Beyonce through the years

Beyonce released her Dangerously in Love debut solo album exactly ten years ago and since that time, she has established herself as one of the leading forces in R&B and Pop music. However, now that the diva has come to that unavoidable juncture in her career where her success has begun to wane, a question has been present: has Beyonce realised her full potential?

Almost every major female Pop artist from Janet Jackson to Whitney Houston has experienced a downturn in their commercial impact after the age of thirty years, and the situation only worsens until they cross into their mid-forties and are classed as expired goods in the youth-driven entertainment industry. So, it is no surprise that many of these acts and their labels strive to accomplish as much as they can before they are replaced by younger performers.

Such was the case with Beyonce who exploded onto the music scene as a solo artist with her Dangerously in Love album in 2003 and steadily dominated Pop radio for almost the entire decade after. Yes, Beyonce was also the only lead singer of Destiny’s Child but similar to how Berry Gordy groomed Diana Ross for success as the face of The Supremes, Mathew Knowles merely used the group as the vehicle to further his daughter’s career.

From day one, Beyonce was the axis of Destiny’s Child and almost every song, performance, music video, photograph, press release and interview focused on her as the star of the group. Hence, when it was time for her to abandon her last pair training wheels known as Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams – she had to discard many before she found two that fit her need perfectly – Beyonce already had an audience who recognised her as a standout artist and she didn’t have to start from square one like most of her peers.

With the transition from group leader to solo act so seamlessly handled by Mr. Knowles, who also applied the Benny Medina/Jennifer Lopez art of brand marketing, Beyonce became an undeniable force on the charts. Of course, the quality of music still mattered in 2003 and Dangerously in Love was far from the collection of generic hits that her younger competitors call albums today.

Comprising contributions by Scott Storch, Missy Elliott, Rich Harrison, Sean Paul and Jay-Z, Dangerously in Love was a rich mix of R&B, Pop and Disco that easily ranked it among the greatest debut efforts of the era. Every note, beat and lyric was carefully placed to ensure that Beyonce was viewed not only as a respectable solo act, but also as an artist better than Destiny’s Child as a collective.

Dangerously in Love produced monster hits, such as the instant classic “Crazy in Love (Ft. Jay-Z)”, the club favourite “Baby Boy (Ft. Sean Paul)” and the refreshing take on Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby”, “Naughty Girl”. It was clear by the end of 2003 that Beyonce had arrived.

After a short reunion with Destiny’s Child, which was merely to offer fans of the group closure as they announced their official split, Beyonce returned to her solo mission for chart domination with B’Day in 2006. However, unlike its predecessor, this album introduced the world to freer, less inhibited entertainer who had combined her music with a drastically improved performance style.

Beyonce’s voice was stronger, her music was more natural and her shows were  of a grander scale. Even her singing had changed as she moved away from timid performances laced with dozens of Mariah Carey-styled vocal runs to define her own sound, which became based on a unique Hip-Hop twang and gritty vibrato.

B’Day was a gusty risk by a more daring artist. As a complete departure from Dangerously in Love as well as everything on radio at that time, the album boasted R&B, Pop, Funk and just a hint of the brassy sounds of New Orleans’ Bounce. Without a question, this record remains the closest example of Beyonce’s own signature style.

Sadly, B’Day was a slow burner on the charts and failed to match the runaway success of Dangerously in Love. Therefore, as a performer hungry for hits, Beyonce took a much safer approach with its followup, I Am…Sasha Fierce, and paid dearly for it in the eyes of unsponsored critics.

I Am…Sasha Fierce was nothing more than catchy yet contrived and shallow Pop music. Gone were the odes to Beyonce’s southern Creole heritage as they were replaced by sing-along jams that were clearly aimed at garnering radio airplay instead of artistic credibility.

The I Am… side of the album entailed soulless ballads, such as “Halo” and “Ave Maria”, that showcased Beyonce’s vocal ability more than who she really was an artist. Yet, that first disc was just the a whiff of the garbage to follow on part two, Sasha Fierce, which was defined by mindless uptempo tracks catering to Beyonce’s silly fans who craved drag queen routines instead of musical depth.

Yet, as a result of a massive media campaign, the cleverly adapted Bob Fosse “Mexican Breakfast” routine in the “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video that quickly went viral and political connections throughout the industry, I Am…Sasha Fierce was at least able to match the sales of B’Day. Additionally, as voters focused on popularity instead of quality, Beyonce took home five Grammy Awards for the album in 2010 as well as an extra trophy for her cover of “At Last”.

Media fodder and propaganda fuelled Beyonce’s career to new heights on a global scale and by the end of the I Am…World Tour in 2010, she had risen to icon status. What she didn’t understand, however, was that all dark magic comes with a price and she suffered a serious blow to her career in the years that followed.

In 2011, Beyonce launched her 4 era with yet another inorganic tune called “Run the World (Girls)” that catered to her neck-bobbing, finger-snapping fans. The song had the markings of a hit but there was a serious problem that prevented it from rocketing to the top of the charts: Beyonce had fired Mr. Knowles.

That’s right, after years of guiding his daughter to new heights of success, Mr. Knowles was dumped in favour of a new team of people who had absolutely no clue of how to manage the brand known as Beyonce. Thus, everything started to crumble and nothing they did to remedy the situation worked.

An unfinished “Run the World” leaked online days before its official release date and when On Air…with Ryan Seacrest was given the green light to premiere it, the wrong version was played to millions of listeners. Meanwhile, Beyonce was busy relaxing with her family during a European vacation  and appeared not to care about the debacle.

What followed were months of horrible single choices, live performances that did nothing to boost her relevance on the radio and gross overexposure in the media with a string of tacky music videos that were all released weeks apart from each other. Also, we can’t forget the Billboard Millennium Award that was suspiciously created just in time to promote Beyonce’s name and has seemingly been discontinued.

So, how did Beyonce keep the media generally on her side? Just when some outlets began reporting her career troubles, she announced her pregnancy during a red carpet press gathering at the 2011 MTV VMA and had a tribute to Britney Spears – a far more successful act – turned into a celebration of her swollen belly.

Yet,that doesn’t mean that 4, which became her lowest-selling album, was a terrible effort. In fact, the record was actually impressive and a definite improvement from the disappointing I Am…Sasha Fierce but the singles used to promote it were a poor representation of the included material, and consumers were left utterly confused.

Flash forward to 2013 and Beyonce has arrived at a conundrum. The snippets songs that she has released thus far – “Bow Down”, “I Been On”, “Grown Woman” and “Standing on the Sun” – have left her remaining fans divided regarding what they want from their leader.  Even Ne-Yo recently confirmed to Billboard that Beyonce is still trying to figure out the direction of her new album, despite already embarking on her The Mrs. Cater Show World Tour and launching a pointless media campaign to support the record that has yet to materialise.

Moreover, a crop of younger acts led by Rihanna have taken control of the charts that Beyonce once ruled so effortlessly in the 2000s and as the trends of this visually driven Digital Age of music continue to shift, her career has become stagnant. Furthermore, Beyonce’s only saving grave, her bouncy routines, have become repetitive - probably because she can’t find new “inspiration” from other artists – and her fickle fans have begun to look elsewhere for entertainment.

Now, let’s get to the point. At the beginning of this article, I asked if Beyonce ever realised her full potential. After reviewing the various eras of her career and her progression as an artist, the answer is a clear, bold, definite and resounding “no.”

At the start of her solo career, Beyonce moved from strength to strength as she defined her own unique style of artistry. However, in while trying stay current, she quickly gave up that quest and cheapened her sound, therefore stunting her growth and preventing herself from developing into a truly great music icon beyond her standing in the media.

With her level of talent, Beyonce should have crafted a catalogue that reflects her ability. Where is her version of Jackson’s The Velvet Rope or even Usher’s Confessions? Are Dangerously in Love and B’Day really the best examples of what she can create as an artist or is there something deeper hidden beneath her layers of store-bought hair?

There is still some hope for Beyonce, though, because in the eyes of the media, she is not “dead” yet. If Mary J. Blige created The Breakthrough at 34 years of age and Carey released The Emancipation of Mimi when she was 35, then their young friend has a chance to enjoy a similar creative landmark. Still, Beyonce has to want it first.

I leave you with Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” in celebration of the Dangerously in Love anniversary:.

Thoughts?