back to that same moment (I was walking to school) even ten years later. However, on December 13, 2013, Beyoncé upset the game once again by unleashing an eponymous album with no notice. An album that, I should add, inaugurated a new era for the superstar. Some may say that after BEYONCÉ (2013), a new elusive, unachievable aura arose around the diva. In 2016, she released Lemonade as a visual album, another idea popularised by the artist.
When Beyoncé mentioned gay rights!
Queen Bey has long been an advocate for social justice. From founding BEYGOOD, her nonprofit arm that supports Black companies, to honouring her gay fans and the LGBTQ history that is so embedded in the Renaissance album, Beyonce has done it all. She is a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. It was only natural that she should shout “gay rights!” while falling from the harness on which her disco horse (Reneigh) rides her. It was ridiculous.
Her clothing
No Beyoncé round-up would be complete without mentioning her fashion status. The ultimate “tour-drobe” has come from Beyoncé’s work with stylists for Renaissance. This is likely the best Bey has ever looked, with custom-made dresses from big houses and cult pieces from new designers.
Her pregnancy announcement during the VMAs
When discussing Beyoncé, it’s difficult not to use the term “iconic” 15 times. However, there is no other way to explain her Blue Ivy pregnancy announcement. Beyoncé dressed up in a buttoned-up purple sequined pantsuit for an incredibly high-octane performance of “Love On Top” at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. For the grand finale? She put down the microphone, unzipped her jacket, and stroked her developing tummy with one hand on her hip. The wind machine was spinning like it was rent time.
She is a meme.
Beyoncé enjoys a good joke. Beyoncé often leans into her meme potential, from shouting ‘Somebody’s being fired, hey huh!’ when a runner screwed up the lights during a 13-year-old performance of ‘Diva’ to leaping from a boat in a full vertical line. The finest of them all? Her chat with Reggie Yates in 2007 while promoting Dreamgirls. The presenter tries to teach the celebrity some Cockney rhyming slang, but she doesn’t understand what he’s saying. In any case.
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