The Queen of the wind machine is red hot in this performance of Sweet Dreams for the MTV Europe Music Awards. Though it was very theatrical and titillating, I was hoping she’d do the whole song, as it’s one of my favorites from the I Am…Sasha Fierce album. Vocals were on point though B, another one knocked outta the park!
Archive for the ‘Beyonce’ Category
Video: Beyonce Performs ‘Sweet Dreams’ at MTV EMA’s
On November - 6 - 2009
VMA Recap: Beyonce – Single Ladies
On September - 16 - 2009
If you’ve been to her current I Am… tour, this performance is nothing new, save for the prancing army of single ladies behind Beyonce. Although her gesture for Taylor Swift wins for classiest moment of the night, this concept is unoriginal and recycled. She used the same concept a few years ago when she performed her single Me, Myself and I with another army of single women.
Kelly Clarkson vs. Beyonce
On July - 27 - 2009
If you’ve got either of these two albums, you may notice one very similar track on each – and this highlights a growing problem in the industry – recycled tracks. When prepping her 4th album, All I Ever Wanted, Kelly Clarkson teamed up with One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder to pen one of the highlight songs of her album, Already Gone. Tedder provided the track while Clarkson penned the lyrics and the result was a hit which has now become the album’s third single.
Already Gone – Kelly Clarkson
Unbeknownst to Clarkson at the time, Tedder had provided the same track to Beyonce Knowles, which became the backing track to Halo, the fourth single from her third album I Am…Sasha Fierce. The similarities in the tracks are uncanny and Clarkson fought a losing battle with her label to pull her record from the album before its release, out of respect for Beyonce.
When producers and writers re-use tracks like that, it shortchanges the artists and the consumers. It replaces a slot for quality original work with something that’s already done, but there are examples of this all throughout the industry. Leona Lewis’ Forgive Me is a recycled track that Akon provided Gwen Stefani for Sweet Escape. Ciara’s latest single Work from the Fantasy Ride album, is a track by Danja originally used by Danity Kane for their song Pretty Boy. And the number of songs that followed Lil Jon’s ‘Yeah!’ formula is pretty high. Add Ne-yo and Avril Lavigne to the list of guilty writers/producers as well.
The list could go on, but what do you think about this trend of producers re-using tracks in the industry? Is it fair? Is it lazy? Do you even care?
Video: Beyonce – Sweet Dreams
On July - 8 - 2009
I can’t even be mad at Beyonce for this video. I actually dig this because it’s not over the top, but it’s clear that Beyonce is trying to establish an ‘era’ with the videos from the I Am…Sasha Fierce album. Most of the videos have featured her in some sort of intricate dance sequence flanked by two dancers and that will be the defining image of this period in her career. Carry on Sasha Fierce, you can be both my sweet dream AND my beautiful nightmare…
Video: Beyonce – Brokenhearted Girl
On June - 16 - 2009
Perfect!! Just when all Beyonce’s videos were getting mundane, she breaks through with this emotional and very captivating video. I love how her facial expressions tell the story in this video; there are no words, just the music and the images. Beyond that, this is one of my favorite songs from the album, penned by Babyface himself. Brokenhearted Girl appears on Beyonce’s latest album, I Am…Sasha Fierce, in stores now!
Video Remix: Beyonce feat. Kanye West – Ego
On June - 16 - 2009
If you saw the original video, there’s not much to see here. And really, was it a surprise to ANYONE that Kanye would do a verse for a song called Ego?? So anyway, here it is, the original video for Beyonce’s Ego, featuring a short performance clip from Kanye tacked on to the beginning — to stroke his big ego.
Video: Beyonce – Ego
On May - 21 - 2009
Beyonce’s non-stop these days, and who can blame her? After all, she’s “got every reason to feel like I’m that bitch!” Sasha Fierce maintains the black and white theme and flashy attire in this video for Ego from the I Am…Sasha Fierce album. Sexy as it may be, this concept is getting a bit repetitive in her videos: big hair, flanking dancers, flashy dresses… And this song is catchy but it’s not her best, not even in the top five. Although it’s not an official remix, the version with Kanye would have been more entertaining, in video form at least…
MINDSTREAM TOPIC: For Cheaters Only
On April - 15 - 2009
Tonight’s Topic on Mindstream is CHEATING… Do you forgive, forget and move on? Do you get even? Or do you just walk away? As part of the Sound-Savvy report, I thought it’d be cool to take a look back at some of the best ‘cheating’ videos (in no particular order) of our lifetime. This is not a definitive or final list, so feel free to leave comments with some videos you think should’ve made the list.
Down Low (Nobody Has To Know) – R. Kelly;R. Kelly featuring Ronald and Ernie Isley
This song taught us the same thing the serpent taught Eve when she bit that apple: everything that looks good ain’t good! R. Kelly clearly demonstrates that cheating can have dire consequences. Definitely not a situation where I’d want to learn the hard way, ouch…
Rihanna – Unfaithful – Rihanna
Believe it or not, most cheaters feel guilty when they cheat. Such is the case with Rihanna in Unfaithful. Guilt doesn’t make it right, nor does it soften the blow when the other party finds out. Despite her guilt she kept lying, and as the lyrics tell, she got better with her lies as time went on… un-good.
Oh come on… who could forget Dru Hill?? True singin, synchronized dance moves, an era in R&B music. I digress… One thing this video taught us all? Sometimes it’s the person you would NEVER expect. Who knew his girl had a girlfriend?
Ladies everywhere had a reason to be proud off this video… Beyonce found out her dude was cheating and naturally, she went the hell off! Ladies, would you say this is a typical response to a cheater?
How many cheaters would actually own up to it and confess? And then to do it on the world’s stage with an audience of millions watching… You gotta give Usher props. Whether this was a stunt to sell records or a true story, it made on hell of a great story and a great album, the best album in his career by far.
Beyonce’s Performance at the Academy Awards
On February - 23 - 2009
I’ve been seeing a lot of bashing regarding her performance last night, and while I agree that Beyonce needs to take some time off and give us a break, I rather enjoyed this performance last night. She managed to put a little of her own flavor into each number and still deliver a broadway-caliber performance, which is different from her normal stage show. I stand by my previous comments that she was channeling Jessica Rabbit with that dress (the woman in the red dress from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”!) But she looked and sounded amazing, and I’m sure that routine was no easy task. So yeah I enjoyed it, but uh… Beyonce, you can sit down now.
Beyonce’s Performance of ‘At Last’
On January - 21 - 2009
Aight, so if you read Sound-Savvy on a regular, you’ll know that I DO like Beyonce, I’m just not her biggest fan, but I treat her no differently than everyone else – when she’s right I give her props, when she’s wrong, I say what I feel. In this case, Beyonce is VERY RIGHT… A lot of people are giving her flack saying she’s overzealous and “thirsty” for wanting so badly to perform at the inauguration… so what?? If you were currently the biggest name in music (not really up for debate) and had this opportunity, the opportunity of a lifetime, can you honestly say you wouldn’t jump at the chance? My parents always taught me “If you want something, go get it” So I don’t see anything wrong with it, especially since she delivered such an amazing and stirring performance of At Last. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the country watching this; it literally gave me chills. So while I may not agree with all of Beyonce’s statements, my hat goes off to her for this one, it was a privilege well-deserved and an honor best bestowed.
