#MyLoveHateRelationshipWithBeyonce

For those of you who are reading my blog for the first time or if you do not know me personally, you might not know about my love/hate relationship with Beyonce.  It has taken me awhile to jump on the “Beyonce is the Best Performer of Our Generation” bandwagon.  It was never because I did not believe she could sing or dance but for me it spans back to the early years of Destiny’s Child.

If you were a preteen or teen in 1998 you remember Destiny’s Child first single “No, No, No” (Part 2 to be exact).  It was a catchy tune and it alright on the Billboard charts.  Without any other single I was won by this young R&B girl group.  During this time I was impressed by everything Destiny’s Child did: their outfits (designed by Tina Knowles), their videos, and there was not a song I did not know.  I even had the chance to see the original Destiny’s Child in concert in Memphis, TN in 1999.  By the summer I had Writings on the Wall and knew every song.  Then one day in 2000, I was watching 106 & Park and there were two new members in the “Say My Name” video.  I felt hurt and betrayed (Sounds dramatic but as I said I was a preteen during this time).  A couple of singles later, the group would be down to 3: Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams.  And this would begin my love/hate relationship with Beyonce. 



This infamous video





I blamed Beyonce for breaking up the best girl group since TLC.  I seriously did not like her.  As we all know Beyonce sang lead on every song.  Every now and again Kelly got to sing on a hook and Michelle was stuck in the background (I think she was just happy for the exposure).  It was obvious that Beyonce was getting ready for her solo career and she just used this girl group as a stepping stone.  My friends called me a hater for blaming Beyonce and told me that it was her father, Matthew Knowles that had caused this drama.  But I was convinced that Beyonce knew all along that her father’s main interest was her career and the other girls were casualties in this war we call the music industry (apparently I am just as dramatic as I was in my preteens).  So it was my goal to continue to NOT support her solo projects as revenge  for the former members of Destiny’s Child. 

I have stuck to my goal…kinda.  Even though I bought Beyonce’s first solo CD, Dangerously in Love, I did not buy the second one B-Day (I swear she re-released that CD 16 times).  I do have to admit that my fav Beyonce song is “Upgrade You” which was on B-Day, but I digress.  Every movie she was in, I judged her acting…HARD.  I criticized her immensely for the roles she chose (most of her early acting jobs she portrayed singers.  Way to branch out Beyonce).  As far as I was concerned she had a long way to go before she would be at the Academy Awards accepting an award for Best Anything.  Then I Am Sasha Fierce came out and I had to wave the white flag on my war against everything Beyonce.  I was in love (no homo). 

For a year straight, I played I Am Sasha Fierce on my Iphone and can probably do the dance backwards and forwards to “Single Ladies”.  Yes, I anticipated the video for each song on the CD and even started trying to catch her performances on all talk shows and award shows.  I hate to admit this but I almost cried when she announced her pregnancy at the 2011 VMAS.  I will admit that I have mixed emotions about her latest album, 4.  In an interview on The View, concerning her most recent album she said that she was not concerned about radio hits but wanted to make classics ( I digs that).  As of now I respect the artist that she has become but please believe I will continue to throw shade every now and again.