Beyonce aka Queen Bey: There’s a reason she’s called the Queen

In #TheMusicThatMadeUs, Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri chronicles the impact that musicians and their art have on our lives, how they mould the industry by rewriting its rules and how they shape us into the people we become: their greatest legacies

The singing royalty wasn’t born that way, but she undoubtedly is destiny’s child. Beyoncé today is so much more than just an incredibly popular pop singer; she’s a cultural icon whose impact is seen on so many spheres and she uses her fame to support just social causes, unafraid of any repercussions to her legend.

Queen Bey, as she’s lovingly known, isn’t the first woman to be so pathbreaking but she is the first to tick all boxes of singing, songwriting, stage performances and social activism and she does it all with an inimitable level of aplomb. As she readies herself for the launch of her seventh album on July 29, Renaissance, it gives us an opportunity to look at the queen of reinvention and the massive impact she’s had on her peers.

Numbers don’t lie and Beyonce’s track record is a gilded one. Having sold more than 120 million records worldwide and winning 28 Grammy Awards, 26 MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2014), 24 NAACP Image Awards, 31 BET Awards, and 17 Soul Train Music Awards, the singer has been a force to reckon with, frequently steamrolling uncharted territories. Even when she was with Destiny’s Child, the band was immensely successful but eager fans back then too knew that there was something special about their lead singer. Over the years, she has acquired enough wealth and accolades to become one of the most powerful cultural icons in the world today.

When she released Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), it was a clarion call for female empowerment within a modern relationship where rolls are still typecast. With her unique vocal staccato and an infectious hook, the song was a runaway hit. The accompanying video in black-and-white, driving home the point!

That was 2008. Fourteen years later, she is formidably at the top of her game with her marriage to fellow rapper Jay-Z and children only consolidating her image as an influential persona of prosperity. A lot of that has got to do with Beyonce’s ability to own the narrative. She certainly has many firsts to her credit as a Black artist, consistently challenging the way the world understands and talks about gender, power and race.

Musicians frequently talk about turning to inwards to find inspiration for their music. Beyonce has gone a nautical mile forward by turning even the most embarrassing press coverage about her social life into episodes that need introspection and personal growth. George Michael before her was another character who turned a very public arrest into an opportunity to come out.

The 2014 elevator fight between her, Jay-Z and sister Solange was caught on camera, sending rumour mills into overdrive about trouble in the marriage of a power couple. While the rumours weren’t new, the confrontation simply it fuelled them; critics in fact were suspicious of the timing of the video leak since she was due to go on tour with Jay-Z and her estranged father-manager too alluded to a conspiracy.

Her 2016 album Lemonade starkly addressed the issues, throwing light on her own personal turmoil and how she has emerged stronger in the process. A massive hit, Lemonade reminded her peers why she is considered a notch above them all. Unafraid to take a stance, Beyonce has always been about putting her emotions out honestly or cocking a snook at cultural rigidity by refusing to perform in countries where her onstage costume is considered vulgar.

She backs that attitude with a rock-solid voice that decisively goes falsetto even as she’s an awe-inspiring mezzo-soprano. She credits Michael Jackson has a major influence for her onstage presence while recognising Madonna for her sharp business acumen and Whitney Houston for her authoritative vocals. You can see their influences in the way she conducts every aspect of her life.

But since music is always a continuum of influences, you can see shades of Beyonce’s gumption in generations of younger singers as well as her peers. Adele is unabashed in her praise for Beyonce’s voice and song writing collaborations. Even when pitted against each other, she is seen rooting for Beyonce, her “favourite singer of all time”. Rihanna too has been reported as saying that seeing Bey on stage inspired her to become a singer.

Lady Gaga is vocal about her love for Beyonce’s boldness both in terms of stage theatrics and honesty in the lyricism. Controversy may have shadowed Beyonce since the beginning about what the true extent of her contribution to the lyrics are. Nevertheless, her vision for a song and her defiance to put out concept albums at a time when singles and streaming are the norm, has always put her leagues ahead of the rest.

The fact that her commercial sales do not plummet even as she tirelessly champions various social causes is a huge testimony to the power that she wields. Her Renaissance album cover sees her looking at us in an almost Lady Godiva like avatar. How appropriate! Who better than Beyonce to allude to a mythical level of fame while being unafraid to shed fixed mindsets and stifling corsets in the process?

Senior journalist Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri has spent a good part of two decades chronicling the arts, culture and lifestyles.

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