Just let me say this directly to the Beyhive: Carlos Santana is 69 years old and he’s a music legend. I know that’s not going to stop the hive from activating their attack on Santana, but maybe don’t go TOO hard on him. That being said, Santana better recognize!! I’m pretty sure an apology is coming soon, but before that happens, let’s figure out what he was trying to say. Santana spoke to the New Zealand Herald this week about the Grammys controversy, where most people in the world were like, “Damn, Beyonce was robbed.” It was no real disrespect to Adele, because even Adele thought Bey was robbed. But Santana believes Adele was actually more deserving of all of the awards because Beyonce isn’t a real singer. OH NO.
Carlos Santana has defended Adele against the Beyhive. The British singer walked away with five Grammys on Sunday night, including the coveted Album of the Year gong for her record 25, but has been criticised by fans of Beyonce who believe she should have won the award for her politically- charged album Lemonade. But Adele, who seemed surprised to have won, has an ally in 13-time Grammy award-winner Carlos Santana, who believes she deserved to win because of her talent.
“I think that Adele won because she can sing, sing,” Santana told AAP. “With all respect to our sister Beyonce, Beyonce is very beautiful to look at and it’s more like modelling kind of music – music to model a dress – she’s not a singer, singer, with all respect to her,” he said.
Adele also performed at the awards ceremony, paying tribute to the late George Michael with a slowed-down version of his song Fastlove, which she performed without any dancers.
“Adele can sing, sing. She doesn’t bring all the dancers and props, she can just stand there and she just stood there and sang the song and that’s it, and this is why she wins,” Santana said.
I don’t want to dissect this too hard, because everyone has different tastes and I honestly think Beyonce and Adele are both “real singers.” I would argue that Beyonce’s voice has more range, in that she is less genre-specific, which is what she showcased on Lemonade so effectively – she can sing pop songs, rock songs, country songs, ballads and more. Adele can only really sing her brand of Adele-songs. Part contemporary-jazz, lots of ballads, lots of sad pop songs. I also think that Beyonce gets too much sh-t for caring about how she packages her music: Beyonce is a strong visual artist, and she cares deeply about how her music is presented and performed. That’s not a crime, certainly not in the music industry today, which is why Beyonce is one of the most respected artists within the industry. To dismiss her as just a “model” does a disservice to how much work she puts into her performances and how much she cares. Anyway… go ahead, Beyhive. Have at him.
Update: I KNEW an apology would be happening soon enough. Santana posted this on Facebook: “My intent was to congratulate Adele on her amazing night at the Grammys. My comment about Beyonce was regretfully taken out of context. I have the utmost respect for her as an artist and a person. She deserves all the accolades that come her way. I wish Beyonce and her family all the best.”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I think their voice are equal. Beyonce just has better teqnique. You find hundreds of articles from vocal coaches critizing Adele’s teqnique. Adele has a powerful voice, but she doesn’t nurse it. She strains her voice and she smokes. Adele doesn’t take breaks because she wants to. She HAS to preserve her voice. She’s already had surgery, which could have been avoided if she had just taken care it. Beyonce is a perfectionist. Matthew would’ve never allowed Beyonce to do anything that would’ve damage her voice.
Beyoncé has terrible technique too. She stretches herself less these days but when she used to belt more it was painful to listen to. She’s extremely reliant on growling in her upper belts, and her lower notes lack clarity. She shout sings far more than is good for her voice, and while she can hit faux operatic notes in the studio, live it’s a whole other story and she forces it well past where she should.
Adele of course does more damage because at least half her songs require her to really reach, but both are very, very poorly trained singers.
I’m a vocal coach and I agree that neither of them have good technique. I actually use Adele as an example to my voice students of why it’s important to sing from your diaphragm… It’s the main reason she needed surgery on her vocal cords, not breathing/ singing properly. I like some of Beyoncé’s songs, but I wouldn’t say her technique/ voice is great either.
Yup. Both are awesome and talented, though the lack of training is noticeable. But I think it’s mostly noticeable to other trained people.
DONNNA…. thank you so much…. i was trying to make sense of the criticisms on technique and thought to myself…where the hell is the vocal coach in these comments for persepctive and to dumb this down for people like me who dont know lol. Your comment was a jewel
Adele has a once in a life time voice. Beyoncé can sing two notes, kinda. She is selling sex, not music. If you think they sound alike, you are nearly deaf.
“Beyoncé can sing two notes,”
I am not a Beyoncé stan, but that is some bullsh*t right there. Also, a woman can be sexual AND sell music. They do not negate each other. It isn’t “either/or”.
Wow this is some next level idiocy right here. You clearly know zilch. She is not selling sex, she OWNS her sexuality. Which is why WOMEN love ‘Lemonade’. Maybe you need to own yours? Just sayin’.
It’s like Mary Carol doesn’t understand that music can include sexual subjects and still be music.
Once in a lifetime? Yikes. That must be a short ass lifetime.
Once in a lifetime? Seriously? ADELE? LOL. Yes, Beyonce is not as vocally talented as Adele, but Adele is also wayyyy overhyped imho. People act like Adele has been gifted with the greatest voice ever, but she can’t hold a candle to Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey… just to name a few. Also, her songs are all basically the SAME. She drags one word on and on and on and on. At least Beyonce is creative and her songs are generally pretty different from each other stylistically. Anyways, they are both very talented women and I agree with the other comments regarding sexuality and musical talent not being mutually exclusive.
Beyonce is a terrible singer!! She never sings live. I don’t believe it even when she says she is. I remember a concert video in which she fell down the stairs and “sang” all the way down. Even her concerts are lip-synced.
Having said that, she is a better performer than Adele, for sure. And a great marketer of herself.
So even if she says that she is (and she should know), you still wouldn’t believe it? LOL. Bias, aisle three.
Sorry, but he’s kind of right. While Beyoncé has a decent voice, it is not on par with Adele’s.
As I’ve never been a fan of Beyonce, I sort of agree with what he says but it’s purely personal choice. Beyonce has a good voice, I’m just not a fan of her music.
I vividly remember enjoying Beyonce sing at the Grammys in 2011. It was a song with a distinct melody and key changes and power. The performance this year was pageantry and poetry and message. If there was a tune I was supposed to hum afterwards I missed it. So Ive seen her steer singer and I’ve seen her steer messenger/performer. She’s capable of both. One I love and one is totally not my taste.
I prefer Adele’s voice.
Beyonce is screechy to me and and she relies too much on skanky costumes and booty popping to be popular. I haven’t liked a song of hers since Irreplaceable a million years ago. She was much better as a member of Destiny’s Child. If she would just stand there and sing straight up like Adele does, I doubt she would be where she is now.
@MyHiddles: A woman not conforming to your more conservative tastes when it comes to clothing, dance moves, or sexuality doesn’t make them ‘skanks’ or any other sexist slur. It just means it’s something you’re not comfortable with, and don’t have to participate in. 😀
Love Santana!! He puts on such a cool show!! He is amazing live!!!
I do agree with him to a point. Beyonce doesnt suck by all means, she’s just missing that something extra artistry that she makes up for in other ways. She is not just a model though….did not like that….
When I was in college (early 70’s), Santana played at the college in a small venue (an auditorium that was small). Instead of taking a break at intermission he came out with his guitar and played some bubble gum songs. It was great! I probably wouldn’t know a Beyonce song or an Adele song. I like the “oldies but goodies” and some good old country songs!
I agree with you. Can I remind everyone that she lip synced the national anthem at Obamas inauguration… seriously?! I think she definitely has her recording sessions tweaked and I think Adele can sing waaaay better then her.
However, beyonce is the whole package. She’s a performer which is great. Some people want that. Other people want an angelic voice.
Do you think she was lip-synching at the Grammys? I found it really similar to lemonade that I got from iTunes
A lot of them lip sync when it’s extra cold, as it was on inauguration day or when you absolutely have to get things right, Whitney Houston, who had perfect pitch, at the Superbowl. I know that there are ‘sweeteners’ at concerts when the performer also dances. It’s like trying to talk as you’re running. If all you’re going to do is stand there your voice will sound better. You’re not moving!
Total BS. I love Adele for what I see of her personality. Her voice is PAINFUL to listen to, my God!!! Beyoncé is a dream.
@otaku fairy I never called anyone a skank, I said wear skanky clothes. Don’t get it twisted.
BOY BYE! *gasface* Just cause she can actually shake what Tina Gave her and its pretty doesn’t mean she doesn’t got the chops, GTFO
Agreed. She chooses to be an all-around performer and we love her for that. She CAN sing though. Mind you, I don’t think her voice is as strong as say, Jennifer Hudson’s (which was clear in Dream Girls), but no real need to compare singers.
Fun fact: Beyoncé was Repeatedly asked to hold back in dreamgirls because Deena is supposed to be the weaker singer. There’s a video of them dieting during film promo and she effortlessly where’s Jennifer. I’ll post the video when I find it
@scar I didn’t know that! I’d love to see that.
I think that’s exactly what he is saying, though. She is a performer, and probably wouldn’t have the accolades she has if she wasn’t well rounded in her visual artistry and PR. Adele focuses on the singing.
I am not a fan of either, but I respect what Beyonce is trying to do for her community (women, mothers, women of colour, cheated on partners, etc.). It is important work for someone who has the platform.
He must’ve missed her latest concert tour, where she sings plenty and sounds AMAZING. I saw her Miami show and was just blown away, not just by the visual effects and pageantry, but also her VOICE.
YO when she hit that Ave Maria? was it?? and a Hush fell in that whole damned stadium??? WHooooooo ( mind you I went to Accompany a true Hive member and up to that point I wasn’t all pressed cause she played a lot of old stuff and I was Only there to Lemonade but MY GOD)
Beyonce?? She doesn’t sing live at her concerts. DId you see the video in which she fell down the stairs, and was singing all the way down??!!???? IT was hilarious!! (Not that she fell, but that she was lip-syncing)
Beyonce doesn’t have a good voice.
THIS!!!
I get what he is saying. I think Beyonce can sing but the costumes and queen shtick distracts from the music.
Yeah she has a lot of range, but the worship is distracting people who find it annoying from her actual talent IMO.
+1 he’s speaking truth. He’s saying she’s pretty and can sing but her act revolves around visuals and production. And Adele packages herself asa stripped down singer, and people take that as more “real” and less pop-py/produced. I don’t like Adele and I’ve purchased Beyoncé stuff btw. It’s just truth.
Yeah, I agree to a point. Beyonce is far from a model, and she’s a pop culture icon, but it does feel like sometimes her music takes a backseat to the visuals, and dancers etc. But I don’t think Adele’s voice or music is better.
Personally, I prefer my music to be more bare, but the Grammy’s haven’t been rewarding quality over quantity for a long time. There was quite a backlash when Beck won a few years ago.
It seems like both Beyonce and Adele have problems as singers. I find Adele boring, and I am surprised by how many do-overs she needs and flat notes she hits during live performances. I generally don’t like her music. On the other hand, I do think Beyonce tends to sing-shout and don’t find her voice to be very pretty as a result. I’m wondering if one of the reasons Lemonade lost is because it was a visual album. The visuals are what make it politically charged and meaningful. I haven’t listened to the whole album with the visuals, but I’ve heard some of the tracks without the visuals, and I don’t think they have the same impact. Still, I much prefer Lemonade over what I’ve heard of 25.
I think Adele is viewed as more “real” for what he and some people are saying here, but also because Beyonce is relying morenand more into the “celebrity” tricks, strategic releases of pi s of herself and her family when it is good for her brand. adele does not seem to care or go for that so much.
That is one if the things that make
Me see her as fake, even with her beauty and good voice. It is too enhanced, artificial even. I dont hate her, I just prefer her in small doses, not buying the whole schtick.
Beyoncé is an entertainer, a performer. She is a one-woman-show. Sure, Adele has a great voice, I love it. It’s unique and strong and I’m a fan.
But to compare the two like this is just bs. Beyoncé can sing and she has a lovely voice that’s suited to many genres and styles but she delivers so much more. Some people don’t care for the theatrics, others do. I saw Formation and my god, it was perfect. Best 100€ I spent last summer. The WORK that must’ve gone into that. Adele is simply not that kind of artist. She can’t do what Bey does and probably doesn’t want to. Doesn’t mean that her music and perfomance is somehow more “real” or “pure” or whatever Santana thinks he’s saying.
They’re polar opposites in how they approach their art so why do we need to keep comparing them?
Thank you! I don’t understand the need to constantly compare them and pit them against each other. They do VERY different things, and each is at the top of their own game. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
For me this is a Aretha Franklin vs Barbra Streisand….so different in their singing then people go on to disparage both equally phenomenal singing women. Whitney vs Janet Jackson or Whitney vs Mariah… It won’t stop. As a black woman who grew up in the 60’s, 70’s…we in the black community have a plethora of singers, performers, and entertainers, some of whom would have slayed had they reached commercial success aka crossover into white markets.
When I listen to Adele I think of Dusty Springfield or Shirley Bassey. Women who sing strong with beautiful notes. When I hear Beyoncé, I hear the influences of the too many to name soul singers, funk makers, hip hop masters, with some global music thrown in or I see/hear her trying for her own influence in music like Billie, Ella, Stevie, Michael because that’s who she is.
Next year….Bruno vs. Ed Sheeran…..you see the pattern, right?
To ‘get’ Beyonce, one only has to look at the artist who influenced her. When asked, she picked Tina Turner. Known for singing, dancing and putting on a show. I remember when she picked Tina, Aretha made a snide comment, because isn’t everyone supposed to pick her? So knocking her for putting on a full-blown show is to miss the point. She’s never going to be a stand there and sing performer.
Adele is a pure singer a great voice. Bey is overrated.
Bey is incredibly overrated. It is “cool” to like her.
Exactly. Celebrities fall over themselves to play along with the worship-queen-bey routine when her entire image is just embarrassingly stupid. Prancing around on stage with her pregnant belly hanging out and the holograms. This woman is beyond help. Pop culture is meant to be really crazy and over the top and about pulling crazy visual stunts for the sake of it, and people like JLo, Madonna, Gaga, and Rihanna do that really well in their concerts (outfits, dancers, set design etc), but Beyonce’s styling is just stupid, dumbed down, and crass. Her latest pregnant earth mother photoshoot is a good cringe-y example. And she actually takes herself seriously.
SO OVERRATED! Adele doesn’t need costumes or floating backwards chairs to move people. Beyonce’s basically a cartoon.
I agree! I can’t stand Beyonce and now she just think she is pregnant of the second coming of Jesus.
Between the two, I would say Adele is the overrated one. Her voice is pitchy, her songs are repetitive and her performances are lackluster.
EXACTLY! Adele’s 3 albums were nice but all were exactly the same. Jasmine Sullivan can sing circles around her but doesn’t get the recognition for it
” Adele’s 3 albums were nice but all were exactly the same”
I agree 100%.
THANK YOU. Omg I thought I was taking crazy pills. I said this upthread. Her songs are ALL THE SAME. She stretches out one word on and on and on and on. “Hello from the other siiiiiiiiiide.” And I don’t think she is that vocally talented. Yes, she has a nice voice, but people need to stop acting like hers is the greatest voice ever. Whitney Houston, anyone?
@Tegtag,
LOL. I think she can sing, but people these days seem to equate a scratchy gravely voice with soulful singing and that’s not the case.
Adele is overrated too. Her music is mediocre and repetitive, and her voice is good, but not that outstanding. But the reverence of Beyonce is creepy.
@Locke
SPOT ON.
+1000000000 to everything you said.
Maybe it’s an age thing. I get what he was saying.
He’s from back when it used to be more about the music… Not the package.
I think this is it, honestly.
that’s why he made that fluffy album full of “great singers” like Michelle Brunch cof cof
His comments are pretty sexist…in that I give it to you, might be an age thing
The first time or so that I heard the Michelle Branch one I thought it was okay. I still hear it from time to time because our local station is incredibly dated/sad – and it makes me rage every time.
Exactly. Getting my money’s worth out of a concert, back in the Dark Ages, meant it was all about the music.
What?! Santana himself uses dancers, lights, imagery and shit. And why is anyone acting like Beyonce invented having dancers on stage, hello Tina Turner, Cher, Bette Midler, Prince. Get the F outta here Santana. Did she refuse to do a song with you or something?
Good god, I can’t believe he said that. Her vocals are sublime, and her *voice* as a black woman is powerful and necessary. This op-ed in the Times this morning speaks to that: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/what-beyonce-won-was-bigger-than-a-grammy.html?emc=edit_th_20170215&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=32235801&_r=0
Thank you for the link.
Her being a black woman is powerful and important culturally and socially, but not musically, from a strictly artistic point of view. People are allowed to see beyond her skin color and roots when expressing their opinion on her as an artist.
Good comment, Anna.
I think Alicia Keys is a stronger singer than Beyoncé and a stronger musician as well. She doesn’t have as many gimmicks and hence she isn’t as popular.
I also think Jennifer Hudson is a stronger singer and I have heard her live without back up and she blew the roof off the house.
Beyonce can sing and she is a consummate entertainer, like Michael Jackson. Just because all her performances incorporate dancers and other bells and whistles does not detract from her ability to sing.
Additionally, she has evolved as a pop/ r&b singer, into an artist. This is not a common occurrence in the music industry and for that, I find her interesting. I don’t even think her evolution is completely calculated or strategic.
But Michael could out sing her, Adele, Arianna and pretty much anyone singing today. I don’t think she was on his level. I still remember when Michael and Britney Spears did a live duet together and his voice blew poor Brit’s out of the water. While Bey is much better than Brit, she’s no MJ.
The commonality I see between Michael and Beyonce is that they both broke out of the r&b genre to garner wider appeal and incredible fame. This is a huge feat for a Black artist considering all the obstacles. They are both driven artists whose music changed over their careers. People follow them and stay with them throughout because they do/have done interesting things, even if only in the realm of popular music.
Lemonade reminds me of the kind of impact that the Thriller video made back in the day. What’s more interesting to me about Beyonce, over Michael, is that she is taking on radical political stances, like the Formation performance at the super bowl. Remember the blow back she got from cops for that? I can’t imagine Michael Jackson taking a risk like that. I can’t say I am a huge Beyonce fan, but I do find the evolution of her career really interesting.
I don’t get why someone is considered to have a good voice because they shout or sound loud. She’s been a screamer her entire career. When she sings live it’s really bad, which is prob why she allegedly lip syncs most of the time.
I agree with him to a certain extent as in Adele goes on stage and belts out her songs and doesn’t need anything else but Beyoncè can put on one hell of a show. She is very entertaining but she also can sing-sing. She has an amazing voice and an incredible range and voice control. She can probably control her voice better than Adele and her performances are 99% on point. And I say this as a non fan of Beyoncè.
Many things can be said about Beyoncè but to say that she can’t sing is the most ridicolous one.
Do I wish she wore clothes rather than leotards on stage? Yes
Do i wish she empowered black people (and people in general) by giving them credit when she uses their stuff? Yes
Do I believe she is all about the money and she could walk over her mother’s dead body for fame and money? Yes
But to say she can’t sing is just to give her fans another reason to get mad and rabid. Her stans are crazy enough.
I thought Adele was sweet when she dedicated her award to her the first time but the second time? Weird and obsessive.
I do not understand all this sucking up to Beyoncè. People need to calm down.
It sucks to hear that she may be using other people’s material without credit. I wonder if this Is a common practice?
I have no idea how people can admire Beyoncè. She steals ideas, coreographies and entire songs from other artists. She has the money and the meaning to make give people their piece of cake but I guess she is such a control freak that she needs to show people that she can do everything herself.
Just look at how many people Adele took on stage to accept her award and imagine how Beyoncè she would have to take with her.
I would love Beyoncè if it wasn’t for this unacceptable behaviour.
@paolanqar
She sure does steal from other people and not give credit. She stole independent filmmaker Matthew Faulk’s ideas for her Lemonade visual album. He has filed a lawsuit.
Another visual artist Pipilotti Rist’s said she stole the visual for “Hold Up” from him.
Here, see for yourself. Here’s Pipilotti
http://www.idolator.com/7631901/beyonce-steals-video-hold-up-lemonade-pipilotti-rist
Here’s Faulk’s concept side by side to Bey’s Lemonade judge for yourself. Oh and the Single Lady video was another stolen idea.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/beyonce-sued-lemonade-trailer-900935
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3632296/Beyonce-sued-independent-filmmaker-claims-copied-ideas-Lemonade-trailer-wants-share-album-sales.html
Hi V4Real
She should be ashmaed of herself.
Look at this one too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRrq3vPLSZY
An italian dancer/singer called Lorella Cuccarini did a great show a few years back with a coreographer, Luca Tomassini, who previosuly worked for Madonna, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, George Michael and such.. so he does have great ideas.
Beyoncè ripped it off to ‘create’ Run the World.
Just because you rip off some from people from another country, possibly less known, doesn’t mean you can’t get caught.
I’d be pissed if it happened to me. I’d drag her ass to court and sue her for every cent she owns.
‘There is a Twitter account called “Exposing_celebz” and has many examples of Beyonce plagiarizing other people’s ideas as well as the concept for “Lemonade.” There is even a video of her admitting going to other people’s shows so she can “steal it.” Look and decide for yourself.’
This is why I come here! The things you learn on Celebitchy. LOVE IT.
What gets me though is that Bey’s defenders will give her a pass on this yet they tore Robin Thicke a new one for ripping off Marvin Gay’s “Give it Up.”
Thicke and Pharrell sampled one song. Beyoncé has ripped off several artists and barely a whisper about it. They call her Queen B when she’s more like Queen I’ll steal your shit and say it’s my original.
For your viewing pleasure please watch this YouTube video of Fosse and tell me it’s not the same as the Single Lady video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POUpOK6TCPg
What I can’t stand about her is the fact she is willing to throw money at people to calm them down after she has stolen their work in order to avoid bad press.
Not many artists have the resources to sue Beyoncè for plagiarism and lots of them will have to let her run away with their creations. She will then take full credit for something she has never conceived, invented or created.
She is an amazing singer/performer but she should stop pretending that she writes her owns songs, invents her own coreographies and envisions her own conceptual art.
She could empower people of any race/gender by giving them credit when it’s due rather than start revolutions with other people’s ideas.
Just imagine if Taylor Swift did that. Or Katy Perry.
I find it unbelievable that she gets a pass after years of plagiarism. I really don’t get it.
I used to be a Beyonce hater and then I saw a youtube video of her singing Halo acoustic. Seriously, if you have doubts, just go look up her acoustic stuff. I think a lot of folks discount her singing because of her Destiny’s Child beginning, which was not the height of music, but still good pop.
She is good. Too bad she stole ‘Halo’ from another girl and she had to take Beyoncè to court to get her name credited.
Halo. The same song that Kelly Clarkson sang Already Gone (which she wrote) and Beyonce heard and went to Ryan Tedder and told him “I want a song just like that and need it asap so I can release it and I don’t look like the copycat.” That halo song? Beyoncé is a music thief.
She’s also a visual art thief. Lemonade was stolen from two artist. See my links above this post. Maybe that’s why she didn’t win. They didn’t want to award a thief who is being sued.
lmao are you guys ok? need some water?
i think is adele is overrated as well.
both are thriving by the eradication of the competition.
queen Bee can sing.she would not have succeed from girl group to solo in the 90’s rnb scene without it.
but her victory as adele and amy winehouse ones is due to context ,elimination of rivals, racism and colorism.
from the 2000’s all the high profile dark skinned rnb women have disappeared without replacement,like Brandy (a great singer).
equal and better singers than bey failed weren’t supported : Ashanti, Kelis(more original), Mya(better dancer),etc.(kelly rowland and other dc girls were the first victim of the bee machine).
the eclipse of the great has made queen bey the best by default.
that s part of explanation of the surprise success of rihanna.everyone big was gone.
all this empty place allowed amy winehouse to be such a phenomenon when her music is meh, when she died it was transferred to adele.
blue eyed soul has come from being small part of rnb to being the soul of it.(justin timberlake anyone?)
Santana is just an old misogynoir who wants to apply respectability policy on bey.He would have never dared this on michael jackson or usher.
Paolanqar and v4real are fucking reeaaachhhinnngggg. Damn I hope you did some stretches before at least. Literally every one of those cases were thrown out of court. I didn’t say settled out of court. They’ve all gone to court and either lost or was thrown out. Just because someone claims something doesn’t make it true. Lemonade couldn’t be any different from that guy’s work and I’m sure if you open that article unbiased you’d see it too. Seriously? Photos in a garage (which she already did for Me Myself and I), red screen (which she has done for Ring The and Alarm and Partition). oMG this guy sued Beyoncé for using the same font! The same damn font as him and you post it here as evidence?! Goddamn. Already Gone and Halo couldn’t be anymore different. Halo was released before already gone goddammit. Sfghdsdhjklhfddfhjjjjhj. Y’all are tripping for real. The Ryan redder you mention has gone on record saying Beyoncé is the most creative person he has worked with and he was on Adele’s album. Ryan even said he hopes Beyoncé wins AOTY over the Adele he was nominated with for being on her album
Unless Beyoncé bribes judges, you better come out here with some proof. I find it funny how nobody has won a plagiarism lawsuit against Beyoncé. Heck even rihanna and shakers has had more than her and have lost quite a few but hey Beyoncé
Lemme also add that Adele heard a Taylor Swift song and specifically asked for the producer because she liked the arrangement. Let’s drag her instead.
I understand your undeniable love for Beyoncè and how much you don’t want to believe that your idol is not as good as yout htink she is but all the cases you are talking about were settled in court and Beyoncè had to pay money to dismiss the cases and some of those artists she ripped off calmed down only after she credited them in her albums.
Please fact check before you write such nonsense.
Beyoncè stole ‘If I were a boy’ from a singer called B.C. Jean. She had to take Beyoncè to court and she was finally credited on her album.
This is probably the most famous rip off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Were_a_Boy
Here the video of BC Jean singing HER OWN SONG ‘If I were a boy’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSBhtSRDIMw
Internet is full of evidence, unless you can’t bring yourself to see it.
They’re not reaching though. It’s not a secret that Beyoncé takes credit for other people’s work. Everyone knows it. It’s just there are folks like you who choose to look the other way. And it’s not just one or two examples. Someone could write a novel over Beyonce’s stealing ways.
Oh @Scar take your blinders off. Those cases were not thrown out. You can see that Bey ripped off those people. Are you going to deny the Single Lady rip off as well. I posted the link unthread , go ahead and look at it. I bet you won’t because you know you would have to face reality and say Bey’s a thief and her work is not original. If anyone is fucking reaching it’s you cup cake. Girl wake up.
And who gives a crap what Redder said about Bey being creative, most people are not going to talk shit about people they like. He could think she’s dumb as a box of rocks but in public he might say yes, she’s smart as a whip.
Adele’s brand is no brand. There are still people behind the scenes talking about it, thinking about it, and executing her apparent lack of brand.
The issue is that Beyonce never sings live. She is always lip-syncing cause her voice isn’t very good. She is a great performer, great dancer, weak singer.
I guess even old people can be thirsty.
I LOVE Beyonce, and thought she was amazing when I saw her live – not a note was off and everything was perfection. As an artist, I like her much better than Adele, and she’s the only artist that has moved me to tears as of late. That being said… sometimes I think her vocals can sound a little forced. I was a music major, and she reminds me of some musicians I knew who had some talent, they weren’t the best, but practiced like no other and their amazing work ethic and technique more than compensated for any deficit in natural talent. I feel like Adele has more natural talent than Beyonce, and never strikes me as forced in her delivery. One reason I feel like Beyonce is a better artist is because she crosses genres, and can sing rock and country. I think I Adele could do this easily, but tends to play it safe and sticks to what she likes. I seem to remember one of the Gallagher brothers (who are both Twats, so I take what they say with a grain of salt) saying that Adele recorded a great rock (or at least edgier) track, but then scrapped it to keep the album more middle of the road.
Meh
I agree with Sanatana’s description and yours. Beyoncé is a visual artist. Describing her as a model misses the mark though. Both women are stylistically different and vocally have different ranges.
I would be interested to see Beyoncé stretch and try an album along the lines of Nancy Wilson or Cassandra Wilson.
Taylor Swift won twice so there goes his argument about the award being about ‘singers’.
HA! Excellent!
Taylor Swift wins because she works within the industry with all the people that vote in the Grammys. She grew up writing songs for labels. She’s a recording industry gold child, it’s not really about wether she’s talented or not. Beyoncé, on the other hand, has been pulling out of the industry more and more and making more independent choices and is breaking the established mold. So she’s not the golden child. See the difference?
Meh – really I’m confused by this whole Beyoncé thing. She’s got a great voice, but honestly I haven’t heard a single one of her new songs, and I listen to a lot of different music. But I don’t really tune into the hip hop type stations, and that’s probably why. Thing is I don’t purposely seek out Adele either, but I know at least 3 of her new songs – I think Beyoncé is the one that’s too genre specific. And I honestly think that’s why she didn’t win the Grammy everyone’s freaking about.
Not sure how in one breath you can say you haven’t heard any of her new songs, and in the next breath say she’s too genre specific????? I haven’t heard Lemonade in its entirety, but what I have heard very much moves from one genre to another.
Anyone else who has listened to Lemonade in total want to offer an opinion here? Am I wrong?
Perhaps what she means is that you dont hear any of her current songs on the radio, while Adeles is always there. At least that’s my experience too as I don’t really seek eithers new music.
black rnb singer are banned from being broadcast on other radios.but Adele benefits from crossover.
without support people can’t hear them
What lolabones said is what I mean. I don’t mean any slight to Beyoncé, I just don’t get the big to-do – me as a stay at home mom just doesn’t cross paths with a station that plays beyonces music, and not because I don’t enjoy it, but – and I’m gonna piss some peeps off – but because those same stations play more explicit music that I don’t want to expose my kids to. So if I don’t purposely seek out Beyoncé, I don’t get to hear it.
Since we are keeping it in the anecdotal level, here it goes: I actually love Adele and some songs from her first album are still in my current playlist. From the new album however I think I have only heard a song in the radio and i wouldn’t be able to say the name. On the other hand, the new album of Beyonce was so spectacularly spoken of, that I think I might really know all the song names. I bought the album (for the first time I have Bey songs in my playlist!!) but i also hear quite some on the general radio i usually listen to in the mornings. So…no, I don’t understand how Adele won best album.
For most people who don’t go seeking out music and just listen to what they occasionally hear on the radio (like me), Adele is far more well-known and liked than Beyonce. Compare their discographies on Wikipedia. Adele has had far more hits, particularly looking at Beyonce’s more recent albums. The highest charting single from Lemonade went to #10 in the US. Adele has had 2 songs from 25 chart higher than that in the US, including Hello which was number 1 worldwide. I’m in Australia and Beyonce is definitely famous here (her pregnancy announcement was on the news) but honestly the only songs I could name off the top of my head are earlier ones like Crazy in Love, Single Ladies and Halo (there would be a couple of others I know but can’t think of them). Whereas with Adele I can easily name 10 songs. A lot of people (including me) don’t really like Beyonce’s style of music. In one of the other threads people were saying it’s because she’s black, but I honestly think its her style of music, Rihanna’s music is huge (at least here in Australia). That’s not to say Adele deserved to win over Beyonce, I haven’t heard Beyonce’s album so I can’t comment. But Adele is far more popular than Beyonce worldwide.
So basically, he is saying offering anything else in your show beside your voice is shit.
A show that you work on, that you plan for, that you practice dance moves for and that you sing your heart for is shit.
We live in a world where hard work is worth less and less. Wonderful!
yes because the visual isn’t taken into account in the judging of album of the year, just the sound.
this is why imo there is a stronger case that Beyonce should have won over the Beatles in the category ‘music film’ than over Adele in best album imo. Lemonade stands stronger as a cohesive unit with the visual and audio than just audio alone, because they are supposed to be complementary.
Beyonce has a great voice . I believe Beyoncé is in control of her career and works her ass off. She’s a hard worker and I admire the hell out of her for that.
We’ll he might be right to an extent I’ve barely listened to Lemonade and I only have heard the Adele singles that got radio play so I don’t have a ‘side’ but who cares? Bob Dylan,Neil Young,Lou Reed etc have much weaker voices than Beyoncé at the end of the day.
Yeah, but they also write their own lyrics entirely and compose their own music.
He is right. Its the same thing I think about her and the other stars like Katy Perry , Britnwy Spears and that type and whatnot. They have to rely on stage show and costumes and titties out and not their voice. I think it says something that someone who is a bigger girl like Adele can just stand there and sell her music because of her voice and not by selling her body!
If he has said it about Britney and Katy, I’d be much more inclined to agree. Britney is the quintessential manufactured pop star, flash and spectacle over talent, and Katy isn’t much better. Beyonce does do a big stage show, but I don’t think it’s to hide a lack of voice. Her voice is fine.
Costumes, nudity, performances, and visuals aren’t always a sign of talent or lack of talent in an artist who’s a woman, it’s also about personal taste , personal beliefs, and comfort zones. Singers like Beyoncé, Pink, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Jessie J, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, and Sarah Brightman are all in some kind of in-between category- they’re not exclusively just a great voice with modest clothing and no costumes like Adele, Whitney, Amy Lee, or Kelly Clarkson, but they’re not in the ‘she can’t even sing, so it has to be all performances and visuals all the time’ category either. (I’d say Ariana, Christina, and Sarah Brightman are the weakest of those talented women when it comes to performances though). The ability that Beyoncé and Pink have to sing and put on a show sort of rounds them out.
I think you’re misinterpreting his words. He doesn’t mean that Beyoncé doesn’t sing well, he’s just saying that her music depends on a lot of things aside from her voice (like spectacular shows, dancing, electronic music and, whether you like it or not, autotune), while Adele is just voice and no props or any other “help” in her performances. Santana is from a generation of musicians in which all they really had was their talent to compose, play an instrument and/or sing, so he probably doesn’t appreciate all the parafernalia that comes with music nowadays. Adele is old school and he likes that. And it also shows you what the Academy appreciates as well.
I think that Beyoncé is a great singer, as good or maybe even better than Adele, but her music doesn’t showcase her voice as pure and raw as Adele’s (even if Adele can’t really sing live, apparently).
What about David Bowie ??? His voice his music depended on the spectacle of his costumes, makeup, personas etc. That doesn’t make him less of a genius.
Exactly. There is such a double standard. Michael Jackson was another one that did this but people seem to have short memories when Beyonce is involved
Oh lord, please lets not compare Beyonce and David Bowie. DB was one of the GREATS but he also had fantastic, incredible, original voice . . . wrote his own songs . . . and was unlike any other. Beyonce is an excellent performer/entertainer, but her voice is not iconic, and she’s pop. I think her visual performances are great, and she’s a very hard worker, and she’s gorgeous. But she is a craftsperson and an execution specialist: she’s not original.
Indeed, and Bowie never got any Grammys (except one for a short video) until after his death! Don’t misunderstand me, I didn’t say Beyoncé wasn’t a great artist. She definitely is. I’m not even saying Santana is right. What I’m saying is that musicians like him are more likely to appreciate music in its purer form and all the electronic and theatrical addendums of Beyoncés style distract from her singing voice. She’s more than her voice. Adele is just her voice. So she’s a singer-singer. while Beyoncé is a complete show-woman.
I like Adele’s voice but all her songs sound the same.
They rather do, don’t they? Not that this is terrible, or anything. I feel kind of lukewarm about both of them, honestly.
I need people to put some respect on Bey’s name.
The woman can sing. Just because she dances and has elaborate stage productions it doesn’t diminish her actual singing ability. She also has more range and versatility than Adele if we are being honest.
If being pretty was all it took Mya, Ashanti, Tamia, Keri Hilson etc would all be mega stars but they aren’t. Name one person of this generation that can sell out stadiums night after night AND be great in a small venue like Roseland. I’ll wait.
Michael Jackson was also big on the production aspect of his performances, dances and all but we never heard this criticism about him.
People just hate to give Beyonce her credit.
I am sorry but she is the one who should give credit first. To the people she rips off.
I’ve honestly never seen any other artist blatantly rip off people the way she does. From lyrics, melodies, videos, costume ideas, dance routines, performance ideas and even the concept of doing a ‘visual album’….she has done it all.
And yet we are still here saying how much she deserves for breaking boundaries and empowering black people.
She could empower them by giving them credit when it’s due.
She is a great singer and performer. But that’s about it. Her ideas aren’t original and she only embraces her black heritage now because it brings her money.
Not long ago she was bleaching her skin and looked whiter and whiter on any magazine cover, album cover, advert.
Beyonce’s excellence is critiqued because she is a black woman. The intersection of excellence blackness and femaleness is too much for many to bear even if they don’t understand their discomfort. That she can sing well in a very soulful way, on top of being a fantastic dancer, just adds to the fury. Beyonce is hated for the same reasons Obama & Michelle are hated. Black excellence makes many people upset for reasons they can’t quite understand. Saying that Beyonce screams is saying you don’t understand the gospel impulse, even as you praise it when white performers attempt to do the exact same thing. Adele won because Adele is talented and white. This is not complicated. I am saying this as a person who can also critique Beyonce for her floor crawling and capitalism worship.
Having said all this, I think Santana is being misunderstood a bit. I understand what he is saying. It is akin to what Prince told Beyonce: Learn to play an instrument. There is a book called Black Resonance that is about black female singers’ musical talents being undervalued because they make artistry–the creativity they bring to vocal performance–look effortless. For the person who compared Beyonce unfavorably to Bowie–as a singer–well, you are actually saying more about yourself, whatever your background–than you know. They are different (and also very similar if one had the ability to look beyond the surface of race and gender).
Finally, all of this reminds me of the millions of Republicans who say the Melania will bring “class” back into the White House. What they are really asserting is white supremacy, which necessitates a black Other who can never, ever measure up.
I think he likes Adele better because she is more of a traditional singer and maybe he has this vision of a younger more “artificial” beyonce, but she has really develop a visual aspect for her music and I think she has mature too, and she has always had a nice voice enhace with a good technique.
As I said yesterday, I don’t really think she necessarily had to win and I’m in not a fan, but she deserves a lot of credit for what she is doing recently.
I think Adele is very overrated as a vocalist. She can really only sing slow/mid-tempos and her songs don’t require a lot of range, just an ability to belt. She’s got a nice voice, but Whitney Houston she is not. I’ve literally heard people refer to Adele as “The Voice” the way people referred to Whitney, Mariah, and Celine. I’m sorry, but there is a gaping chasm of difference between the Vocal Trinity at their peak (read: the 90’s) and Adele.
+1000 .maybe it ‘s a lack of music culture.i wished i had youtube when i was a teen to listen classics
Preach! Also there a lot of artists out there whose talent have been slept on. Rachelle Ferrell comes to mind. Incredible range and great technique.
Thank you, Grant, for saying what I couldn’t articulate.
*allllllllll the eyeroll emojis*
Finally somebody has the huevos to step up and speak the truth. Music isn’t about music anymore, it’s about the package. But you can’t see the package when you’re listening to the radio. Beyoncé is over-rated.
I’ve thought that about other artists, like Britney Spears (whom I adore, but let’s be honest, she’s more of an entertainer than a ‘singer’). I think Beyonce does both – she’s an entertainer *and* a singer, and I think she has a great voice. So I’m gonna have to disagree with him strongly on this.
Beyonce can sing but I find her voice exceedingly unpleasant. She’s more of a Diana Ross than a Mary J Blige. When she tries to belt, it sounds like she’s shrieking.
Beyonce is a performer. Nothing against Adele, but I would much rather see Beyonce perform than see Adele standing there singing
As a teenager, I idolized Joni Mitchell, so I often reference her in comparison to singers today. Joni just got up there, played her instruments and sang. She always looked great—beautiful hair, beautiful dress—but her music was about the music. I think this is what Carlos is talking about. Imagine Joni Mitchell in fishnets and a skimpy leotard, boobs spilling out, writhing on the floor surrounded by half-naked dancers as she sings California or Twisted or whatever—not that there’s anything wrong with that! It would just never happen. Beyonce, Gaga, Madonna, Cher—these ladies are not singers, per se. I mean, they sing fine, but their schtick is to put on a spectacle. Adele, on the other hand, has some serious pipes, and more or less gets by on that alone—which doesn’t make her album better. It just makes her more of a singer singer.
he’s just sexist. bey can do both ,but put all the sexy show so she can have longevity.and there is a racial bias,adele can do this because of her skin color.i don ‘t think whitney houston(who was demure too) would have been able to have her incredible career in this era, and tracy chapman too
Joni Mitchell performs the way she’s most comfortable doing it. Beyonce is being herself. As an artist you do you…there is not only one way to be a musician. Santana has done shows for a long time and he knows exactly how hard it is to do this with or without production. As far as I’m concerned, no one would be talking about him at all if he had not decided to state his opinion. I’m not a huge Beyonce fan but come on, you have to have a whole lot to do what Beyonce/Adele/Joni Mitchell etc does and I’m over people taking pot shots at her. Just because someone makes something look easy doesn’t mean it is. It’s called being accomplished as a professional.
It literally is never enough. The fact that Beyonce can do more than just stand and sing is now a black mark against her. I’m not even a member of the Beyhive, but this is such a BS distinction. I guess Beyonce needs to stand at a Mic and sing ballads to be considered a “singer singer”. And she doesn’t have to be dancing to give a rousing performance. The “I am” album was fantastic and that was just her singing ballads. Also, with all due respect to Adele, whom I love, I’d like to see her do what Beyonce does and sound just as good.
I’d love to hear what he thinks of Taylor Swift.
It is exhausting to deal with this rhetoric over and over and that’s just from me as a Beyonce fan. No wonder she just drops her albums and bounces. Now its a problem that she’s an all round performer. Nope there’s gotta be something wrong with that huh? She can’t just be good at singing and dancing. It’s gotta be the mediocre white artist who just stands there is better. Never mind that when they both had the opportunity to just stand and sing at the awards, one of them messed up twice….
But yeah. Bey can’t sing. Guess all those receipts of her with just a mic and her voice are #alternativefacts.
What I love about this thread is people acting as if hating Beyonce is a new, brave, original position. Pleeeeaaase, it’s original like being racist is…
You do realize that people have different tastes, right? That some people don’t love her music just because you do?
Of course, I realize that (for example, unpopular opinion : Hometown glory is much better than any songs on 21 or 25. Fight me Adele fans) BUT I do not understand why people act as if they are the only one hating Beyonce’s music. People have been calling her ghetto trash, uneducated, untalented … since forever, and it’s even worse since Formation came out (remember the reaction post superbowl?). So it’s ridiculous to have all this commenters acting as if they’re taking a brave stand.
So you are saying that if you don’t like Beyoncé you are racist????
No. But many dislike her for this reason (superbowl). And acting as if you cannot dislike her music in peace is bizzare. It reminds me of people railing against PC culture or reverse racism. A presidential candidate basically gave an interview to say that Beyonce was bad for children.
@ Kate
You’re spot on!
Kate: I agree with you on that.
I don’t think there’s one highly popular current artist that doesn’t get hate. Why do you act like Beyoncé is the only one? People trash everyone that’s remotely famous, and then get attacked by the rabid fans. They trash Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Kanye West, etc. etc. It’s part of being a celebrity. There seems to be a huge lack of rational criticism nowadays, and also people react so badly when someone doesn’t like who they like…
Presidential candidate rarely go on TV to call Swift or Sheeran bad for children.
Meh, are we really using what that man spits out of his mouth as the standard now? He will attack anyone who speaks out against him. So if Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran go out and express their undying support for someone he hates, he’ll likely say some nonsense about them. Beyoncé just got the worst part because she’s a well known Obama lover.
And anyway, you’re missing my point. The hate an artist gets it’s related to how popular they are. So if Beyoncé gets a lot of hate, it’s only because she’s huge and everywhere. In this trashy celebrity world we live in, it’s a good thing, sadly.
@Ana I don’t think Kate was referring to Trump, if that’s who you’re thinking of. Several politicians have publicly slammed Beyoncé including Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani, Heck, even before she did the Formation video, conservatives like Bill O’Reilly blasted her for being a bad role model, because she’s too sexy or something. Katy Perry and pretty much every pop star wear sexy costumes, but I don’t see politicians attacking them. Yes, every popular celebrity receives some criticism, but Beyoncé does seem to get an unusual amount of vitriol. And I say this as someone who thinks she’s over rated, and I’m not particularly upset that she didn’t win AOTY.
At long last someone is brave enough to say that about Beyoncé. I totally agree with him. Beyoncé is more on visual. Sorry to say but she is not a great singer.Adelle has a voice of an angel.She deserve to win. And Adelles album is great and more popular. I’ll be honest here, me and my friends don’t know any of the song in Lemonade.they don’t play it on the radio here in Europe but all of us know Hello of Adelle.you can hear it everywhere but not Lemonade. Beyoncé songs maybe critically acclaimed but doesn’t have a good melody like the song of other singers.and that production number at the Grammys is just creepy. That is just over the top and a lot of people are disappointed .
I prefer a great voice than shaking her booty and blowing her hair or weave with a fan while dancing. Adelle I a great talent .
bey does that because audiences like it.like madonna
when it will be has been she ‘ll stop , like madonna came from erotica failure with bedtime stories with some of her best songs.
Adele is white mediocrity.she knows it ,her biggest diva status is from white washing of rnb and the death of amy winehouse.
she can be demure,with decent but not great talent, everyone will say she ‘ s the best.
would have she been black or even worse black skin, with her lovely but not hollywood thin figure, she would have had to stop professional music,or be back up singer at best and not being the rich concubine of an eton boy
she is no celine dion or whitney houston.
I wish we could just leave this Beyoncé vs. Adele thing alone. I feel like you can’t even compare the two, they are different artists with different visions. They are the best at what they do. Both are incrediblly inspiring and talented. They both earned their places, there is room at the top for the both of them. And you can see the mutual love and respect they have for one another! We are all so fortunate to live in a time of Queen B and Queen Adele! Live and let live. #blessed
I don’t think Beyonce is a great singer either, but I do like her for her work ethic and politics. I believe her husband is a genius and the true talent in the family, but that’s only my opinion. I also like the way he shaded Chris Brown for beating Rihanna and did not escalate the situation with Solange in the elevator. Respect.
Poor Bey, first people told her she didn’t win because Beck was artistically superior even if she moved more records. Next, she was told that album sales was the deciding factor even if Lemonade broke grounds. Now, she didn’t win, people would still explain to her like she is a 3 year old why she didn’t win.
I actually agree but think he phrased it wrong. Beyonce is a performer, each song is a performance of whatever she is trying to convey and set a scene with the visuals. Adele on the other hand let’s her voice do all the talking. I just compare it to closing your eyes and letting the singing tell you the story. Adele can do that, Beyonce not so much. Both talented people which he says as well but Adele is a far better singer. Beyonce is the Queen of performance. Calm down those wanting to destroy him for voicing his opinion. Jesus you don’t have to kneel to the shrine of Beyonce and still respect her as an artist. It’s not Beyonce HATE to express how you feel about her talent compared to another artist. It’s called an honest opinion.
But to call each song a performance, is to literally erase a chunk of her catalogue for the benefit of Adele. That is the issue here. To say that Beyonce isn’t a “singer singer” or that all her songs require bumping and grinding is erasure in the service of an artist that can only do one thing(wonderfully). Beyonce has tons of heartfelt ballads where only the vocals do the talking. Hell, she released a double album with one side consisting of only ballads. So to act like all she doesn’t do what Adele does is ludicrous. No one is asking people to worship Beyonce. We’re just saying not to erase her history in order to create some argument that favors Adele. That’s what he did and that’s why it’s wrong. Heck, even “Lemonade” had it’s share of stand and sing numbers.
He backed off his initial comments: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7693300/carlos-santana-apologizes-for-beyonce-grammys-diss-i-have-the-utmost-respect
the backlash must have been fierce, beyhives have no mercy
Carlos is a guitarist, not a vocalist, and both Bey and Adele have had more grammy noms and top tens, so any criticism from him is a bit rich.
Both of those ladies are significantly more awarded, and operate on a different level than Santana. He’s never been a showboat, nor does he do stadium shows.
Adele’s voice would work with his art, not Bey’s. So this seems like a preference thing and he should have just kept it at that. “I prefer Adele’s voice to Beys”.
he could have said he appreciate adele without demeaning bey.he deserves the bash
Yeah, I’m with you on this.
I understand where he’s coming from, but he just put his foot right up in there.
“and both Bey and Adele have had more grammy noms and top tens” – and that means what?
It means that they have significantly more recognition, and are considered by a large swathe of the public to be better artists.
Which supports my point that it’s a bit rich for him to be offering criticism of either.
@Detritus Im not sure thats true, I dont exactly listen to his music but I know who he is and that hes big in the industry. Maybe Im reeaaally wrong but I always perceived him like a Paul McCartney, as in always heard about them but not their music.
That comparision is probably wrong tho lol
It may be a generational thing. I think for decades we was big in the industry, or at least a fairly well kept secret, in the sense that maby people appreciate his work, but few bought it.
Santana is a guitarist, and while often unrecognised for his significant talent in that regard, is no song writer like McCartney. Hendrix may be a better comparison because they are frequently named in ‘best guitarists ever’ type articles.
He hasn’t received commercial acclaim, and only received critical success later in his career. If you are too old to have heard Maria, Maria in 2000 then you most likely missed him, since that was his last commercial and critical success. He has been inducted into the Music Hall of Fame, but that came after decades in music.
Q scores, a rating of celebrity popularity, has Adele as second worldwide, and Beyonce at 10.
For reference, Tom Hanks is the only one who beats Adele, and Santana is not on the list. We can use other metrics as well, record sales, whatever really. Any evidence points to Bey and Adele both being larger stars, as well as more productive and lucrative artists.
@detritus I’m going to assume you’re very young and that’s why you think that what’s more popular to your generation is equivalent to be “considered better artists”. Carlos Santana is a pioneer in music and his influence is HUGE. He’s been playing for decades and reinvented himself many times. He’s considered one of the best guitarists in history. Let’s see if Beyonce or Adele have that kind of trajectory and relevance when they’re 70. Santana has worked with pretty much anyone that’s someone in the music industry. He knows what he’s talking about, even if you don’t agree.
Define ‘very young’? I’ll take that as a compliment, however you meant it.
I would argue Bey is also a huge influence, and in fact her Q score points to her being a LARGER influencer than Santana ever was. If you are set in the idea that current music isn’t as ‘good’ as previous decades, I’d point out that Santana while being a guitarist of note, isn’t that popular in North America or internationally. In his generation Santana isn’t as popular as Queen, Bowie, Madonna, George Michael, and moving into later decades, not as popular as MJ or Pearl Jam and I could go on.
Bey has sold more albums, and produced more hits in her ‘short’ career than Santana ever has.
Give me evidence of his greatness, beyond your feelings of nostalgia. I don’t think he knows what he is talking about, even if you don’t agree.
By young I mean someone without the scope and experience to understand that your world is not everyone’s world. I have no feelings of nostalgia in regards to Santana, I’m from Beyoncé’s generation, not his. I just happen to know that the value of an artist can only be considered with time and distance. And I’m sorry, but I never said Beyoncé isn’t a huge influence now or that she’s less of an artist than he is. I just pointed out that your consideration of what makes a better artist is very narrow minded. I’m not comparing Santana and Beyoncé, I’m just saying that trying to dismiss his opinion because he’s not popular or as well known with today’s youth sounds very ignorant on your part. How many records you sell or how many awards do you win doesn’t really make you the better artist. Art is subjective, after all.
I don’t think “most people in the world” believed Beyonce was robbed at all. Most comments on articles I have seen have said the exact opposite.
Yes, this.
he is one to talk!
I don’t know who would be shocked at Carlos saying this. I can bet you a lot of folks in the industry feel like Beyonce is all smoke and mirrors. It doesn’t make it true but that’s the perception she gives off. In regards to her not winning….honestly Beyonce will never win album of the year because everyone in the industry knows she steals other people’s work. I don’t get why folks don’t understand this? It’s not just the Adele’s of the world who fangirl over Beyonce that are voting. There are songwriters who vote for this stuff, producers etc who I will bet you don’t vote for Beyonce because of her shady ways. There’s no doubt that Beyoncé is a great performer but when it comes to her artistic integrity….she’s not going to win that battle with folks within the industry/behind the scenes and when it comes to awards like album of the year, song of the year etc, it matters. I don’t think folks will deny she can put on a show but her singing gets overshadowed because of everything else going on and her artistic side is not worth mentioning because she’s a known thief.
what about Sam Smith then?
white man privilege.
Sam Smith is another music thief who unlike Beyoncé got lucky and the news broke about his stealing ways after Grammy voting had ended. Beyonce has been doing it her entire career. So it’s not a secret.
I understand the Grammy’s are considered the most prestigious awards in music but maybe it’s time for black artists to start giving love to the BET? I mean, we all know the deal with the Grammy’s: they love black music delivered in a white package (Eminem, Macklemore, Adele…) At this point, why even bother?
Totally agree!
sellout or new black mentality.
they aren’t the first to succomb to it.they have made profit from it.
The Grammys are so out of touch. We really need a new gold standard in music awards.
Shame he apologised for sharing a completely valid opinion.
I think so too.
The same Adele who messed up two consecutive Grammys performances?? She has a unique voice but she also is often pitchy! Just because Bey focuses on being an entertainer that doesn’t that she isn’t a great singer. You can’t even compare the ranges of the two.
I don’t understand why we can’t just let Adele have her moment. She won. She’s a great artist. She beat Beyonce, like many others have. That doesn’t make it rigged or racist, nor does it take away from the quality of Beyonce’s music.
Exactly. Even Michael Jackson nominated for his album Bad lost!
Who’s not letting Adele have her moment? Beyonce has not breathed a single word. She’s the one who lost the category and yet people are dragging her as if she’s the one who’s saying stupid things in the media. If anything can we remove Bey from this narrative?
Just the fact that Adele felt obligated to break her grammy in half and share it with Beyonce says enough.
Silly Carlos.
Beyonce has been a singer since childhood. Maybe her style isn’t to the liking of some, but to discount her as a singer is wrong. Yes, she has elevated to Queen status with a lot of fanfare and hoopla, but she’s been at it for a long time. She earned that. She is a superstar, and with that she will continue to evolve. Bottom line, put a song in front of her and she could sing it well in a number of ways. Unlike some other clowns that are tone deaf but still receive awards.
I really don’t understand how anyone can say that Beyonce doesn’t have amazing singing skills. In voice capacity, she is at pair with Adele if not really better (I think better). Just because you don’t like her or her kind of music doesn’t make her singing capacities non existent…talk about mental isolation. I don’t like Lady Gaga’s music, but can I really say that she doesn’t have a great voice? No. Adele is and was always more my kind of artist, but no, she didn’t deserve to win. The album was boring and a repetition on the previous ones. Beyonce on the other hand did something completely different, really powerful, politically charged and actually something that can be considered art. For the first time in my live I bought an album from her, because i just needed to listen to it non stop.
I find it really problematic what Santana said here…really!!! She’s not a real singer singer because she dances at the same time and wears clothes he doesn’t like?! Oh well, let’s not forget all the idiot music duets Santana already did…
His apologies were lame.
Beyonce’s voice is extremely forced and not naturally powerful. She screams to get the notes out there. She’s not a real singer, full stop.
And she lip syncs a often when “live”
Apples and oranges…
Carlos is absolutly right. I dislike pop music, but can enjoy Adele. Beyonce not at all.
There is something hauntingly beautiful about Adele’s voice. I love listening to her songs. As a med student, I can’t differentiate between two music genres and have no idea about technicalities of music, I just love listening to music.
I don’t think Carlos is being mean to Beyonce, he is giving his opinion as an artist, and differing opinions need to be respected. He probably knows his field better.
Lol. Just lol. I don’t know much about music but I know that Adele has never been, will never be, and could never be a better singer than Beyoncé. She’d have to stop singing in the same 1.5 octaves for one to even compare them. Beyoncé has more range than her, more control and she can do all these while doing some cartwheels and I’m damn sure if you give Adele some basic chores to execute, she won’t be able to do both at a time. If you think Adele songs better then you might be tone deaf.
I’m here go tell y’all that singing is not the only thing done on a stage. You can equally dance or play an instrument. The fault haters found in Beyoncé was that she can’t play a musical instrument. Then when Bey learnt how to play the piano, the goalpost shifted to her being a performer. Just let this sink in, she’s being dismissed for knowing how to put on a show. Wow. Y’all racist haters ain’t slick.
Let me put it out there that when Adele’s tour stopped at Houston, there were rumours that she was gonna sing a Beyoncé song to honour her cos she was in her hometown. The day came and Adele got up there and told us that she practiced Dangerously in Love but had to leave it at the last minute because it was too difficult for her. True story
@Scar: I just wanted to say that your comments on the Beyoncé post the other day were spot on.
It’s like yes, of course not everybody has to like Beyoncé, and of course not ALL criticism she gets is invalid or routed in racism, misogyny, or jealousy. Some of it is just the typical “I don’t like this celebrity” stuff. But a lot of the criticism directed at her IS routed in those things- sometimes it’s more subtle, and sometimes it’s more overt. Out of all the showy artists who have come and gone over the years with their big fanbases- Madonna, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Elvis Presley, Taylor Swift- it just seems very bizarre that Beyoncé is the one who’s fame and success so many people have such a big problem with, and that people feel like they’re being brave, edgy, or rebellious by openly expressing dislike for her. She’s a woman, she’s an attractive woman, she’s a woman of color, she’s made political commentary that the right can’t handle, she’s not hiding herself, she’s not performing the obligatory Meekness & Modesty that women have to perform to be seen as good people, she’s a successful woman, she doesn’t pretend that public perception or being seen/noticed is irrelevant to her line of work (which pisses people off) and she’s rich. What’s so different about a person who falls under any or all of those categories being disliked?
I like some of their songs, but neither one is my favorite singer. I can go a few months without listening to any of their songs, so I don’t have an egg in any basket here. I think both Beyonce and Adele get screechy; (Beyonce more so because she insists on pro-longed singing in the higher registers–but they are guilty of the same thing overall). And before anyone attacks me for my personal opinion, I’m not commenting out of ignorance. I play music and took vocal classes most of my life. I know a thing or two about singing in the register that your voice naturally falls into, and what people sound like when they start stretching. There are not that many singers who can naturally sing clearly and comfortably in multiple vocal registers.
That being said, Carlos is entitled to his own opinion. If this is what he thinks, then why does he have to issue an apology? He didn’t insult either one. He stated his opinion on his preference. So what? I don’t understand people these days. Someone doesn’t agree with you, so you throw a fit (in this case via social media)?! Why is he not entitled to his opinion?
I am a little tired of celebrities apologizing for airing their opinion on things. There is a difference between someone disguising a personal attack or racial/cultural slur as an opinion, and someone stating their ACTUAL opinion. If I were Carlos, I would not have issued an apology. Same with Laverne Cox having to apologize because she forgot to mention Metallica in her intro. And same for other famous or well-known people, who get asked something, they share their thought, then suddenly they have to issue apologies because special snowflakes can’t handle someone not agreeing with them. Sheesh!
I’m not saying I agree with what he said (but I don’t really disagree either), but he had every right to say it. He gave his opinion, take it or leave it. That’s it. And now we have the obligatory apology. I’m so tired of this. A celeb says something that people don’t agree with and they wind up being badgered into an apology. Sometimes it’s deserved (if it’s something really offensive & insensitive), but a lot of times it’s not. I just wish, for once, they would stand by their words and not buckle under the pressure to apologize for speaking their mind or giving their opinion.
Let me ask, do you feel this way when Lena Dunham or Chelsea Handler say offensive things? Or when Trump supporters call people “too politically correct”? Or when Trump talks about grabbing a woman’s private parts? Or when movie stars defend Woody Allen and Roman Polanski? Why should they apologize? It’s what they meant so own it right?
When people are not held responsible for their conduct and their words we get people like Baby Fist in charge. Don’t people get that???
@Yesteryear – Reading comprehension fail.
I suggest you re-read smcollins’ post and take note of the “Sometimes it’s deserved (if it’s something really offensive & insensitive)” where s/he is clearly making the distinction you were too lazy to read and acknowledge.
His statement is not controversial like those people . I enjoy both artists work and I’m amazed at all the people here who have so much more knowledge about singing technique so I have no idea if he’s right or wrong. But if we said Hugh Jackman is just a supermodel and has no charisma it would be wrong but not prejudice right?
Thank you @Guesto for getting my point and within the parameters of the topic at hand (Santana’s comments and celebs having to apologize for every little thing they say “wrong”), and for not twisting it into some sort of defense of racism, sexual assault & rape, or the current nightmare that is the Trump administration. Are you kidding me @Yesteryear with those comparisons?!?! A little perspective please! And just like I advocated in my original post, I stand by what I said. It was my opinion, take it or leave it. And with that I’m signing off.
@smcollins – Oh God, a huge all-day-every-day Amen to this.
The man is 69 years old and has been a professional musician longer than most of us have been alive. Right or wrong it was his decision to state is opinion and his decision to take it back. If he has a big mouth and no backbone maybe this is his lesson to learn.
@GUESTO
I’m tired of people talking about sometimes! If you put set of rules on one person than you should put them on all. Or maybe this is just yet another form of discrimination you agree with? Sips tea
Oh well, you carry on being offended since that’s plainly what you look for first and foremost and ignore anything that might dilute and/or contradict your need to be offended viewpoint.
The voices that set my standard are, off the top of my head: Ella Fitzgerald, Annie Lennox, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Alison Krauss, Sinead O’Connor.
Adele and Beyonce are nowhere near their talent.
Santana is a great artist, not just a mediocre celeb. It can be his opinion, but he is knowledgeable about music. I don’t think he can be accused as racism either.
The comments posted on this site both today and yesterday are disheartening and sad. I’ve been reading this site for ages and have truly enjoyed the writers and commenters here despite some problematic things occasionally said. But as a woman of color I have been so turned off at the responses that some of you have to issues that affect POC… not just Beyoncé but POC as a whole. We sit here day in and day out and wonder how it was that Trump got elected with his dangerous rhetoric.. well the answer is in all of us. It’s Black History Month in 2017 and still… STILL people, not even so Liberals, can have a true and honest discussion on privilege and race relations.
For me, it was the Tilda Swinton that did it. It showed me how little did so-called white feminists care about women of color, women like me. With each passing day, I understand better the election of SCROTUS. 53%…
Unfortunately, that’s when I saw it too. I went back to look at the Macklemore Grammy post too see the reaction to his win just to make sure this wasn’t Beyonce specific. Was disappointed to see everyone defending his win. I’m mad because this is one of the only sites I read where I can find decent and smart human beings who can have interesting a thought provoking conversation but idk.. I feel a lot differently now.. maybe I just need a break from the internet lol or at least stick to the story and not the comments for a little bit
Please remember it’s only 53% of those who did vote. Not 53% of the people in the USA or the white ones
@Fiorella. I know but when you compare to the 94% who voted for HRC, it leaves a bad taste.
I’m sorry ladies. I think adding your voices to the conversation, even in dissent, is very important, and I appreciate it. I imagine it feels frustrating and disheartening to have to even bother, but there are people here listening and trying to be better allies.
I don’t have anything of value to add to this discussion, other than – I would be very sad to see you and your opinions leave. If you have the strength and patience to keep putting it out there, please do us a favour and continue. Your voices are valuable.
Yuk to be called racist because you don’t appreciate Beyonce! I can’t say either Adele or Beyonce do anything for me. Wish Santana hadn’t felt the need to apologise.
I can’t believe in 2017 people still trot out the same urban legends about this woman. You can find ANYTHING on the Internet so it’s not difficult to actually educate yourselves on the tired old “Beyonce stealing!” claptrap. Like Scar pointed out above all those cases were dismissed. Google it.
Google countless interviews with producers who have worked with her and they rhapsodise about her talent and proficiency in studio. Hell just yesterday her former engineer went in about her talent on a Twitter thread.
Its also interesting and telling to me that this narrative about Bey bring “worshipped” persists when the majority of posts and comments in any thread about her is negative. But hey #alternativefacts. I can’t be arsed to negate all the inaccuracies so troll on.
Honey take your blinders off. Bey stole those ideas from those artist and you know it. I guess Bey must be in her 60’s if she came up with the Single lady video before Fosse. Go ahead check out the link I posted up-thread and I dare you to tell a lie and say they are completely different. She also stole Faulk’s short film, there are about 14 different scenes that are like Faulk’s in Lemonade. And the other artist she stole his style for her video Hold Up. His name is Pipilotti Rist’s .
Hopefully you will reeducate yourself on the use of Google and YouTube. The cases were not thrown out.
You guys are going to get kidney failure from drinking all of Bey’s kool-aide. She’s a thief who doesn’t give credit for using other people’s concepts.
Firstly, I am not your “honey.” Second, koolaid?
Blanket statements like what you’re just spouting is usually how people get sued for slander so be glad Bey’s people aren’t trolling these messageboards for shits and giggles.
Finally, if you want to point me in the direction of Google and YouTube I’d like you to find your way there first. She never claimed she came up with the Single Ladies dance. Her choreographer and HER both admitted in an interview they saw the moves and wanted to recreate it. Faulk’s claims were also thrown out because, gasp… a sidewalk, a garage… really? Is it possible to steal everyday landmarks from one person? Did he copyright and trademark a parking garage? Beyonce then ripped herself off from her Me, Myself and I video. And on and on with all your baseless other claims all up and down this threads. I don’t care to continue. Like I said, troll on. Don’t bother responding “honey”. I’m done with your brand of delusion.
Like someone said upthread, the increasing racial overtones on these types of posts are getting harder to stomach. This goes beyond “I don’t like her because…” there’s an active cognitive dissonance going on around here.
most people in the world were like, “Damn, Beyonce was robbed.”
I think you mean most people in the world were like “damn, who gives a shit?”
And honestly, not really a huge fan of either, but the endless beyonce worship is becoming very old very quick. People have different tastes, not everybody has to like her.
Her fanbase attacking people for saying they prefer another singer is going way too far. Combined with the endless posts about how fantastic she is I worry Beyonce is going the way of Gaga and will be puked out very shortly now.
Yeah I wouldn’t say “the whole world” gave a damn because most people on this earth have REAL issues to deal with. Music is all about personal taste. Beyonce’s behive need to learn this!
Yeah as the world is on fire now I think, the fact that the famous don’t get patted on the back during awards season is by far one of our tiniest concerns.. but, whatever generates clicks I guess.
Uhh…Single Ladies? That was a show?
Adele is the great White hope lol. Jill Scott blows her out of the water musically and vocally. Carlos Santana is talking about Beyonce like she’s a Rihanna lol. Madonna doesn’t even have half of the talent she has but no one will disrespect her like that. Funny enough no one ever come for mediocre White singers.
But Santana is not white. I think he speaks about music in general (in his opinion, of course).
Mexican is not a race. Hispanic or Latino is an ethnicity. Unless he falls into one these categories, he’s white: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
Santana’s hometown is two hours from my city. Believe me when I say that he is nit white. Autlán is home to vey white Mexicans (many Spnish stayed there) and Santana is not one of them, he is the typical mixture of Native and Spanish which is the overwhelming majority of Mexicans.
@Ennie it’s not like south america was also having quite a problem of racism and colorism…not?
it’s not a neutral context, it was racist and sexist.i think we can call it misogynoir,now.
@Emylee you are so right…
jill scott or erykah badu , and others are lucky to have been successful before this era,people do like they don’t exist,so adele can be their new goat.
Denial is real
Ahahahahahahhahahaha
Da hell? I’ll cut him some slack for his age, but he’s been in the public eye and on stage for a long time and could’ve made his point with more finesse. No need to be rude.
I never like Beyoncé’s music until very recently. I think she has evolved more than any artist of today. Her higher pitched singing actually gives me a headache. Lemonade is awesome and Freedom is my theme song, but there’s something so irresistible about Adele.
“With all respect to our sister Beyonce, Beyonce is very beautiful to look at and it’s more like modelling kind of music – music to model a dress –”
When Frank Ocean questioned Taylor Swift’s AOTY win, some commenters here implied that it was sexist of him to do so. Carlos reduces an accomplished, multi award winning musician to eye candy and not a peep? Even those of you who are “feminist” enough to be scandalised by her leotards & booty-shaking aren’t quite feminist enough to care about her objectification?* Your feminism doesn’t stretch beyond protecting white womanhood and policing black bodies huh?
This site really is full of casually racist white women who think voting liberal means they can’t have racial biases. You deny it, but your double standards tell on you every time.
*interestingly, virtually none of you were offended by leotards when Lady Gaga was wearing one at the superbowl. What is it about black female sexuality that you find so threatening?
This site really is full of casually racist white women who think voting liberal means they can’t have racial biases. You deny it, but your double standards tell on you every time.
*interestingly, virtually none of you were offended by leotards when Lady Gaga was wearing one at the superbowl. What is it about black female sexuality that you find so threatening?
+ 1,000
Also, there were many commenting that Frank Ocean could have made his comment about the grammys without shading Taylor Swift. Santana could have done the same, expressed his admiration for Adele without belittling Beyonce’s achievements. Where is the protective outrage for Beyonce? And, what’s up with the total pass for Santana’s explicitly sexist comment about her looks.
Solidarity is for white women.
@LolaDoesTheHula: I think you summed up part of the reason why Santana’s comment is a little irksome and comes off as condescending to me.
By “music to model a dress” he doesn’t mean she’s a model, not a singer. He means that her music is the kind you’d hear in a fashion runway, meaning dance beats. I’m not saying he’s right, but he wasn’t calling her eye candy. You misread.
I can read just fine Ana, thanks for the condescension. I was referring to the ” [she’s] very beautiful to look at” part of his comment.
Single Ladies was as non-showy as you can get, really….it doesn’t matter what Beyonce does, she’ll always be reduced to something for it. Some people always get the benefit of the doubt; some people never do. Funny how who does/doesn’t always seems to correlate with race, if not gender.
“Your feminism doesn’t stretch beyond protecting white womanhood and policing black bodies huh?”
Dang. Lola… you get it. Once again I have returned to this site after taking a much needed break and I’m STILL disheartened by the comments I read. I’m actually speechless.
edit: I posted this incorrectly but I was responding to LOLADOESTHEHULA
It is so tiresome. And keep in mind that we are talking with white women who often identify as liberal/democrat. No wonder a majority of white women voted for Bankrupcy Batista.
Simply exhausting. I’m really enjoying your comments though, Kate.
I don’t recall the point in time when Beyonce gained this weird god-like status…. she was a solid artist for years, not doing anything too serious…
She doesn’t write her music, she’s a better singer than many pop stars but she’s hardly a HUGE cut above the rest… she’s a great pop star but she isn’t actually a massive musical talent, no? She’s not really a style icon either… HMMM mysterious.
This comment isn’t a comparison to Adele by the way – I am not really an Adele fan! If anything, I prefer Beyonce’s music but Adele’s personality 🙂
Adele has the most delicious laugh!
I think Beyonce is a terrible singer and her voice is damaged. She screams and strains. Plus she’s the narcissist of all narcissists of all time and her “queen branding” is irritating and quite idiotic. I don’t like Adele’s voice but she’s definitely more credible on the voice-alone side of things, even if she doesn’t know anything about pop branding – her brand is no branding and “I’m Adele and I croon only.”
I was one of those “commenters” who stated that Frank Ocean did not need to mention Taylor Swift, and I am also the commenter who will say he could have made his point without trying to discredit Beyonce.I will also say that just because she can put on a very well choreographed show, doesn’t mean she can’t sing. She has, without a doubt, one of the best voices in the industry.i would go see her in concert over Adele any day.
I also need to say that there is a very real “weird, competitive , feud thing” that i notice going on on instagram, pop forums etc., between Beyonce and Rihanna fans, and I fully believe that many of those people are critical of Beyonce,including RIhanna’s fans who are people of color. Up to day before yesterday , on this site, I noticed a reader proclaim their love for Rihanna while taking a very obvious dig at Beyonce.I really don’t believe that everyone who is critical of her is a racist white. Do I believe that some of them are racist, yes, but not all. I believe that some of her critics are infact poc who are involved in that silly competitive thing, which I truly do not understand. They are both phenomenal at what they do.
Sorry, but I’m not a big Beyoncé fan. The music backing up her singing is fun to listen to, but as a singer…. nah. All the glitz and pyrotechnics are also interesting to watch, but when it comes to someone who can just stand there and sing, Adele wins. Beyoncé could sing the alphabet and her fans would call it genius. The reason she was “snubbed” at the Grammys is probably because the people voting recognized this.
But Taylor Swift who sounds like a cat on a hot roof won AOTY twice…so no, it is not about the singing for the voters
I wholeheartedly agree with Senor Santana. Pre-lame apologetic statement. 🙂
The apology should have used the word “regrettably” instead of “regretfully.” Different meanings.
Can we remember that Santana and Beyoncé have actually performed together before? He has first hand experience with her as an artist. So maybe he’s expressing an informed opinion that he had to withdraw because nowadays you can have an opinion without being publicly destroyed.
I guess not, if you are not a fan of Bey.