Simply Historic!
Those are the best words to describe the night at the Grammy awards for Beyonce Knowles. If you have not heard, Beyonce won six awards in one night. According to news outlets a feat that has never been accomplished before. To put it into perspective, think about all the female entertainers before her: Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Gladys Knight. None have won as many awards in one night as Beyonce. Not to say that she is more talented than any of them, but the night does speak volumes. Or does it!
In preparing this blog I ran into some very interesting opinions. Most people genuinely like Beyonce and even like her music. But there are a few, who feel she is not very talented and that her parents have brokered her way to the top. Hmmmmm! Immediately I received a picture of so many parents who have pushed their children very hard to ensure a place in the lights of stardom. I’ve heard some of the rumors about Matthew Knowles and his management style. How he quit his job to push Beyonce to the top. But I also thought about the parents who pushed even harder and with more money and time than Mr. Knowles, only to watch their investment fall hard without payoff. So which is it in this case! Is Beyonce the product of parental pushing, or does she have immense talent. Let’s see.
Throughout history, we’ve seen performers come on the scene with big Top 40 hits and well, just like they came on, they leave. We never hear from them again. No need to mention any names but they usually don’t make a career of the entertainment business. Not at all! In Beyonce’s case it seems to be a tale of two careers. She started out a member of Destiny’s Child, a female singing group who had tremendous success. Now she is a solo artist with tremendous success. Sound familiar? Try Diana Ross or Michael Jackson. There are more but these two are the best examples. With Michael Jackson we truly see some similarities. Joe Jackson pushed greatly for his son’s success. Effectively! Was Michael Jackson any less talented because of his father’s management of his early career? Absolutely not! We all know the story now. It seems that regardless of parental career support, guidance, or whatever you want to call it; the talent will come to the forefront.
Some argue that talent does not guarantee a great musical career. It takes promotion too. Some may be better but we never hear from them because they were not promoted properly. That may be true in some cases, but it does remind me of an old saying. “I don’t know what “it” is, but when I see “it”, I’ll know you have “it” “. This may not make a lot of sense to many of you but, either a person has musical talent of they do not. Simple! Another way to put it, “A hit can be promoted but talent will make a long musical career. So far, Beyonce has done more before thirty years old than many have done in a lifelong career. More music and movies will come for sure. In the meantime, give her album a listen. I think it may be one to define her solo career.