Obviously, the Grammys were all about Adele and Beyonce. It seemed like everyone on the red carpet was like “I’m just here for Beyonce” or “I’m just here for Adele.” Many of us expected Adele and Beyonce to split the big awards, because Adele is the “favorite” among the old farts of the Recording Academy, but Lemonade was Bey’s strongest album ever. But that didn’t happen. Lemonade got snubbed for the big awards. But Beyonce didn’t seem upset about it. When Adele won, Bey cried… but she cried with Adele, because Adele was so emotional.
As for Beyonce’s performance… I still think Bey’s VMA performance last year was one of the greatest live performances in the history of music, so she set the bar really high for herself. And she delivered. Like, if Bey just wanted to do three hours of poetry, goddess worship and some singing, I would have been here for it. Here’s her performance:
Beyonce's Full #Grammy 2017 performance! pic.twitter.com/sAB2x762et
— Ensly Dooms (@UrbanEnzo) February 13, 2017
During and after, every artist in the room and every Beyhive member completely lost their sh-t. Come on, peeps! SHE WAS A SUN GODDESS. SHE WAS A QUEEN. THAT CHAIR PRACTICALLY LEVITATED. At the end of the day, Bey won Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video for “Formation.”
I’d also like to say… um, this is how Beyonce looks when she’s pregnant. And this is how she shows off her bump when she’s really pregnant. In retrospect, her first pregnancy was super-pillowy, right?
Also: BLUE IVY WAS DRESSED AS PRINCE. Blue Ivy is amazing!!
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Always stay gracious best revenge is your paper.
Yes.
😀
Perfect!
Beyonce was robbed.
Adele is great, her album is great.
Lemonade was a phenomenon. I just can’t believe it.
Adele is a lady though and I think she shared with bey because she knows lemonade was superior
I suppose it’s a matter of taste.
I didn’t enjoy the Adele album, only bought 2 songs off it but I bought 4 songs off Beyonce’s album. So for me neither album was a knockout.
I did however, buy Solange’s and Bruno Mars entire album and neither was nominated so there you go.
I get what you’re saying about taste and yes Solange is ridiculously underrated.
But lemonade was innovative. It genre hopped, it was a multimedia extravaganza and it was political. Beyonce isn’t afraid to take risks and I think the music world as a whole is better for it.
Adele is crazy talented and I know a lot of people can relate to the sentimentality of her lyrics, but she doesn’t seem to evolve much as a musical artist. Her work is very repetitive and a good voice should only get you so far.
Creativity is important and I don’t think Adele is even comparable to Beyonce on that front.
And let’s face it, this isn’t the first time she’s been unfairly passed over for a white artist.
@Yellowrocket – You said everything I was thinking. I bought both albums and love both of them. But Lemonade was unique. It stood out in so many ways. So I’m left with a sinking feeling that race had a lot to do with her snub.
I didn’t like either album or performance but I wanted Bey to win over Adele.
Like I said on Adele’s post. Last night was the night Adele Kanye’d herself. Imma let myself finish but Beyonce had the album of the year.
I think Beyonce’s album was superior in that you can see her pushing herself artistically. And actually, even Rihanna pushed herself more than Adele. Adele is very good but very safe (borderline boring). Also Adele was awkward last light. I cringed.
I love both albums for very different reasons. Lemonade offers something for every occasion, every mood, for working out, for partying, for relaxing, for when you’re happy or angry etc. 25 does not. So while it’ll always be a matter of personal taste, I think in this case, simply going by who offered more, who was more interesting and diverse, I would say Lemonade wins every time. Adele is lovely but her album has one theme, one speed. Possibly two. Lemonade, on top of everything, is an anthem.
I thought for sure Adele would win the songs and Bey would win the albums. She was robbed even Adele knew it. 25 was great but it wasn’t a cohesive line from start to finish like 21 (which was next level). Lemonade changed the game completely.
This!! I was stunned, with my mouth hanging(!) open when 25 won album of the year. And I love Adele and truth be told, Lemonade is really the only album of Beyonce’s that I actually like. I mean, it was innovative and powerful. 25 was good for that style of music, but I really only listen to it at work…..
Please tell me you’re joking. Her performance was one of the most self-indulgent, ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. And by the way, I’m a former Beyoncé fan. Adele is a true queen. Humble and down to earth. Doesn’t need a bunch of silly crap and crazy costumes going on around her to captivate an audience. Nor does she have to rely on T and A to get noticed. That’s pure talent, and she lets it speak for itself. After her tribute to George Michael tonight, I somehow love her even more. It just proves that even the greatest artists aren’t perfect 100% of the time. And the fact that she can own up to that, is part of what makes her so special.
this!!!
@Cecilia
Agree x gazillion
I get it! You want us to believe she’s really pregnant!
You’re not the first pregnant woman on earth for Pete’s sake.
Her ego and arrogance are big NOPE!
Not drinking the Kool Aid
@Cecilia Making a tribute to a dead icon all about yourself is very down to earth, indeed.
YES! Thank you.
Agree completely with Cecilia.
Of course it’s self-indulgent, she is Queen B after all. But it’s not just silly crap and stupid costume. Every single shot, every movement, every word, every details of the costumes are filled with an insane amount of symbolism and references to art history.
It is way to well thought and crafetd, way too rehearsed (that’s what I love about Beyonce, she works her pregmant lady’s a$$ off) to be dismissed as simply over the top. It was a performance.
I adore Adele. Her voice is incredible and I can listen 19 and 21 endlessly. But 25 was not her best work. And it was certainly not as good, as creative and as avant-garde as Lemonade. Lemonade will mot probably stay in the history of music.
I’m pretty sure 25 won’t
Beyonce entire dress and style was direct representation of the African Orisha Oshun. She’s been drawing on that reference for a while. Being pregnant with twins ups the comparison as well. This is a part of her culture.
“Nor does she have to rely on T&A to get noticed.” She’s also not one of those sad little ‘misogynistas’ who has to rely on slut-shaming to elevate herself above other women. Adele is way too progressive, liberated, and secure as a woman for that kind of “sexual modesty= our worth” BS. In fact, it makes her mad. You don’t want to offend your fave who happens to be both a woman AND a feminist by resorting to misogynistic tactics in your stanning for her, do you, Cecilia? 🙂
http://www.celebitchy.com/455174/adele_covers_rolling_stone_talks_feminism_takes_a_swipe_at_taylor_swift/
And what you call “a bunch of silly crap and crazy costumes going on around her to captivate an audience”, some of us call ‘Putting On A Show”. Adele is a better singer than Beyoncé, but Beyoncé is a better performer.
And I feel like Bey saw M.I.A’s new video and ripped off the style of it for her performance (and baby announcement pics). Check it out for yourself here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkkr-HhnwS8 I love Bey but damn if she isn’t the worst for ripping off other artists.
Yes!! Beyonce must get over herself. This mother earth image and queen bee attitude are so self serving. She’s coy and innocent and then gets on stage and is about as elegant as a …..well you get it. I’m tired of her and her pretentiousness.
Ugh THANK YOU! It was like a parody, what a joke.
I disagree and while we’re talking about gracious and humble and the meaning and submitting to those terms when you’re being snubbed despite you’re obvious quality, I found Lainey’s take on Beyonce at the Grammies fascinating and enlightening.
Yup. Who wants to criticize Frank Ocean now? hahaha
I’m sorry, but Adele’s album was the biggest soporific borefest in recent memory. My coworker used to play it and I found myself struggling to stay awake. They’re awarding the safest choice here.
Is Kanye on here?
Nah but he should be. This is his moment right here.
Beyonce’s Lemonade is art. Art. And it addresses issues that are highly relevant right now — politically, socially, racially, and in terms of female strength, identity, and independence, the right to speak out for what we believe. Lemonade is just that: a black woman in America speaking truth to power — all sorts of power, including a husband’s power to cause hurt, a society’s power to discriminate, even the power that some women wield over other women. Beyonce should have won. What the hell does she have to DO to win?
Let’s face it, the Grammys are all about sales and they are no longer relevant in terms of real musical art.
I like and admire Adele, and I think her voice is awesome — but she was right that Beyonce should have had that award. Hello is a snoozefest of repetition, and even Adele’s brilliant vocals can’t hide that.
The Grammys made themselves irrelevant a while ago, and with the 2017 awards, they have just convinced me of that forever. I won’t be watching them again, nor will I give a damn who wins anymore.
Reminds me of the bumper sticker about well-behavied women and history (her story); Adele is very tame compared with the bold art of Beyonce.In fifty years Beyonce will be Remembered as iconic- Adele? Not so much.
Yep, LoveIsBlynd, absolutely right on.
co-sign both of you!
Blue Ivy is a gem.
As far as the awards go, if it was going to go to a white person, i’d have chosen Sturgill Simpson over Adele. I am no fan of country music but goodness, Sturgill’s album was absolutely magnificent. If you haven’t listened to it, i HIGHLY recommend it. I want allll the good things to come to Sturgill because he is so, so talented and that voice is truly something. Adele… well, 25 was no where near the caliber of Adele’s previous album – in fact, i thought it was rather bland.
Beyonce seems overdue for AOTY and if it was going to go to any of her albums, Lemonade really was The One. Such a rich and important album. The tones, themes, lyrics, visuals and mixing of different genres is really above and beyond all of the other albums nominated for AOTY.
There really is honestly a “voting problem” in the academy and we all know what the problem is. As i read on a great twitter thread yesterday – the goalposts keep changing –> “When Beck wins, they’re rewarding his artistic expression over Bey’s sales. When Adele wins, they’re rewarding her sales over Bey’s artistry.” And i am no Beyonce fan by any means but she really does deserve her dues!
Agree with every word of what you wrote!
I totally agree. And I think Beyonce was genuinely expecting to win. I know those tears werent just about Adele ‘Sharing’ the Grammy.
It had to have hurt.
“The goalpost keep changing”, exactly!
+ 1
TIFZLAN. YES!!
The goalposts Keep changing.
This is just the perfect discription of what occurred. I am not a super Beyonce fan, but despite all the nonsense “Becky” narrative, this was such a phenomenal piece of work. It was truely the first time I paid real attention to her as an artist. It was a fullly immersive, lavish, POLITICAL, MUSICAL experience. Only album better was Solange.
Can we just take time to acknowledge that being angry that white people won last night is pretty silly considering Beyoncé employed a lot of white writers to deliver her black empowerment message? Beyoncé had like 30 producers/artists and double that amount for writers in the background. Like she had Diplo, a noted douche who has jungle fever, producing.
Beyoncé winning would be a low-key big win for white hipster douchebags. I know Beyoncé is the face of the album and brings her own artistry too it, but the main album work is carried by a bunch of white people, not any of them particularly clued into POC issues. Solange would be a much better pick for a ‘deserving’ artist.
I know Beyoncé was criticised before for her writing and producing team and that it’s supposed to hushed away like it’s dirty to say the truth but imagine anybody handing in work (a poem, essay etc) and putting their name on it when they wrote 1 sentence/word and 15 other people wrote the other parts. Would you think that person deserves the credit just because they’re the ones putting their name on it? Beyoncé is great at what she does, but I don’t think Lemonade, in the end, was all that deserving. And I’m a huge fan btw.
I agree!!!
It’s good to be reminded of this. Thank you.
The truth is, out of ALL the albums nominated, i wanted Sturgill to win. Yes, over Bey. But if it’s between Bey and Adele then truthfully, it goes without saying that Bey was robbed. Sturgill was never going to win anyway between the two of them and i agree that Solange’s album was better than Bey’s but she wasn’t even nominated. Lemonade was a much more unique album than Adele’s, whether or not Bey wrote it by herself. If voters say that Adele won because of “sales” then i can think of many, many other reasons as to why Lemonade deserved it more.
@ Artemis
So basically unless a black artist employs only black people their album is not authentic? Ok,but do we set the bar that high for white artists? Because there sure has been a lot of white artists who collaborated with black artists or downright copied black music on their way to success. As for men do we have a go at them for having lots of writers? Because previous years Grammy winners like Bruno Mars uptown funk had like 10 writers on one song. As did daft punk and pharrell etc. This is pretty normal across the board, it’s not something that specifically should be levelled at Beyoncé.
Btw I don’t understand what diplo has to do with her black empowerment messages. He’s a beat maker. A producer. If anybody inspires Beyoncé lyrically it would have been people like solange and black feminist writers like ngozi adichie, no?
I am not a Beyoncé fan her album wasn’t the best of the year for me. But in the mainstream out of those nominated I think she was the most deserving and it shouldn’t matter who worked on her album because nobody is having a go at other people for working with diplo ( unless we want to critique everyone he worked with because let’s face it he had a hand in half the albums). What Beyoncé did was make innavotive political Mainstream album. Whereas Adele, as talented as she is, I feel like she just reheated some leftovers from 4 years ago. And it’s true what the article says Adele appeals to old white guys. Even my grandpa listens to her, you don’t see him dancing around to formation..
@Artemis THANK YOU! You wanna know why I think Beyoncé won’t win Album of the Year? Because it’s no secret that she steals other people’s music. She adds one word to a song and then claims she wrote it. She takes other people’s melodies and then claims it’s her. Just one example is Halo. Look up that song and look up Already Gone. Let’s not forget about Irreplaceable. Yes people love her and yes she’s empowering especially to the black community but that doesn’t mean that folks within the industry don’t know what she’s up to.
If you wanna talk about snubs let’s talk about Kendrick Lamar.
Agreed Bey has a ton of help in “her” creative process. So much so I doubt they would fit on the stage to receive a Grammy. She’s won other Grammy awards so please don’t boo hoo her. Let her rethink her next move and her creative process while she is on her Private plane with her beautiful family, counting her millions.
i agree…. there was talk on how lemonade was suppose to be a moment for black feminism…. or something… QUITE the opposite in certain regards…. Solange however was this ….black womanhood personified…and just an amazing album so thought provoking….
and lastly…lemonade sucked and i regret buying it off of amazon 🙁
As a beige top line songwriter, I just want to say the industry behind the scenes, is predominantly white. On Lemonade, yes Beyonce employed white writers but majority of the producers were black and on each track there was at least one to two other writers of colour.
The industry is hard and to get in those rooms is even harder, especially if you are ethnic.
Most of the writers and pop producers are white.
RnB hip hop black
etc etc
The music industry is segregated. has been for quite some time. Let me be clear every single pop artist you hear has co-writers, and multiple producers. No one writes everything by themselves anymore.
So how many writers an artist has on a song shouldn’t be the bar in which we judge music.
@Artemis Completely agreed!
love your handle calcifer…from my all time favourite anime.
Adele had an effin football team with her on stage to accept that award but yeah let’s piss on Beyoncés parade.
These comments are just another example of the double standard against urban and black music.
Taylor and Adele are celebrated as brilliant songwriters when they have tons of help from (white )males too. But somehow Beyoncés is at fault. Ridiculous!
And @artemis you are so wrong. Most of the producers on Beyoncés album are black that you choose to pick out tells me more about your knowledge about music than Beyoncé. Diplo is just the most famous one and you highlighting him says a lot.
The whole “Lemonade is a POC political album” point confuses me. The visuals ok. But the actual songs? Other than Freedom… which Kendrick politicised (let’s be real).
Formation had some good verses but the gist of it is “When he f me good I take his a*s to Red Lobster” and “I twirl on them haters” “I’m a star”, etc. And in every song she’s just showing off her husband, and it’s been this way for 3 albums… even ***FLAWLESS was about “Look at my rock, my rock”. So, for that I would give the woke award to Solange + Kendrick and keep Beyonce firmly in her entertainment and diva corner.
@Sanders Thank you! (I fell in love with Calcifer when I saw him eating egg shells in Howl’s Moving Castle)
@Val
“The whole “Lemonade is a POC political album” point confuses me.”
I get what you’re saying. She had like two songs that possibly made some political statements but the rest was talking about her relationship.
@Hannah:
That wasn’t my point but okay. Remember, Beyoncé employs black people in literally every other area when it comes to her live performances (non-white women dancers, musicians, stylists). The list is long, yet to put her message across at the first port of call: the studio, it’s white men galore??? And that wasn’t as much the case in her earlier albums.
‘Btw I don’t understand what diplo has to do with her black empowerment messages. He’s a beat maker. A producer.’
Oh. Well besides the fact that he loves to date and hook-up with WOC, he also treats them like TRASH. See his relationship with M.I.A. He also loves to (body)shame women (see Taylor Swift) and while he works with super powerful women (Madonna, B), he can be quite the Bitter Betty towards other powerful women that don’t give a toss about him. Not exactly a person I would want to work with if I had the power to employ whomever I wanted.
Scotchy:
Yeah I guess Solange must have called dibs on some black artists. Poor Beyoncé could not find POC to write and produce her album, seriously? There are plenty of POC artists! Obscure ones, famous ones and everything in between. Beyoncé found a videoclip on Youtube (she often searches on Youtube for undiscovered talent/songs she can use for her own artistry!) of those African dancers and flew them over to help with the Girls (Who Run The World)’ choreo but she could not find an ample amount of POC writers and producers in America? Goodbye, see you later LOL.
@Jess:
Adele has a lot less people on her team than Beyoncé. Just check their album credits and then come back to me okay? Secondly, yeah I just said Diplo, you really want me to list all the of the other white artists? There are plenty, don’t act like the majority aren’t white. Go check the credits. Lots of big name white artists are credited first and Diplo is on more than 1 track so I drew my conclusions.
“Taylor and Adele are celebrated as brilliant songwriters when they have tons of help from (white )males too. But somehow Beyoncés is at fault. Ridiculous!” Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with Jess and Hannah on this one. It’s probably hard to find a mainstream, popular artist on that level who doesn’t have a team of white and/or male people behind their work. We saw how many people Adele had on the stage.
Artemis, you make some good and valid points, but I hate to see someone with your good social conscience omitting the stupendous writing of Warsan Shire, the Kenya-born Somali poet who wrote the lyrics for much of Lemonade. There is truth to what you say about white influences in Beyonce’s body of work, but cmon let’s not leave out a brilliant poet who is a woman of color. Shire was integral to the making of Beyonce’s Lemonade.
Lahdidahbaby:
Yes I know but that is one of my gripes about Lemonade too: it just doesn’t work that well without the visuals and the poetry interludes. The album is only a whole when you include those aspects, especially towards the end of the album, the ‘Forgiveness’ part when it’s not so good ballads. And even then, I didn’t need to have Jay Z in my face tbh. Just listening to the audio, it’s not as good or interesting as 4 or Self-titled who don’t need visuals but it’s a nice extra either way. Lemonade It’s all over the places and packs less of a punch.
double comment sorry!
Artemis, “Jungle fever”, really? Someone having a preference for dating WOC are now reduced to having a gross racist fetish, but I bet if it was blondes you wouldn’t call it that.
Jungle fever is a racist outdated term meant to reduce black Women to animals you disgusting prick. I reported your comment.
@An I don’t agree with everything that @Artemis said but you calling her a disgusting prick doesn’t make you much better. You might want to report yourself as well.
She is within the guidelines of the rules, she didn’t call any other poster a bad name. She is talking about a particular celebrity (Diplo) that she’s probably not to fond of. As much as you might hate the word “jungle fever” it was a term used to describe an interracial relationship. I don’t use it myself because I don’t like it. But your disgust for the term should be aimed at Spike Lee since he had a movie that was called “Jungle Fever.”
An:
Then Diplo is a prick too because he said that George Lucas has jungle fever and the man has been married to his wife and unlike Diplo, not a history of treating WOC like trash. I don’t think that interracial relationship are verboten or automatically a fetish for the white person (I’m for love) btw, but Diplo treated M.I.A like a POS just because she dared to take opportunities while he remained a ‘nobody’ back them. She was basically in a domestic violence relationship and only a few years later when he gets his big break, does the things he was accusing her of (working with famous people, furthering the career…) yet he still couldn’t stand that M.I.A. called him out on his hypocrite douche behaviour.
He’s controlling and his lack of caring for M.I.A’s political and core values while being in a long-term relationship with her and holding her down (emotionally and career wise) speak volumes to how he viewed her. Plus his tweets about WOC are…interesting to say the least. It does read like a fetish to me. Add to that the way he treated the mother of his children (refused to comment and in the same breath admitted he cheated on her and his first child was an ‘accident’). Great guy. He has flings and short-term relatonships with white women but never have I heard him disrespect them like he does with his WOC girlfriends! But I’m the prick, that’s fine by me tbh.
ETA: when people use the n-word around me without hesitation (not aimed at you, just society as a whole), I feel less and less inclined to hold back when I see white nonsense like white people having a fetish-like obsession for the beauty of POC so deal with, I have to on a daily basis. Getting too old to tiptoe around bullshit.
Oops, should’ve read your comment before I posted the exact same thing Tifzlan. People’s (*cough* white people *cough*) reluctance to admit that white supremacy played a part in her win is the most frustrating thing about this whole conversation. Adele is the academy’s wet dream, a traditionally black genre repackaged in safe, palatable whiteness.
Trump/Clinton
Patriots/Falcons
Adele/Beyoncé
Yep, I said it. Patriots winning the Super Bowl and boring ass Adele winning all the top awards over Bey felt like the election all over again.
it’s amazing, isn’t it, how far will some commenters go, change the facts and try to find anything, anything to deny Beyonce. No, she had male white wrioters! no, she didn’t write all the songs! No, she had just two political songs! (if you don’t think visuals for all night aren’t political, IDK what to say to you, people) No, she’s celebrating her own pregnant body-how gross, how trashy (I bet you said the same about Demi Moore, and that the status of pregnant women and mothers in USA is just peachy, no?)!, No, she isn’t even pregnant (bc first and second pregnancz, especially with twins is always the same-and that really makes a difference in her artistry, sure).
I just…I mean, I’m a white SE European, ffs-I haven’t had contact with black culture or significant population of persons of colour untill I was 23, almost, and I get what Bezonce is amd was about on Lemonade and on the Grammies…..and some people living in the same society still don’t. That’s just willful ignorance.
@geekychick:
I love Beyoncé but you must have been sleeping under a rock to think that people make up facts when they say she doesn’t write her own material. She’s terrible at stealing people’s work too when she (or her team) thinks they’re too obscure to be discovered. During BTS moments, she’s always shown to be ‘bossy’, knowing what she wants and being a perfectionist but we have NEVER seen her write or play an instrument, something that she implies in her artistry (her playing piano in a MV) or her saying she wrote a whole hook. Yet nobody has actually point blank stated she can do any of these things and other writers have said she (or her team) stole their credits so sorry but why should that not be a problem, even for a fan like me?
I don’t blindly follow anybody and I can appreciate what she brings to the table but there are other artists out there too so I don’t need to view Beyoncé as the end all be all of artistry because I know she’s not. The music world is not starving for artists, it’s that people don’t look around and find other good musicians or bands so Beyoncé is the gold standard because the rest is so mediocre (not that she isn’t amazing, others mediocrity doesn’t elevate her, it just makes it even more clear how talented she is in performing). But I just don’t see the real musicianship in her, she’s a top notch performer however.
i’m glad however that Adele still has tact enough not to give the grammy to Bey, if she were to do so, I hope Bey turned it down. the only thing i’d hate to see worse than Bey losing, is that her win should be given to her by a white woman.
i’m also glad that in the backstage, Adele articulated what we all feel about this injustice.
Adele admitted she voted for Lemonade, and recognized Lemonade as a very strong album, Bey’s strongest and most daring to date–visually, sonically, conceptually over and above anything Adele has to offer. she was frustrated enough to say what more should Bey do to get AOTY? how far should Bey push the envelope? fgs, isn’t it basically already in orbit? she’s proved herself a million times and got nothing to show for.
shows you that even in the small microcosm of music, much like the greater political landscape, there’s something that needs to be reformed about the whole voting system, the double standards, and all those bullpuckey.
i am completely sad for Bey.
I agree with everything you said except the part about Adele speaking about it. I know she understands that there is a problem and that this moment will go down an emblematic of embeded biases. But in doing what she did, breaking it in half, she has changed the conversation. Seriously, the coverage isnt so much about the race/cultural bias but rather about how MAGNANIMOUS Adele is. And isnt she a great winner to “share”. Such self sacrifice etc.
What she has done is selfish and intended to protect herself from History. In wanting so desperately not to go down in History as “white villain”, she has robbed the moment of its profundity. Now if Bey speaks or even better joins the boycott, she will be depicted as an ungracious loser.
Dear White People, sometimes your best intentions have the worst results.
oh, i completely missed the breaking part. i have now googled it and saw that she actually broke the grammy statue? why though! why would she do that? that’s just an over reaction.
to my defense i was watching on live streaming and it was incredibly patchy and didn’t show the part where she broke the statue. without the breaking part, she came across as a fan being so sad that her idol lost. but i agree with you the breaking grammy part is overkill and, tbh, tryhard.
now that i see what she did, she’s overcompensating for her disappointment, is the least of itz
Thank you for this and all the hoopla about her breaking the grammy whatever especially since those are prop grammy’s so to speak for the live show. The real grammy is issued afterwards and sent out and receive in 60 days. Or are we suppose to believe this as being something symbolic she did since its not the actual award LOL. She knew what she was doing, covering herself from backlash….
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/6866908/john-billings-grammy-maker-behind-the-scenes
Yes, you guys get it. Thank you.
I wouldn’t have trusted the chair, no matter what type of mechanism they did. NOPE.
It was a wonderfully staged performance. I don’t really get the big deal about the chair though, there are routines where dancers actually tip back like that and balance in an unsecured chair, this on the other hand was basically just sitting in a recliner. It looked cool but it’s just sitting in a chair (which is fine, she’s pregnant).
She deserved a few more wins, but we all know the Grammys are mostly about sales, and Adele absolutely blew everyone out of the water in that respect so no big surprises there.
And yeah, I’m more convinced than ever she wasn’t pregnant the first time. She’s actually moving like a pregnant woman this time around, not like a woman terrified her bump might start moving around or flatten at any moment.
So why did Bey lose AOTY to Beck then?
YEAH, EXACTLY
Adele’s sales are insane, and unprecedented in this era.
Beyonce’s self titled album has sold about 5 million certified units. Good, but not especially great. If the Grammy’s had gone by sales in 2015, Ed Sheeran would have easily beat her out. 5 million is on par with Katy Perry and Gaga’s bigger releases and less than many Rihanna albums. T Swifts 1989 sold a million more in the US alone.
Adele’s 25 has sold just over 20 million certified units, in 2 years less time. It’s broken a ton of records. It’s a much, much bigger deal, financially speaking, than self titled was.
@BABS, there’s always an excuse, the goalposts keep moving. When Beck won over Bey’s more commercially successful album the grammys were about artistic merit, not sales. When Taylor Queen of Struggle Vocals won, they were suddenly about sales? So what is the truth?
That’s all fine and dandy but grammy’s are not about sales. It’s about artistry, at least that’s we’ve been told ad nauseam when Beck’s album won over Bey’s.
But grammy’s aren’t about artistry either, apparently, because there’s no superior artistry in sight in 25. Grammy’s are all about race, I guess.
They’re about sales when there’s a half decent album with unusually high sales. The Grammy’s are an industry event, and that industry is struggling to maintain relevance. When they have a high achiever propping up yearly sales, they reward it.
When there isn’t an album with especially huge sales, they go for more left of centre picks. It’s a pattern that goes back to the late 80’s.
Funny, that’s not the pattern I’m noticing. I notice a far more noticable pattern actually.
To be fair re the chair, that’s a hard reflex to fight, I’d imagine even more so pregnant. Think of all the people who step out of trust falls. Your body, for very good evolutionary reasons, doesn’t want you to land head and spine first on the ground. She had no control and had a lot further ways to fall than she would in an unsecured chair. Also in an unsecured chair you’re doing all the work. You are putting faith in yourself and have control over how far and how fast the chair moves. She is fighting a pretty powerful natural instinct even if it isn’t a physically impressive feat.
The performance was beautiful, but really produced. Adele just sings. Totally different type of artists.
I want to know where the words from that intro she spoke are from? Her album? They were beautiful!
Warsan Shire
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/apr/27/warsan-shire-young-poet-laureate-beyonce-lemonade-london
Every, EVERY pregnancy is different. How I felt and of what I was capable at 8 months or 2 months or day before birth isn’t the golden rule how all pregnant women should be. My sisters carried each of her 3 babies differently. How do we, people who are not Beyonce’s body know how her pregnancy rolls?I just don’t get it.
and I said this a few times: I know a person who served her wehile she was in my country, pregnant with Ivz. In a bikini. she was pregnant, through and through.
I love me some Bey, but my God the fawning her has to stop, she is a great artist but she is getting treated like some deity, do people remember she is human.
Exactly. I loved Lemonade ( the first Beyonce album I liked) but this performance was too much, the fawning over her is too much, everthing about her is way way way too much.
Yep it’s really too much. And the online bullying of people who disagree or of anything that touches her in any way… I just can’t.
She is a great performer and I’ve been a fan since No No No came out, but people need to get a grip. She is not a deity.
I have to agree. She’s a powerhouse, an amazing woman. She is #BlackGirlMagic. She’s an artist.
But I do give a side-eye to “Beyoncé is the Virgin Mary and the Goddess of the Universe and we would all be nothing without her.” The hero worship is… intense
Agree 100%. The Beyoncé worship is getting so over the top. As far as the albums go, I hated the song Hello and thought her album was just okay and Lemonade is great as a visual but for an album I didn’t like it that much.
Agreed. I respect the hell out of her as an artist and political voice right now. But I’m getting a little uncomfortable with the level of worship. I like to think that much of it is very tongue in cheek though.
Yes!!! Ugh the whole goddess thing.
But I love that her acceptance speech reiterated the reasoning behind the album, which wasn’t really made for airplay, I don’t think. I think it was a statement, and hopefully that was the reason she was almost shut out, because it’s more performance art than head bopping singalong music, not because of her race.
That said, awards should pay attention to the art more than the number of times it’s been requested to be played on a radio station in Iowa.
I agree. I am and always will be a huge Beyonce fan but the admiration feels like it’s moving in the step of down right worshiping. Up to last night I was saying the same thing about people needing to remember she is just a human, but what worries me the most, is that I kinda feel that she likes it like that.
I agree. I like Beyonce, but the deitification is a bit much. But what do I know? I don’t think we should have royalty or that people who play sports should be paid millions while teachers struggle to live.
Beyonce is a great artist with a very very good voice and creativity but the fawning her is over the top. And I’m not a fan of Adele neither
Yeah it actually makes me reluctant to watch her performances. I like and respect her but is she a magical dirty from a different planet? Nah.
Wholeheartedly agree. This Virgin Mary nonsense, consacration of the mother irritates me to no end. Also, only when a child/teen is able to ask to do a tribute to a dead artist should he or she able to do one. Kids are not puppets.
That said, she should have won the Grammy. Her album was a multimedia innovative creation.
I don’t know- I think she is just reveling in not just a *first* pregnancy, but a multiple one at that. I felt like a powerful beast when I carried my twins. She’s just being what she’s always been- a self- focused, motivated, dramatic performer. It’s the greater preponderance of fans who are going off the rails.
All that said, I found her reverence of pregnancy quite moving.
+1 I agree. I’ve bought some of her stuff and liked it, but the level it has gotten to has actually made me shy away from her, like others have said. And I think she, choosing to deify herself, was too much too. That was her calling herself a goddess, not just fans. Costumes etc I get it. But let’s not be obtuse. I was actually semi offended that her halo was identical to orthodox Byzantine saint halos, but I read she was Yoruba the fertility goddess? So I’ll block that thought for myself.
But she and her music are so empowering. Stick with your man even if he gets it elsewhere. Such a role model for all the little girls.
Where did she ever tell other women and girls that we all have to forgive a partner if they cheat? That’s just a personal decision she made for herself and chose to discuss in her work. The decision of whether or not it’s worth it to either forgive cheating or automatically leave isn’t something that makes a person a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ role model for people of their gender/race/sexual orientation because whether or not that turns out to be a good decision in the end is different for every couple and family. I’m also about 99% percent sure that you wouldn’t place the label of ‘bad role model for boys’ on a male singer (gay or straight for that matter) who chose to work things out with a cheating ex and discuss it in his work.
Never wrote she’s a bad role model. She is just not one.. She is an artist who “borrows” from others (Her Freedom performance as well as at the Grammys (If we take the latest) – but her fans are blatantly ignoring it because they don’t want to here it.). She’s no queen nor an angel or the virgin Mary (her ego is just…wow) And half of her album is about cheating, her personal life which she exploited for sales and to create hype and drama for her album.
She is a master manipulator who threw out all the speculation with whom he cheated and then didn’t make a beep when her fans went and bullied the alleged “Becky’s” KIDS on social media. She is no saint she just lets the bullying to her Stans.
And as far as her music empowering and celebrating black women…. How many songs are so empowering? Because again. Half of her songs are about cheating. The visual for her album -yes. That was empowering for black people. It has a strong message.Her actual music tho? Not so much. But that’s what the VMAs are for.
And you can try to make me sexsis or homophobic all you want because Im not up her ass, but I’m mixed race female and as someone who lives between two worlds my entire life, I find it funny how fast black people tend to point the finger and scream racism where they are just as good at it as the white folks.
I honestly don’t need people to remember that she is human. When I see Beyonce, I see an artist; but I also see a black woman achieving a level of adoration and success that is not common in the music industry. She is universally loved, by her peers and fans alike.
Let’s be real, typically when an artist, specifically a black artist, reaches this level people search high a low for a reason to tear them down and spend the rest of that person’s life remembering all of the bad things.
So yes, Beyonce deserves the love, she deserves the adoration, she deserves the stan worshiping because it doesn’t happen often. And it’s honestly refreshing.
Agreed. Why shouldn’t she recognized for her artistry and commitment? Why does any adoration of her need to be tempered? Why can’t people just let people like her?
This!!! I admit she is very talented but it’s seriously disturbing how people treat her like she is God. She is not, she is human. The thing that gets me too is she seems to buy into this view people have of her and almost encourages it. It’s a turn off.
Agreed. Performance-wise she’s phenomenal. Musicianship is eh. To quote the kids of today, she’s way too extra, and so is the hype around her – and I’m not talking about whether she should have won or not.
I loved her mouthing off “I love you” to Adele. Classy all throughout.
Now there’s a woman who knows how to wear dresses while pregnant. Not like that poor, who was it, Natalie Portmann?, who let some stupid designer hide her under white curtains.
Seriouly? I think this red shiny dress is horrendous.
The dress might be a bit too gymnastics bling for me, but I like that she is not hiding. And I don’t think pregnant women need to hide – if they want to be bright red and sparkly, they should be bright red and sparkly. (of course they can hide if they want to – but the white curtain that Natalie whatever was wearing really took things a little too far)
I seem to be in the minority, but I didn’t care for Beys performance. I’m clearly too science-y and not artsy enough. I also didn’t really care for lemonade. I think it is my least favorite of her albums.
Obviously the correct answer to this is I am weird lol
I loved Lemonade but agree about the perfomance. It was way over the top.
Eh, I think she’s just in the Earth Mother stage of pregnancy. See my comment above, if you care to.
With all due respect to your opinon, but I can’t see how her previous albums can get near Lemonade. I even risk to say that Lemonade is not only good because of its own merits, but also because nothing of what she used to produce before could be considered artistically relevant.
I loved 4.. and I loved Self-Titled. I’d probably rank them
1. 4, ST
2. I Am…, Lemonade, B’day
Can someone explain to me what is this pillow conspiracy with Beyoncé pregnancy ?
Oh, sadly I know this. People said she used a surrogate because she sat down in an interview and her belly bent in an unnatural way so she was clearly faking the whole thing.
http://blackbag.gawker.com/did-beyonce-fake-her-pregnancy-1693597363
There is footage of Beyonce´s weirdly folding dress/belly that led to speculation whether or not Beyonce was really pregnant with Blue Ivy.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=beyonce+pillow+baby
Have you checked YouTube? I think it’s just one little video as the evidence. Maroon dress she’s wearing..
I still think she was pregnant the first time. She’s pregnant with twins now so of course she’s bigger.
I’m in the “non-birther” camp. heh
Last night’s over-the-top flaunting her bare pregnant belly pushed me further into that camp. Don’t you think she would have had similar displays of her condition the first time if she could really reveal a pregnant bump? It’s not like it was not a “thing” back then, many major stars were posing near-naked or naked (remember Demi and others on magazine covers?), and I can’t believe that Beyonce the fertility goddess would not have done the same. But the only “proof” is the paunchy burrito belly pic she showed in that white 2-piece bathing suit.
I’d like to think more of her because she is definitely a positive role model, but I’m tired of her mystique of perfection.
Beyoncé puts on good shows and hires very good professionals
She buys good songs and changes some lyrics to be co author of the song and get royalties
Or just hires good song writers and obviously she is engaged in the process and makes changes
To me, and its just an opinion, its different to someone who writes her/his own stuff , plays instrumets, …
Its just a different kind of artist…
I enjoy any type of artist… but i value some artist more than others
I give my own awards
And to be honest… beyoncé or adele isnt that big of a deal to me
But again… its just an opinion
Does anyone think Lemonade wasnt that big of a deal outside USA?
I’m french and I can tell you Lemonade is a big fkn deal. The tour numbers can tell you that also. Beyonce have been the biggest of deals outside the US since years actually. But Lemonade spoke to many many people outside of the core fanbase.
I spent months at a time in Nairobi and Lagos last year. I assure you, Lemonade was Big Effin Deal in both those cities. I heard those tracks on public transport, on radio and on TV. On the other hand I have Australian colleagues who barely know any black artists because apparently their music just doesnt get mainstream play there. The point is different parts of the world are drawn to different looks and sounds, and just because it wasnt a big deal in your part if the world, doesnt make it any less profound.
Having said that, the Grammys are an American award with an American voting college and special categories for none American productions. Even if Lemonade hadnt struck so many peoples core, it shouldnt matter.
Are you suggesting that mainstream black artists don’t get play in Australia? I hear Beyonce all the goddamn time when I’m out. I agree there’s a lack of lesser known black talent on our airwaves, but we give quite a lot of airtime to our own talent so there’s less time for lesser known talent in general. Wish there were more Indigenous artists, honestly.
I love everything you said. When you consider what some artists create, I think of Beyoncé as more of a performer and obviously, a PR/image genius. Most of the music I love has not been acknowledged by the Grammys, so I don’t give them a lot of weight.
@Hola: this is my compressed opinion of Beyonce’s music:
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/web05/2012/7/11/10/enhanced-buzz-26211-1342017086-9.jpg
How dare you compare a genius like Bey to a white man. That is so racist of you.
You – And sexist? Please be kidding….
psst, Freddie Mercury isn’t even a white man 😉
@You: You missed “sexist” indeed, and “go and educate yourself”and…
How about another comparison then: whatever you choose from Withney Houston ot Lauryn Hill ( I prefer both of them to Beyonce lyrics- and voicewise)
Yes you are right, thank you for pointing it out and correcting me. How sloppy of me. I’m glad we can have an adult conversation about it. So let’s try this again. You are unbelievably racist, sexsist AND uneducated.
All seriousness tho. This is just like why Leo needed so long to win an Oscar. Obviously because he’s black and is always a race thing. Wait… Let me try this again. Its because he is a women and the other nominees were m….. Okay… let me think about this for a moment, I’ll come back to you….
Freddie Mercury was asian, not white?
Musically, the comparison between Beyonce and Freddie would be absolutely criminal if they were suggesting they were equal in any way. He could cover four octaves and play almost a dozen instruments competently (and in some cases, brilliantly). He wrote both the music and lyrics for a huge number of hit songs (although the rest of Queen can’t be overlooked as songwriters because they penned tons of Queen’s biggest hits, all four of them wrote the songs and music) and had an amazing voice on top of his incredible stage presence and Queen’s phenomenal chemistry as a group.
As a musician, Freddie is basically unparalleled. His brilliance in Queen was only rivaled by Brian May’s ridiculous skill playing guitar.
Not really a fan of Beyonce’s music, but the stage production was nice.
I thought it was quite beautiful.
I don’t think Adele or Beyonce should have won AOTY. I know Adele broke records; but 25 was not as good as her previous work. I didn’t like Lemonade. I know Beyonce tried some new things and I applaud that; but nothing on the Album has stuck with me. And I don’t see people playing her music no singing the songs like they have on her other works. Beyonce’s music when good stick in my head; and in pop culture. It also bothers me that someone else winning an award turns into a tribute to Bey. That is ridiculous. Other artist don’t need to apologize to her because she didn’t win. And no I’m not saying she is responsible for that. but the atmosphere plays into that. And it makes the show unwatchable. There are some really amazing artist out there. They should be celebrated. I know ratings matter to these things; but the Grammys like the Oscars need to focus on the music.
Who should have won then? Genuinely curious.
*whispers quietly to self* Sturgill Simpson….
MTE.
But it wasn’t up against her previous album, 25 was up against the other nominations.
@tifzlan Very funny 🙂
Yeah that is a good point… every time another artist wins they bow down to Beyonce, it’s ridiculous.
Listen I know this is Celebitchy and all but can we stop with the implying Beyoncé did not carry Blue? Geesh, I’m not even really a fan but as a woman who had this misfortune of having three miscarriages, let alone one I can’t tell you how insensitive that is. She is carrying twins now, of course she looks different.
Regardless, I think she looked amazing in the gold and the red dress!
Right? Also, the second pregnancy is nothing like the first as far as how quickly you start showing.
Nope ,sorry. This is a gossip site and her surrogate pregnancy was major news at the time.
….And i definitely think she used a surrogate for her first pregnancy.
Its a conspiracy theory that has run out of steam. I’m not one to roll eyes but sometimes something is so tired, my eye balls just roll on their own volition.
Thoroughly agree. That pleat/fold/disappearing belly is incontrovertible proof to me, and anyone who has carried a child *knows* that a gravid uterus does not accommodate you like that. Anyway, why is it such a big deal to use a surrogate? It’s all about the PR with B, as so many others have said. What is ridiculous and out of steam is the idea that women should feel any less of a mother when the actual pregnancy is externalized. There should be no shame, no stigma.
I also call pillow on Blue, real now. She is on bump parade this time around to make up for the pillow last time.
…That pleat/fold/disappearing belly is incontrovertible proof to me, Did you see it in person? Otherwise ever hear of photoshop or all the other digital manipulation software. Obviously, the conspiracy theory is making someone some publicity and most likely money, and don’t think that an image that could be manipulated for profit is proof.
There’s always the most ridiculous theory about that woman. About her pregnancy, her real age, her being the mother of Solange…
+1 It would be beyond the pale with any woman, it’s especially so with a woman who’s had fertility struggles. Even gossip should have its limits, no?
AGREE. I’m sure she did carry Blue. There are photos that have been released more recently that show her pregnant with Blue. And I think you are always going to show more with your second pregnancy, especially when it’s twins.
Someone sane, finally! But, but they KNOW, you know? Because they carried differently, because they know what she’s thinking, because there ‘s a guidebook for pregnancy, and if you don’t follow-you’re obviously not pregnant.
I especially like how sure people are that she wasn’t pregnant last time because she didn’t flaunt her belly. Yes, after a miscarriage, she was definetly as sure and not anxious as she is now, at her second pregnancy.
Every pregnancy is different. Every pregnant woman is different. Women are allowed to have different views amd wishes with their pregnancies and about their pregnancies, and they are allowed to change them.
I find it confusing how people seem to forget that.
I’ll just ask what Adele did ‘what does she have to do to win??????”. That being said, Adele is incredibly talented, congrats to her.
SOLANGE THO!!! Love everything about her styling situation!
Also her music is criminally underrated!
YES x 10,000, dotdotdot!
Solange has a wonderful sense of style in her music and her fashion. Also, I love that she wears her hair in its natural state. It’s beautiful and so few Black women celebrate natural hair on the red carpet.
I’m a bit surprised by how surprised everyone is to be quite honest. Did you really think Lemonade, an album that celebrates black womanhood, stood a chance ? An album where the mothers of black men assassinated by the police and white supremacy appeared ? An album with extracts from Malcolm X’s speeches ?
I don’t know if Bey expected to win but she did make her big speech after her urban album win so maybe deep down, she knew she would lose aoty.
Yeah, I did think Lemonade would win. It was her time. I was quite shocked she didn’t win AOTY.
But meh on her performance. Visually great, but nothing more.
Wow Solange looked quite ethereal in that dress. Very goddess. Beautiful and talented girls, both of them. But I prefer Solange’s style.
Agree, Solange looked spectacular. Her style has so much more personality.
Solange is my style goddess.
I still don’t think Blue Ivy was a pillow pregnancy. She was Bey’s first pregnancy after a miscarriage so she was probably super paranoid. That and look at Jay’s pure joy at the VMA’s that year. That’s not emotion for a pillow.
She absolutely stunning with this pregnancy though. I’m super happy for them since you can see their happiness.
+1
Do you think she was adding a pillow to her outfit in the interview though? Maybe just to make it look bigger? Can’t understand why it looks so much like foam
Any pregnant woman knows, the belly does not fold or flatten when you sit down. Her’s did. It wasn’t her dress. She had quite a huge bump as she was walking, went to sit down and it BENT IN HALF. That does NOT happen. The bump is hard and firm. It was a pillow. That isn’t mean or against surrogates or Bey or whatever, it’s just a fact. It was a pillow.
Pillow pregnancy or not I still think she is trying extra hard to prove to people that she is actually carrying the babies this time. With her first pregnancy you didn’t see her exposing her pregnant belly the way she is showing it now.
+1
It feels like Beyoncè wants to show us that this time she is really pregnant. I didn’t think she was the first time but I believe her now. Last thing she can do is to show us a sonogram of the baby!
She looked beautiful. Pregnancy really agrees with her.
Yeah I was definitely on the pillow train but I’ve since seen pics and video of Bey looking super pregnant with Blue.
Ehm no.. I meant to say that this is a serious case of over compensating for not being pregnant the first time she was pregnant.
Solange’s dress is EVERYTHING!
I love me some Adele, 21 will always be my jam, but she’s one of the most overrated musicians of her generation. And yes, her whiteness is a huge part of why she’s so revered. Her discography is a total snooze and her voice isn’t anything to write home about. If 25 were made by Jazmine Sullivan, who’s a far superior vocalist, the album wouldn’t have even cracked nomination let alone an AOTY win.
IsaidwhatIsaid.gif
Didn’t watch the Grammy’s but I’m sure she slayed. She is one of the best performers ever. Also, Solange’s outfit was fire as well. Ok now time to Youtube.
it doesn’t matter what the public thinks it matters how the voters vote. Beyonce has won what 20 odd Grammy awards throughout her career so what she hasn’t won album of the year yet
I think what really irks me about the whole thing is that Beyoncé won “Urban” Contemporary Album of the Year which to me feels like the Grammys knew what was up over who deserved AOTY more, but still changed the goalposts anyway and decided giving her the “black” version of the award would pacify things. Beyoncé is as contemporary as it gets. Black music as a whole can be contemporary and doesn’t need to be pigeonholed in 3 or 4 categories created specifically for it like the Grammys repeatedly keep on doing. In short, I’m giving MAJOR side-eye to the whole committee.
That being said… Beyoncé is the definition of radiant right now. Success is a good look on her 😊
Exactly! The last time a black woman won AOTY was Lauryn Hill back in 1999. Let that b.s. sink in.
Wow….1999? Figures. I agree, Lynnie side eye to all of this. I bet Frank Ocean is like thanks for proving me right.
+2.
Agree with everything you say here. For me, Lemonade is the album that will stand the test of time, especially now.
I’m genuinely curious as to who make up the voting committee. I said in the Rihanna thread that i love lemonade and Im a Bey fan but I preferred Anti and would have loved if Anti was nominated for AOTY. That being said, Jay and Bey are probably having some humble pie now…when Kanye ranted on about them pre his breakdown “sources” ran to media outlets claiming that Jay and Kanye were not really friends and that Jay thought Kanye was a lunatic or some words to that effect.
I found it so cold how they could do that (and Im sure Jay and maybe Bey signed off on that being released….that story was posted here on CB as well Im just too lazy to dig it up)
With that being said, I guess Bey appreciates that Kanye moment more now after the Grammy’s failed to recognize her for AOTY yet again . Lesson not to burn any bridges. Im just a pile of emotions now but I love Adele and I adore Beyonce but thought that after all that hard work Lemonade deserved AOTY.
Blue looks so much like Jay!
Blue Ivy channeling Prince?!?! You really got me with that one, Mr. & Mrs. Carter.
Beyonce OMG she looks amazing, so beautiful pregnant. She sorta reminds me of the blessed mother ( I’m catholic) though, it’s ethereal and creepy or feels like sacrilege . Well madani did it too!
And Madonna got blasted for doing it.
Right.
I don’t feel that anyone should be blasted for it, tbh, whether it’s Beyoncé, Madonna, or some dude on a comedy show. This may be ‘A Judeo-Christian Nation” as certain people love to remind the rest of us over and over again, especially around holiday season, but ‘sacred to some’ doesn’t have to mean ‘must be treated as sacred by everyone else.’
“I’d also like to say… um, this is how Beyonce looks when she’s pregnant.”
Each pregnancy is different.. and this time around she’s pregnant with twins. Of course she won’t look the same as she did last time. It would be so amazing for people to just let go of this whole pillow conspiracy thing 😩
Right? People are so stupid
Especially when Bey’s released several pics and videos of her visibly pregnant with Blue! Smh the hate-on some people have for her is wild 😪
Videos can be altered, just saying.
Thank you! ITA. This is the classic case of people not being able to admit they were wrong the first time. Sure, the maroon dress interview led to good gossip, but the full out HBO special and the footage of her very clearly preggo with Blue should have shut that down.
Album of the Year is an award for music you can play in general company. Beyonce’s recent albums are sexually explicit with a large dose of profanity. I can’t recall any artist winning AOTY with an album like that.
I think if Beyonce got a strong set of songs (protest or otherwise) without profanity, and sang them for melody and meaning not vocal pyrotechnics, she’d have AOTY in a snap. As it is Lemonade (stripped of the videos and the tour performances) isn’t even the worst AOTY snub in recent memory for me.
My votes for best non-AOTY-winning albums: Melody Gardot’s “My One and Only Thrill” (2009), The Black Keys “Brothers” (2010), Lianne la Havas’s “Is Your Love Big Enough?” (2012) & “Blood” (2015), & Andra Day “Cheers to the Fall” (2015).
Good grief she thinks very highly of herself. Sure she’s absolutely talented and her music catalogue is admirable but the fawning and grovelling here and by her rabid fans is ridiculous. If you ignore the fact that she’s pregnant (because Beyonce being pregnant is somehow out of this world), the performers & dancers – ultimately it seemed to be a pretty standard Grammy performance (as far as singing goes). She’s clearly trying to make a huge deal of her pregnancy (I couldn’t care less whether she was/wasn’t last time) but a little modesty would not go amiss. The vibe she’s giving off is as if she’s a saint carrying the messiah. Considering the amount of flack this site gives Lady Gaga (I’m no fan) for her ‘artsy shtick’ and try-hard ways, it feels incredibly hypocritical that Beyonce here is any different. Feel free to argue that Beyonce is important socially – again, how is that different from the many political platforms Gaga has taken?
Because Beyonce is black and Gaga is white and on this site is ALWAYS and EVERYTHING white supremacy when Bey doesn’t win.
Slow clap to your comments. Agree 100%
This! So much of this.
Beyoncé is a great performer & all but my goodness is she “overhyped & overrated”by her fans to the point that’s it’s weird & off putting really..Thank goodness she’s seemingly a humble person.& Quite honestly her “performance”I found was just lil too much…too much production etc…& I sat there uncomfortable with her performing preggers…just my view
I think she is talented. But for me I need emotion. She does zilch for me. I like pureness of the music, not all the smoke, costumes and staging. Put Aretha Franklin on stage belting out anything and I am in tears from the strength of this woman’s voice. That is probably why I am an Adele fan but she is still no Aretha.
Have you seen Aretha’s version of Rolling in the Deep.
I just watched the Aretha version. Tx. Not her best performance but how she takes a song and makes it her own spin is amazing. Last year at the Kennedy Center she sang you Make Me Feel Like a.Natural Woman-gave memthe chills and Obama in tears.
Adele can be spotty live like last night. Aretha is always on and has so much range and soul.
We went to see Aretha in Boston last summer. When she did Rolling in the Deep, just about everyone was standing up within the first through lines of the song. She just tore into it and ripped it apart.
Beyoncé’s album was VERY good, but it’s a entire concept album, meant to be listened to as a whole, like a story and not very hummable or radio-friendly – so I get why Adele wins in all those categories. Lemonade was great though, but it’s not everyone’s pop music cuppa tea. I am starting to REALLY HATE all this pious Beyoncé worship though (and it’s a shame as it makes me like her less and I do like her) But that performance, too much, shows she drinks her own koolaid, has bought into her own hype, her ego is HUGE I imagine and that’s a shame to me and annoys me. She makes music, she’s a pop star (and I’m not convinced her music will stand the test of time like Michael Jackson, Elvis, George Michael, Janet Jackson etc). She’s not saving human lives, no talent deserves this over-top kind of adoration of “she’s a God, Mother Mary!!”, it’s ridiculous and cringe worthy. And Blue Ivy looks so much like Jay so here’s hoping the twins look more like Beyoncé more *cough* sorry but not sorry, just truth.
She sounded amazing and looked beautiful. And Blue Ivy is my new role model!! Loved that bit of her with James.
Two amazing talents.
Beyonce has more bells and whistles to her performances and carries that “I am queen” look to perfection. (Don’t know why I get weird vibes about her husband though.)
Adele is simply Adele … nothing to show except her magnificent voice and writing skills.
I love that they bring Blue to these events. It’s so special to share this with her. I also think she resembles Solange so much!!! I can’t wait to see what a beauty she grows into.
I really love Lemonade & I also love 25! It’s in my car CD player at all times. If I had to vote between the 2 of them i dont know who I’d choose. Both powerhouse artist who deserve it!
Ummmm….I wasn’t feeling it that much. The projections were cool but I felt like it was taking too long to get to the song. And I felt a little off-put by the jesus/mary imagery she had going on. And its not cause I’m super religious or anything but it just kind of felt egotistical to compare yourself that highly.
That red dress though is AMAZING on her though.
Ive been on record as not being Beysus Biggest Fan But MY F*cking God she Snatched the F*ck Out of my wig, yesterday, i was Absolutely 100% losing my sh!t and i’m not even embarrassed I’m not pregnant with to kids and my sloppy ass Can Barely get it together to go for a run yesterday Meantime Beyonce out here with two Children inside Ran A table levitated, gave you Goddess, Presented her family WHEW! and the had the Nerve to look sexy Pregnant, I’m sorry but her work ethic is Downright inspirational and Aspirational
But it looks like she made all the Beckys out there damn maaaaaaaad. All the “she is not that good”, “she does not write”, “the worship is too much” coming from the same people who bend over yesterday to defend Taylor Snake Swift’s win over Kendrick last year…
Shaking my head
NOT a Becky but Beyoncé needs to stop with the worship goddess nonesense.
Ily Kate. *crying laughing emoji*
It reminded me of south Asian shops with Hindu religious products. All the hands… Also a belly like Buddha.. Kind of a Hindu Buddhist blend. I guess I haven’t been to church enough the Mary didn’t occur to me at all. Also, lipsynching for sure right? For number of good songs I kind of liked beiber this year, thanks to lainey. I did buy lemonade; hold up is the best song on it
It reminded me of that plus some Cambodian touches and Madonna imagery from the early Renaissance. A local museum has a Mary statue with that exact same crown.
does anyone think that Beyonce’s performance felt like it was choreographed by Solange? The weaving of the women, the head piece, these are all things Solange has used. If she collaborated, that’s totally awesome. These sisters are creative powerhouses. But if she didn’t…we all know how Beyonce likes to “appropriate” other artists’ work…
It reminded a lot of people of FKA twigs, as a matter of fact. She did the Tonight Show once, and used blowing scarves like Bey did last night. Also, her Two Weeks video.
Truuuueee. Solange also had a lot of blowing scarves in some of her music videos and performances. It seemed like a very Solange aesthetic….I truly hope she collaborated.
Oh, my goodness, I teared up when I saw how Blue looked at her mama.
Honestly, she is a very proud little daughter isn’t she? I mean why wouldn’t she be.
Adele and Beyonce are both overrated, but if the battle for Album of the Year was really just between 25 and Lemonade; Lemonade should have won hands down.
Both overrated but Beyonce is at least pushing boundaries and evolving as an artist. On the other hand, in my opinion Adele’s best album was her first album 19 and the last two have bee nothing more than pale imitations of that one.
Didn’t anyone think of this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yDP9MKVhZc
Reminded me of FKA Twiggs’s 2 weeks video.
Yes. A lot of people were commenting about it last night.
I was just embarrassed by Adele last night. I’m a fan, but first she does a shaky, sub par version of Hello…then the awful, awful, awful tribute to George Michael. Yes, I was glad she started over, but it cast an shadow over a terrible version of a song that was not a proper tribute IMO. It also made me realize in that moment that Adele has been way over hyped. 21 was a amazing, 25 was down right dull and I’m not even sure if she has it in her to do great music if she’s not seething in her personal life. That brings us to her cringe-worthy acknowledgement of Bey…yes, totally appropriate, but at some point if was just weird. Be gracious Adele and move on…I think even Beyonce was probably feeling awkward, epecially after the part about Adele’s “black friends”, I mean what was that? Maybe meet up with Bey after the show and have a heart to heart, stop blathering woman. A lot of work goes into an album with collaborators, I felt like Adele just ignored everyone behind her on stage and and turned into a simpering fan girl.
I thought so too. I mean the people standing behind Adele put in a lot of work to make that album and perhaps maybe THEY felt THEY deserved to win?
Adele is just not good live.
Imagine Beyonce stopping, dropping f bombs all over the place, and demanding a do over.
She would have caught so much hell and probably never invited again.
Remember janet? Black women do not get second chances.
It’s not just “old farts” that vote. I think the Beyonce “worship” is really getting out of hand. She’s very talented, I am a fan, but come on now. The part where Adele said in her speech how her black friends can now stand up for themselves thanks to Beyonce, made my eyes roll. Yes, what would Black people do if it were not for Beyonce helping them “rise up”. My God.
Bruno Mars tribute to Prince and a Tribe called Quest was the best of the night for me. Beyoncés performance was over the top and so self serving. She can sing but this was tacky imo.
Bruno Mars was it for me too! That Prince tribute was amazing. Beyonce is meh for me. Love Adele too of course but Bruno was the best of the night as far as I’m concerned.
I’m so disappointed I didn’t look like this when I was pregnant with twins!!
Hmmm. I’ve read through all of the comments, the majority saying that the Beyonce “worship” needs to stop, but I haven’t actually seen any comments worshiping her or close into it. It seems as though by even suggesting that Beyonce should have won, it counts as worship because that’s about all I’ve seen from the positive comments.
Funny that huh? It’s like this weird preempting I’ve noticed on Beyonce posts. This rush to get in the “Am I the only one…?” Or “the worship is over the top”. Yet from what I see more of the reverse is true. I thought her performance was ethereal and beautiful and no she doesn’t see herself as a deity. The performance like her speech like the overtones of the album all tie back into black motherhood. If people listened to the first few lines of the poetry they’d get that.
It’s almost funny because you have like 5 or 6 comments starting with the “Am I the only one..?”.
This isn’t the only place on the internet. All my feeds were clogged last night with people all caps screaming about how she’s a literal queen, the greatest performer ever, the best mother ever. Then there was the weird ‘these twins will save the world’ reaction to her pregnancy.
I find it hilarious that Beyonce thinks she is some sort of deity or queen, when one can easily find the old Destiny’s Child interviews and shatter the illusion of her pretense of authenticity. While her performance was visually something else, musically I wonder how many of you were able to sing along to her performance. I downloaded Lemonade and while I appreciate the significance of her persona as some sort of Messiah for black women, I just didn’t listen to her songs as much as I hoped I would.
You can all take a look at youtube viewing figures and while Swift and Bieber are far from the “best” performers, their views are up to few billions. I can’t stand BIeber, but I listen more to Sorry and Love Yourself than I’d like to admit.
Rihanna lost in all 8 categories, but I do not know a club that didn’t plat Work this summer. Formation and Hold Up, not so much.
Another issue that people have with Beyonce is plagiarism. Straight up blatant stealing of other people’s work and selling it as her own. As someone pointed out already the essay comparison and when one does write 15 sentences and she adds one, and yet she sells it as her own work. I think Academy might be old, but also very appreciative of original content.
She is doing what Madonna has been doing for years. Appropriating other people’s creative genius and making it her own without giving any credit to real artist.
Worship and praise her all you want, but don’t be surprised when the rest of us do not see the appeal or see through the appeal in her case.
Also, I think the song Hello was played on every radio station, mocked into oblivion, chances are you know the lyrics to it and yet find Adele undeserving? OK, sure.
Messiah for black Women? Please stfu. Not all black Women are fans of Beyonce, I am not for one, but I can see the obvious racism and jealousy a mile away.
Adele isn’t doing anything that hasn’t been done before. Her voice is not that good and her technique is even worse. If Beyonce came out with hello she would not have won a Grammy for that mediocre song.
Language, dear! Not sure what was exactly racist in my comment?! Beyonce herself quotes Malcolm X before Don’t Hurt Yourself: “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” She had the faces of the Black Girl Magic movement in her visual opus and was inspired and inspiring future generations of specifically black females. In return, that is one of the reasons why her album resonated so well with black women. They see her in as some sort of iconic figure, a leader, a trailblazer, a Messiah if you will.
I bet 20 million people who bought Adele’s album would disagree with you about her voice. Hopefully you didn’t take my comment as some sort of affirmation of competition between Adele and Beyonce.
Not sure what you mean when you say white mediocrity is celebrated? Adele is anything but mediocre. What people are celebrating is being human and excellent while also being vulnerable at the same time. I am sure Beyonce would’ve gotten the same pass, except Beyonce thrives on so-called perfection which in the end almost works against her as a performer. People connect more to emotion than they do to any visual gimmicks. It’s what you hear on the radio, it’s what makes you love the artist and I’m glad you connected to Aqua’s Barbie girl.
I know all the lyrics to ‘barbie girl’.
Aqua should have gotten a Grammy for that one. I am actually serious, much better, original, and innovative than anything from adele’s 25. I only remember Hello from that album.
Her shaky embarrassing performance of Hello and her demanding a do over after dropping f bombs and screwing up the George Michael tribute just proves white mediocrity is celebrated. No way Beyonce would have gotten away with any of that.
Beyoncé is so far up her own butt all she sees is brown. Glad she didn’t win.
Bellagio, will you be my plus one for life?! You nailed it.
YES, I will 🙂
Is it so hard to understand why some people think these stage shows are mostly rituals and quite a few celebrities really believe they are gods (black/white/whatever race/ethnicity)?
ETA: I’m also genuinely curious as to why Adele became the reigning queen of no-frills/no T&A “serious” artist. There are plenty of real artists like that (heck, my understanding is that Lady Gaga was originally that type of artist before she researched how to become mainstream), but why her? Don’t get me wrong; I found that refreshing about Adele – except for her potty mouth.
It seems like most other similar artists would have to start off on American Idol in order to get a chance…
I almost wonder if she was kind-of “chosen” to replace Amy Winehouse (in terms ofBritish retro, emotionally-powerful vocals/sass) when her drug/relationship problems were just too dire.
Just some random thoughts…
Beyoncé needs all the bells and whistles to distract the audience from mediocre talent. Bruno Mars never uses anything because he has pure talent. Sorry, Beyoncé is so overrated!
I agree. It annoys me how people think it’s a given that she should perform at every Super Bowl and win every award.
That said I’m surprised Lemonade didn’t win, because it was more hyped than La La Land.
Yes she always makes me think of those scientology mega-meetings with smoke and gigantic screens and NOISE.
I am not a fan of her but she is better than adele and her embarrassing performance at the grammys proved that.
She is not good live. Her voice is not that good either.
The way she stopped and dropped f bombs proved she is not a professional. Her shaky voice due to nerves I am sure but was embarrassing all the same.
Mediocrity is celebrated when it comes to WW singing anything other than bubblegum pop.
I feel she only gets a pass because she is heavier,not a dancer,and has a decent enough singing voice and thus taken more seriously. All hype.
Out of her 25 album, only one song is memorable and that is hello and it’s an earworm and repeatitive and easy enough to sing along to so it becomes a hit for now but no one will remember a few years from now.
Like fast food. Sums up most music today.
Adele is so so massively overrated. She’s a talented singer, but not that much better from a random The Voice winner. I’m sure it’s her quirky British not-really-a-pop-star personality that makes her so popular and fascinating, especially to Americans. Also, how many times have you heard something like “Adele is the proof women don’t have to take their clothes off to be popular”? People who are tired of the likes of Little Mix big up Adele as if she’s the saviour of music.
I guess those songwriters also wrote her speech. If people were really upset about her not winning what about the ones we don’t even hear about. If Beyoncé was about that empowerment work with other artist. Why not work with other artists like Spalding, Jones, Morris, Carrington! See the god in other people not just yourself.
Bey was lipscyncing.No doubt. Check out the video fullscreen.
HOWEVER, I think I finally GET her art.
Her body, herself, her life, is part and parcel of her music.
And that is what makes it so great.
NO ONE does anything like this because it is pure Beyonce. No one ever could.
The show was spectacular. The best I’ve seen at the grammy’s.
It was a staged show. Adele did a live show at the Grammy’s.
Apples and oranges. No reason to compare. Only because they are both FEMALE we even compare them in the first place.
Who compares Drake to Common?
Serious question: Why do people think there’s no difference from a performer invoking goddess-y image as part of their performance/art and a performer actually thinking or saying they are a deity?
I mean, hopefully people get that when artists and actors invoke vampire/demon/zombie/serial killer/horror/assasin imagery, that’s not *necessarily* a statement on how they really see themselves.
If they do it all the time it is.
True. But most of them would somehow know not to admit it publically if they really do think they are a deity (except Kanye.) And I’m not just thinking of Beyonce; Gaga and Madonna are prime examples, too.
Or, in both cases (godessy stuff and vampire/horror/assassin stuff) they could be playing up imagery that they know appeals to their fans.
I guess it is the rumors about her personal life and the lies she tells which make people believe she actually thinks that of herself rather than it being solely a performance.
I do agree it doesn’t have to be one or the other, pitting women against each other isn’t nice. I thought it was very cool of Adele to be a huge fan and share the award. Yay women!
All i see is SOLANGE! Beyonce bores me to tearz.
Admittedly, I couldn’t get through the whole album because my ears were bleeding… but wasn’t one of her hits bitching about her husband cheating on her with “becky with the good hair” ? (I’m pretty sure this was a slight towards white women but that’s a separate conversation). Why are we now supposed to praise a woman for “female empowerment” when her hit song is about a man completely disrespecting her marriage? And then she goes on to allow him to impregnate her afterwards??? Furthermore, she holds herself as an icon of African American pride all the while bleaching her skin and hair into oblivion! She is one of the most hypocritical celebrities I’ve ever seen. And please don’t get on my case about being racist. There are many white women I can’t stand for similar reasons and many black women, and women of many races and background who I worship.
Please stop with the bleaching accusations.
I am sure you would think I was bleaching too but both me and beyonce have you know….actual human skin that can tan and get lighter during the colder months like any other race.
FYI you can’t get Beyonce type skin color with bleaching. Bleaching makes your skin grey and ashy looking like a dead persons, and it also gets patchy, not a light even golden brown complexion.
This just further proves to me that non black people know very little about our skin and health. You will to this day still find white doctors who believe black people feel less pain and have thicker skin and that we can’t tan or get skin cancer. It’s scary how ignorant people are.
That’s really bonkers about the doctors thinking darker skin feels less pain, i’ve never heard of that. Still don’t like Bey 😉 But did appreciate your comment.
She slayed? She did? Can’t stand her.
People in here about Beyonce stealing music. You wanna talk theft? Let’s talk Elvis Presley and white artists from time immemorial stealing from black artists. Yeah i sure dont see you recalling that to mind. This comment section is dripping with untold racism. Disgusting.
lol. Elvis.
Funny how nobody screamt “The worship needs to stop!” When The Beatles and Elvis were stealing hearts. Hahaha this talented black woman got people pressed as hell. Loving this. Rock on Bey!
PS: Thor son of Odin was human. #Deal.
Yes they did? There are tons of archived news articles disparaging Beatlemania and Elvismania. There were plenty of people saying ‘this is too much’ all the way back then, it’s just not as easily accessible as internet commentary.
You must really be way up your own ass to be able to pull this kind of performance with a straight face. But she’s certainly not the first pop star who thinks the sun shines out of her ass, and might actually have more claim than the others. Though I’m sure she thinks she’s more influential than she actually is.
And Adele sucking up to Beyonce is hilarious. She could’ve turned down the award if she thought she wasn’t the worthy winner. Instead it just seems like damage control from backlash on social media.