Joshua Binag
The Queen Bey: A Structural Analysis Towards the Queen of Pop Music
It arrived like a thief in the night - no sounds, no footsteps, no words spoken. The rest of the world was beginning to call it day, retiring to their homes for the next day to arrive unknowingly sleeping on the fact that one of the most significant events in music history was about to take place. At the strike of midnight on December 13, 2013, one of music’s most prominent figures shocked her fans around the world with a simple Instagram video post. With a simple caption reading, “Surprise!”, fans watched with their jaws dropped over the next fifteen seconds as the words “BEYONCÉ. VISUAL ALBUM. 14 SONGS. 17 VIDEOS. AVAILABLE NOW.” flashed across their glossy cell phone screens. No promotions, no elaborate marketing strategies - just a single release. The release then triggered one of the most magnanimous and hilarious reactions around the world as social media platforms became bombarded with posts concerning the biggest shock the music industry has ever seen and experienced. The bold release was a feat that no one dared or even thought to execute, but was nonetheless done by the Queen herself - Beyoncé.
The release of Beyoncé’s fifth self-titled album was without a doubt one of the biggest events in 2013 and music history itself. As many were beginning to wrap up and reflect upon the year that passed and prepare for the next to come, Beyoncé refused to let the year end without her final say, dropping one of the biggest bombshells in cultural history. However, the album and its release, despite its sole purpose of providing entertainment for her fans, takes on a deeper meaning as it actively portrays the influence and cultural force that is Beyoncé. Beyoncé is arguably the most powerful and influential musical icon of the twenty-first century. Her musical work has established her as a driving force and visionary of the pop music world. Singing since childhood, Beyoncé established herself within the music industry as the lead vocalist of the immensely successful R&B girl group Destiny's Child. After the disbandment of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé began to pursue a solo career that has since established her as magnanimous force in the music industry. Her music since her beginnings with Destiny's Child has garnered her many accolades, including, but not limited to, 17 Grammy Awards and 46 Grammy nominations. All five of her solo albums have debuted at no. 1 on the US Billboard 200, and all five of her albums have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In total, Beyoncé as a solo artist has sold over 118 million records worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In addition to her musical pursuits, she has ventured into the world of fashion, creating the fashion line House of Deréon alongside her mother, Tina Knowles. In addition, Beyoncé has endorsement deals with Pepsi and Tommy Hilfiger and is an active philanthropist. Having a career spanning sixteen years since her debut with Destiny’s Child in 1998, Beyoncé’s legacy has made an impact within the music industry and our global society. This past month, Beyoncé became the highest-selling black musician of all-time, surpassing Michael Jackson, and was inducted into Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2013 and 2014. With the career longevity and cultural impact that she garners today, Beyoncé shows no signs of slowing down her career.
Amidst all the success that she has garnered over her long and fruitful career, Beyoncé has established herself as one of the most influential figures in the world of popular music. However, despite her tremendous success, her influence has spread beyond the realm of music itself and its development. As mentioned earlier, Beyoncé has expanded her career beyond music, venturing into the realms of fashion and philanthropy. However, both her music and non-music endeavors have expanded her influence into the cultural and even political world. Music without a doubt is one of the largest forces that drives the direction of global culture and values. With its ability to affect people and their emotions in ways other modes of culture could not, music helps drive the direction of culture with its ability to express feelings and opinions in a unique way. Beyoncé herself has definitely utilized this advantage to further garner her influence. In addition to its catchiness and immediate appeal to its listeners, Beyoncé’s music extends beyond that by expressing opinions and views created by the life events that surround her. Since her beginnings with Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé’s lyrics have traditionally been the result of events that occurred around her and the opinions that have risen as a result of such events. Most recently, her lyrics in her most recent music have taken political tones, tackling topics and issues such as feminism and women’s civil and social rights. This is explicitly seen in her songs “Run The World (Girls)” from her album 4 and “***Flawless” from her self-titled album Beyoncé. In addition, Beyoncé actively participates in the political world, freely expressing her Democratic political values through her friendship with the Obamas as well as publicly endorsing same-sex marriage. These opinions and beliefs are explicitly stated through Beyoncé’s utter outspokenness on such issues. As a result, these beliefs have not only established her public standpoints but has also garnered her the ability to publicly represent such opinions. Her opinions and participation in feminism has resulted in many individuals comparing and associating Beyoncé with feminist ideals, with some dedicated fans establishing her as the face of feminism. Her vast musical and political following have further fueled the validity and public support of her opinions, resulting in her expanding her cultural influence. As a result, Beyoncé’s views as expressed through her music and political outspokenness have resulted in her becoming not only a pop music symbol but a cultural icon and force that seeks to have an extensive influence over the direction culture moves and the structures that shape it.
Beyoncé is arguably one of the most influential musicians of the past decade, a fact that is supported by her astounding record sales as a solo artist and as the lead vocalist for Destiny’s Child. In addition to the 118 million records she has sold as a solo artist, she has sold over 60 million copies with Destiny’s Child, furthering her ability to sell. As mentioned earlier, Beyoncé has was recently named the highest paid black musician of all time, surpassing the likes of other prominent black music icons such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Prince. This title was given to her due to the high success of her most recent world tour, The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, which found Beyoncé earning a $212 million paycheck. However, the monetary success Beyoncé has garnered does not come easy due to the demanding and unforgiving that she works in. The success of an artist is dictated not only by the public’s perception of their brand but by their record sales as well. Since album sales are an artist’s primary source of income, artists typically spend months, and in some occassions years, marketing their music, primarily the singles they release and the upcoming album that they promote. To promote their upcoming album, an artist would typically release a number of singles aimed to build the hype and excite their fans. R&B recording artist Chris Brown, for example, has released four singles between the months of March and December of 2013 to promote the release of upcoming his sixth studio album, X. Furthermore, to build up more excitement and hype for their upcoming albums, artists would regularly make public appearances and performances, particularly on television shows, news segments, live award shows, and interviews. In addition to the release of his two wildly successful singles “Suit & Tie” and “Mirrors,” Justin Timberlake made a plethora of appearances to promote the release of his album The 20/20 Experience. These public appearances took form in live performances at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, Saturday Night Live, the Brit Awards, and a preview concert at the Roseland Ballroom. After an artist has released their album, artists typically embark on large marketing campaigns to help maintain significant record sales months after its release. In order to support strong record sales for her seventh album Unapologetic, Barbadian recording artist Rihanna embarked on her fifth world tour entitled Diamonds World Tour. This laborious process has become the norm in which artists market their music, becoming the grim reality for an artist seeking stay “relevant” in an ever changing music industry influenced by ever changing cultural ideals. This process has thus established the “music marketing” structure for which an artist markets their music in order to “survive.” However, on the of midnight December 13th, 2013, Beyoncé challenged the structure, along with others, with the release of her fifth, self-titled album, shocking the music industry and fans worldwide.
Beyoncé shocked the world with the release of her fifth album, challenging the structure of music marketing itself. However, it is better to establish the definition of structure and the principle from what it derives from. The term structure is derived from the cultural theory of structuralism. Structuralism refers to the belief that all aspects of society are uniquely defined and constructed. Structuralism promotes rigid definitions of these aspects and as a result eliminates the need to specify much more specific aspects of a structure. In addition, the cultural theory also states that all structures are trans-cultural in that the structure is inherently the same, despite the cultural differences in approaching a structure.
The relationship between reward and punishment exemplifies the view of structuralism. Punishment is uniquely defined while other aspects that aren't punishment, such as reward, are defined as “not-punishment” and vice versa. In a transcultural context, reward and punishment can be seen through a structuralist context through its methods. Every culture has its own unique form of reward and punishment – one culture might punish a child by putting them in time out while another might punish a child by spanking. Despite the difference in methods, structuralism argues that punishment in a trans-cultural context all aims for the same goal – the elimination of a certain behavior. In a more relevant view in accordance to the topic of concern, structuralism can be seen viewed in music through the structures of “music” and “not-music.” Music is defined by the Oxford English dictionary is “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” (“Music”) In a structuralist view, all objects and entities that accord to the definition of “music” is considered “music,” while those that do not accord to the definition fall under “not-music.” In accordance to transculturalism within structuralism, music has the same objectives regardless of the culture it stems from. Although music takes different forms within respective cultures, they all inherently share the same objectives and goals.
In order to fully examine Beyoncé and her influence through a structural lens, it is best to examine and research upon her influence via historical research. Historical research will plainly show Beyoncé’s primary opinions, their evolution, and the events that may have influenced such opinions. Before Beyoncé transformed into the cultural icon that she currently is, Beyoncé was first a musician eager to share her art with the rest of the world. A musician first, Beyoncé’s primary mode of expression is her music. Therefore, my primary source of analysis will be songs from her most recent album Beyoncé, where she is seen to be the most open and intimate about her private life and personal philosophies. While her previous work has briefly expressed her political and social opinions, her most recent album is the most explicit in expressing these views, primarily her views on feminism. In conjunction with these songs, I will also be utilizing her mini-web series Self-Titled, a documentary series that shows the process and development of her album. In addition, another source of analysis will be a video of a Saturday Night Live sketch that comically portrays Beyoncé’s all-around influence. Being the magnanimous force she is in culture today, Saturday Night Live’s sketch concerning her influence is a valuable resource because of their blunt and honest portrayals of cultural, societal, and political realities.
The release of Beyoncé’s album was a shock to fans, non-fans, and music industry professionals around the world. The marketing of the album and its release, however, were significant not only because of its success but because of its immediate challenge and change towards several structures in the music world. As elaborated on earlier, the promotion of an album usually involves months or even years of promotion in order to ensure significant first-week album sales and appeal to the general public. Artists release several singles from the album itself and make regular public appearances to ensure ample promotion and strong sales. Therefore, the release of Beyoncé was a rebellion against the norm of music marketing and release. Beyoncé’s prime motivation behind the unconventional release of her album was due to her dissatisfaction of a listener’s experience with music. She expressed her discontent with how music fans no longer invest in full length albums but only the singles because of the hype it produces. The fact that listeners only listen to short, ten second previews of songs when purchasing music further fueled Beyoncé’s discontent. Furthermore, Beyoncé felt that listeners’ current experience with music interfered with the relationship between an artist and his or her art, as artists produce art that adheres to the public’s liking rather than what comes from their heart. As a result, Beyoncé decided to force music listeners to change their experience with music and ultimately change their overall impression. The two primary primary structures within the music industry that Beyoncé challenged were the listener’s experience and the marketing of music itself. Challenges that are immediately seen upon action were the forced change of experience with music listeners and the unconventional release of the album. However, these challenges should not be seen as challenges to become the antithesis of the established structure in the realm of music. For example, a listener’s experience with Beyoncé’s new album should not be established as the “not-experience” in comparison to the traditional “experience” structure that music listeners have historically adhered to. Rather, these challenges should be viewed as ones that in due time become independent structures themselves, threatening to finally take the place of the traditional structure. As an artistic feat that has only been done by Beyoncé, listeners to her newest album can, as a result, only associate this new, emerging structure only with Beyoncé herself. This in turn, results in the structure being termed as the “Beyoncé experience” with the traditional structure therefore becoming the “not-Beyoncé experience.” Similarly to the album’s artistic feat, Beyoncé was the only artist to take upon this risky scheme of music marketing. Many artists have never considered this form of marketing - if some have, then not one artist has dared take the marketing risk that Beyoncé bravely did eventually. As a result, listeners can only relate this unique form of music marketing with Beyoncé, designating this structure as “Beyoncé marketing.” Conversely, the antithesis to this new structure, the traditional method of music marketing, becomes the “not-Beyoncé marketing.” Through the release of her latest album, Beyoncé challenges the current structures by not establishing them as the antithesis towards said structures but by establishing them as new structures that in turn antithesize the current structures. The creation of these said structures further reinforces Beyoncé’s cultural significance, creating musical and cultural experiences that is unique to her cultural brand.
Beyoncé has taken advantage of the role of an artist by boldly asserting personal opinions within her music. An artist who is known for her creating songs and lyrics based upon personal experiences and feelings, Beyoncé is often widely outspoken within her music. Perhaps one of the most prominent cultural aspects that she has been widely outspoken about is the topic of feminism. Although her previous records have largely been based upon the female experience, never has she ever been much more outspoken on feminist ideals than in her most recent studio album. Prior to the release of her latest album, Beyoncé’s feminist ideals were largely seen in some of her previous recordings, most notably the lead single “Run The World (Girls)” from her fourth studio album, 4, and “Independent Woman” from her early days with Destiny’s Child. Both songs have aggressively proclaimed female empowerment and femininity, empowering females to take pride in who they were. However, the release of “Run The World” have led critics to believe that Beyoncé should expand the lyrical content of her songs and tackle other issues. In a possible response to such critics, broadened the scope to which she expressed her views on feminism, encompassing various aspects of the feminine experience such as motherhood, depression (primarily postnatal), and insecurity. Beyoncé was perhaps the most candid in one of the most repressed and controversial aspects of the feminine experience - female sexuality.
Since the commencement of her career, Beyoncé has been seen to carry a unique sex appeal associated with her name. However, despite this, the extent to which she has expressed her sensuality, both in her past songs and performances, have been kept to an often reasonable level. Compared to other female artists such as Rihanna and Madonna who have explicitly talked about sex in their records, Beyoncé has often limited the explicitness to which she expressed her sensuality until her most recent album. Although many of the tracks within the album contained a sexual tone, she is perhaps the most frank about sexuality in her two songs “Partition” and “Rocket.” The former song explicitly lyrically narrates engaging in sexual intercourse with her romantic partner in the back of the limousine, narrating, “... he popped all my buttons, and he ripped my blouse/ he Monica Lewinskyed all on my gown.” In addition, at the beginning of each verse, Beyoncé sings, “Driver roll up the partition please/ I don’t need you seeing Yoncé on her knees” (Knowles 2013), foreshadowing the explicitness of the song itself. In the latter song, “Rocket,” Beyoncé narrates the journey of sexual intercourse between two partners from the female perspective. Perhaps the most recognizable lyric of the song is the opening line, where Knowles sings, “Let me sit this ass on you.” Knowles later continues on to sing sensual lyrics under light innuendo, singing, “Rock it ‘till waterfalls (3x).” (Knowles 2013) Beyoncé’s central motivation behind the overly raunchy lyrics of her songs lies in her belief of women owning their sexuality. In her Self-Titled video series, she expresses her unashamedness towards her sexuality, believing that sexuality is “...a power that we all have.” The lyrics are in part a rebellion against the double standard women carry concerning sexuality in comparison to men. In an interview with OUT magazine, Beyoncé addressed the motive behind her sexually charged lyrics:
“I’d like to believe that my music opened up that conversation. There is unbelievable power in ownership, and women should own their sexuality. There is a double standard when it comes to sexuality that still persists. Men are free and women are not. That is crazy. The old lessons of submissiveness and fragility made us victims. Women are so much more than that. You can be a businesswoman, a mother, an artist, and a feminist -- whatever you want to be -- and still be a sexual being. It’s not mutually exclusive.”
A self-described modern-day feminist, Beyoncé has constantly lobbied for the equality of the sexes, most notably concerning sexuality. She has expressed her disapproval over the male’s ability to freely express their sexuality while females are taught to repress it. This point of view is expressed in her song “***Flawless.” The song contains an excerpt from the TED talk of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Concerning female sexuality, the excerpt contains Adichie saying, “We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.” The inclusion of the excerpt reflects Beyoncé’s strong belief in the subject, ultimately stating that the issue should not be expressed in lyrics but explicitly stated by a respected feminist. Historically, women have been shown to be sexually repressed and completely submissive to the power of the man. They are taught to be proper in regards to the man and are caught in numerous double standards, including sexuality. Thus, the structure of the “woman” is defined as submissive, fragile, and sexually repressed human beings. Resultantly through her music, Beyoncé not only challenges the said structure but actually changes the structure herself. She fundamentally redefines the structure by defining the “woman” structure as independent, non-submissive, and sexually free human beings. Therefore, the original structure of the “woman” is replaced and conclusively becomes the “not-woman.” The redefinement of these structures have thus expanded Beyoncé’s cultural emphasis on feminism.
Critics have long lauded the Beyoncé’s latest album, proclaiming it to be her most successful and outstanding work to date. One particular aspect that critics lauded was the experimental nature of the album, primarily through its song lyrics and its accompanying music videos. In part to adhere to her artistic motivations, Beyoncé kept the process spontaneous, stating that she was “rebelling against perfection.” One particular instance of seeking imperfection was with her working relationship with new producer Boots, who produced a majority of the album. When Boots began to work with Beyoncé, he initially showed her the material he felt would compliment her style of music. On the other hand, Beyoncé was much more interested with his experimental material. In one instance, Beyoncé showed interest in a demo that Boots believed to be lusterless, which eventually became the song “Haunted.” Experimentalism was also seen in the writing of lyrics. In the song “Drunk In Love,” Beyoncé recalls the production of the song as spontaneous and purely out of enjoyment and not to create a “hit record.” As Beyoncé and Jay-Z each freestyled several verses of the songs, many producers added their own personal the production to the initial instrumentals, imitating a “jam session.” The song “Partition” is also known to be experimental in lyrics, with Beyoncé freestyling the majority of the lyrics after initially being drawn to the instrumentals of the track. In addition, while the song “XO” was recorded while Beyoncé had a sinus infection, she ultimately decided to keep the original vocals, admiring the imperfection in her vocals. Perhaps experimentalism and imperfection were most sought in the production of her music videos, most notably in the videos for “Yoncé,” “XO,” “No Angel,” “Drunk In Love,” and “Blue.” Each of the mentioned music videos were mainly done through their self-described “Run-N-Gun” process. The videos for “No Angel” and “Blue” were shot while walking through the streets of Houston and Rio de Janeiro, respectively, and interacting with its citizens. The video for “XO” was shot spontaneously as Beyoncé spent a day in Coney Island interacting with the ordinary citizens around her while. In addition, the video for “Yoncé” was shot in various alleyways with hand-held cameras and natural lighting while “Drunk In Love” was shot as Beyoncé and Jay-Z danced and interacted with one another on a Miami beach. The resulting products of the production, song lyrics, and music videos garnered huge praise from critics and fans alike. However, the underlying principle of imperfection and spontaneity has further developed a challenge towards the commonplace structure of “perfection.” Although Beyoncé has been critiqued throughout her career, her work for the most part has been lauded by her critics and fans. This praise from critics and fans have placed Beyoncé on a “goddess-like” pedestal, with fans claiming her endeavors and her utter being personify perfection. As a result, a challenge is proposed towards the structure of perfection as fans and critics labeling Beyoncé’s “imperfect” work as “perfect.” With perfection being known as a pursuit through meticulous planning, Beyoncé’s spontaneity through her work is now being associated with “perfection” when it should in fact be ascribed to “imperfection.” Accordingly, through her work and the responses by her critics, Beyoncé creates the structure of “ Beyoncé perfection” through the way in which she pursues perfection through spontaneity in contrast to “perfection’s” meticulousness. Thence the original structure of “perfection” is labeled the “not-Beyoncé perfection.” This change in structure is unique compared to the structural changes she has influenced - while Beyoncé created and challenged structures through her own personal actions and beliefs, the “Beyoncé perfection” was in part largely driven not only by Beyoncé herself but by the her critics and global following. Beyoncé has been associated with perfection throughout her career, thus giving way to the cultural icon she is today. Her cultural influence and idolization has continued to reach new heights. While Beyoncé continually affirms her imperfection and humanity with her fans, society and culture has continued to idolize and praise her perfection, a phenomenon made clear in the media, most notably within the a Saturday Night Live sketch starring Andrew Garfield.
It began as a typical gathering – a small group of friends coming together to celebrate one of their own's birthday. However, while partaking in a discussion glorifying Beyoncé’s newest album, things take a turn for the worse when the birthday celebrant, Garfield, says that he does not take a liking to that “one 'Drunk In Love' song.” In complete disbelief, his friends ask if what he was saying was a joke, to which he refutes. No sooner, the man finds himself on the run from a covert intelligence agency known as the “Beygency”, whose main objective is to bring down every “hater” of the “Queen Bey.” The man is continually pursued until finally caught by the Beygency, sentenced to be locked away for a large amount of time after being forced to perform the “Single Ladies” dance phenomenon.
The sketch is a humorous representation the extent to which fans and critics idolize Beyoncé, associating her more and more with perfection. However, the sketch ultimately projects the magnanimous cultural force that Beyoncé has evolved into. Beyoncé, through her constant personal and artistic reinvention, has propelled herself into a cultural icon that challenges well-established structures society abides by. With her a sixteen year career that shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, we could honestly say that culture and society will drastically change around us as Beyoncé continues to flourish. All hail the Queen Bey.
The Queen Bey: A Structural Analysis Towards the Queen of Pop Music
It arrived like a thief in the night - no sounds, no footsteps, no words spoken. The rest of the world was beginning to call it day, retiring to their homes for the next day to arrive unknowingly sleeping on the fact that one of the most significant events in music history was about to take place. At the strike of midnight on December 13, 2013, one of music’s most prominent figures shocked her fans around the world with a simple Instagram video post. With a simple caption reading, “Surprise!”, fans watched with their jaws dropped over the next fifteen seconds as the words “BEYONCÉ. VISUAL ALBUM. 14 SONGS. 17 VIDEOS. AVAILABLE NOW.” flashed across their glossy cell phone screens. No promotions, no elaborate marketing strategies - just a single release. The release then triggered one of the most magnanimous and hilarious reactions around the world as social media platforms became bombarded with posts concerning the biggest shock the music industry has ever seen and experienced. The bold release was a feat that no one dared or even thought to execute, but was nonetheless done by the Queen herself - Beyoncé.
The release of Beyoncé’s fifth self-titled album was without a doubt one of the biggest events in 2013 and music history itself. As many were beginning to wrap up and reflect upon the year that passed and prepare for the next to come, Beyoncé refused to let the year end without her final say, dropping one of the biggest bombshells in cultural history. However, the album and its release, despite its sole purpose of providing entertainment for her fans, takes on a deeper meaning as it actively portrays the influence and cultural force that is Beyoncé. Beyoncé is arguably the most powerful and influential musical icon of the twenty-first century. Her musical work has established her as a driving force and visionary of the pop music world. Singing since childhood, Beyoncé established herself within the music industry as the lead vocalist of the immensely successful R&B girl group Destiny's Child. After the disbandment of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé began to pursue a solo career that has since established her as magnanimous force in the music industry. Her music since her beginnings with Destiny's Child has garnered her many accolades, including, but not limited to, 17 Grammy Awards and 46 Grammy nominations. All five of her solo albums have debuted at no. 1 on the US Billboard 200, and all five of her albums have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In total, Beyoncé as a solo artist has sold over 118 million records worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In addition to her musical pursuits, she has ventured into the world of fashion, creating the fashion line House of Deréon alongside her mother, Tina Knowles. In addition, Beyoncé has endorsement deals with Pepsi and Tommy Hilfiger and is an active philanthropist. Having a career spanning sixteen years since her debut with Destiny’s Child in 1998, Beyoncé’s legacy has made an impact within the music industry and our global society. This past month, Beyoncé became the highest-selling black musician of all-time, surpassing Michael Jackson, and was inducted into Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2013 and 2014. With the career longevity and cultural impact that she garners today, Beyoncé shows no signs of slowing down her career.
Amidst all the success that she has garnered over her long and fruitful career, Beyoncé has established herself as one of the most influential figures in the world of popular music. However, despite her tremendous success, her influence has spread beyond the realm of music itself and its development. As mentioned earlier, Beyoncé has expanded her career beyond music, venturing into the realms of fashion and philanthropy. However, both her music and non-music endeavors have expanded her influence into the cultural and even political world. Music without a doubt is one of the largest forces that drives the direction of global culture and values. With its ability to affect people and their emotions in ways other modes of culture could not, music helps drive the direction of culture with its ability to express feelings and opinions in a unique way. Beyoncé herself has definitely utilized this advantage to further garner her influence. In addition to its catchiness and immediate appeal to its listeners, Beyoncé’s music extends beyond that by expressing opinions and views created by the life events that surround her. Since her beginnings with Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé’s lyrics have traditionally been the result of events that occurred around her and the opinions that have risen as a result of such events. Most recently, her lyrics in her most recent music have taken political tones, tackling topics and issues such as feminism and women’s civil and social rights. This is explicitly seen in her songs “Run The World (Girls)” from her album 4 and “***Flawless” from her self-titled album Beyoncé. In addition, Beyoncé actively participates in the political world, freely expressing her Democratic political values through her friendship with the Obamas as well as publicly endorsing same-sex marriage. These opinions and beliefs are explicitly stated through Beyoncé’s utter outspokenness on such issues. As a result, these beliefs have not only established her public standpoints but has also garnered her the ability to publicly represent such opinions. Her opinions and participation in feminism has resulted in many individuals comparing and associating Beyoncé with feminist ideals, with some dedicated fans establishing her as the face of feminism. Her vast musical and political following have further fueled the validity and public support of her opinions, resulting in her expanding her cultural influence. As a result, Beyoncé’s views as expressed through her music and political outspokenness have resulted in her becoming not only a pop music symbol but a cultural icon and force that seeks to have an extensive influence over the direction culture moves and the structures that shape it.
Beyoncé is arguably one of the most influential musicians of the past decade, a fact that is supported by her astounding record sales as a solo artist and as the lead vocalist for Destiny’s Child. In addition to the 118 million records she has sold as a solo artist, she has sold over 60 million copies with Destiny’s Child, furthering her ability to sell. As mentioned earlier, Beyoncé has was recently named the highest paid black musician of all time, surpassing the likes of other prominent black music icons such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Prince. This title was given to her due to the high success of her most recent world tour, The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, which found Beyoncé earning a $212 million paycheck. However, the monetary success Beyoncé has garnered does not come easy due to the demanding and unforgiving that she works in. The success of an artist is dictated not only by the public’s perception of their brand but by their record sales as well. Since album sales are an artist’s primary source of income, artists typically spend months, and in some occassions years, marketing their music, primarily the singles they release and the upcoming album that they promote. To promote their upcoming album, an artist would typically release a number of singles aimed to build the hype and excite their fans. R&B recording artist Chris Brown, for example, has released four singles between the months of March and December of 2013 to promote the release of upcoming his sixth studio album, X. Furthermore, to build up more excitement and hype for their upcoming albums, artists would regularly make public appearances and performances, particularly on television shows, news segments, live award shows, and interviews. In addition to the release of his two wildly successful singles “Suit & Tie” and “Mirrors,” Justin Timberlake made a plethora of appearances to promote the release of his album The 20/20 Experience. These public appearances took form in live performances at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, Saturday Night Live, the Brit Awards, and a preview concert at the Roseland Ballroom. After an artist has released their album, artists typically embark on large marketing campaigns to help maintain significant record sales months after its release. In order to support strong record sales for her seventh album Unapologetic, Barbadian recording artist Rihanna embarked on her fifth world tour entitled Diamonds World Tour. This laborious process has become the norm in which artists market their music, becoming the grim reality for an artist seeking stay “relevant” in an ever changing music industry influenced by ever changing cultural ideals. This process has thus established the “music marketing” structure for which an artist markets their music in order to “survive.” However, on the of midnight December 13th, 2013, Beyoncé challenged the structure, along with others, with the release of her fifth, self-titled album, shocking the music industry and fans worldwide.
Beyoncé shocked the world with the release of her fifth album, challenging the structure of music marketing itself. However, it is better to establish the definition of structure and the principle from what it derives from. The term structure is derived from the cultural theory of structuralism. Structuralism refers to the belief that all aspects of society are uniquely defined and constructed. Structuralism promotes rigid definitions of these aspects and as a result eliminates the need to specify much more specific aspects of a structure. In addition, the cultural theory also states that all structures are trans-cultural in that the structure is inherently the same, despite the cultural differences in approaching a structure.
The relationship between reward and punishment exemplifies the view of structuralism. Punishment is uniquely defined while other aspects that aren't punishment, such as reward, are defined as “not-punishment” and vice versa. In a transcultural context, reward and punishment can be seen through a structuralist context through its methods. Every culture has its own unique form of reward and punishment – one culture might punish a child by putting them in time out while another might punish a child by spanking. Despite the difference in methods, structuralism argues that punishment in a trans-cultural context all aims for the same goal – the elimination of a certain behavior. In a more relevant view in accordance to the topic of concern, structuralism can be seen viewed in music through the structures of “music” and “not-music.” Music is defined by the Oxford English dictionary is “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” (“Music”) In a structuralist view, all objects and entities that accord to the definition of “music” is considered “music,” while those that do not accord to the definition fall under “not-music.” In accordance to transculturalism within structuralism, music has the same objectives regardless of the culture it stems from. Although music takes different forms within respective cultures, they all inherently share the same objectives and goals.
In order to fully examine Beyoncé and her influence through a structural lens, it is best to examine and research upon her influence via historical research. Historical research will plainly show Beyoncé’s primary opinions, their evolution, and the events that may have influenced such opinions. Before Beyoncé transformed into the cultural icon that she currently is, Beyoncé was first a musician eager to share her art with the rest of the world. A musician first, Beyoncé’s primary mode of expression is her music. Therefore, my primary source of analysis will be songs from her most recent album Beyoncé, where she is seen to be the most open and intimate about her private life and personal philosophies. While her previous work has briefly expressed her political and social opinions, her most recent album is the most explicit in expressing these views, primarily her views on feminism. In conjunction with these songs, I will also be utilizing her mini-web series Self-Titled, a documentary series that shows the process and development of her album. In addition, another source of analysis will be a video of a Saturday Night Live sketch that comically portrays Beyoncé’s all-around influence. Being the magnanimous force she is in culture today, Saturday Night Live’s sketch concerning her influence is a valuable resource because of their blunt and honest portrayals of cultural, societal, and political realities.
The release of Beyoncé’s album was a shock to fans, non-fans, and music industry professionals around the world. The marketing of the album and its release, however, were significant not only because of its success but because of its immediate challenge and change towards several structures in the music world. As elaborated on earlier, the promotion of an album usually involves months or even years of promotion in order to ensure significant first-week album sales and appeal to the general public. Artists release several singles from the album itself and make regular public appearances to ensure ample promotion and strong sales. Therefore, the release of Beyoncé was a rebellion against the norm of music marketing and release. Beyoncé’s prime motivation behind the unconventional release of her album was due to her dissatisfaction of a listener’s experience with music. She expressed her discontent with how music fans no longer invest in full length albums but only the singles because of the hype it produces. The fact that listeners only listen to short, ten second previews of songs when purchasing music further fueled Beyoncé’s discontent. Furthermore, Beyoncé felt that listeners’ current experience with music interfered with the relationship between an artist and his or her art, as artists produce art that adheres to the public’s liking rather than what comes from their heart. As a result, Beyoncé decided to force music listeners to change their experience with music and ultimately change their overall impression. The two primary primary structures within the music industry that Beyoncé challenged were the listener’s experience and the marketing of music itself. Challenges that are immediately seen upon action were the forced change of experience with music listeners and the unconventional release of the album. However, these challenges should not be seen as challenges to become the antithesis of the established structure in the realm of music. For example, a listener’s experience with Beyoncé’s new album should not be established as the “not-experience” in comparison to the traditional “experience” structure that music listeners have historically adhered to. Rather, these challenges should be viewed as ones that in due time become independent structures themselves, threatening to finally take the place of the traditional structure. As an artistic feat that has only been done by Beyoncé, listeners to her newest album can, as a result, only associate this new, emerging structure only with Beyoncé herself. This in turn, results in the structure being termed as the “Beyoncé experience” with the traditional structure therefore becoming the “not-Beyoncé experience.” Similarly to the album’s artistic feat, Beyoncé was the only artist to take upon this risky scheme of music marketing. Many artists have never considered this form of marketing - if some have, then not one artist has dared take the marketing risk that Beyoncé bravely did eventually. As a result, listeners can only relate this unique form of music marketing with Beyoncé, designating this structure as “Beyoncé marketing.” Conversely, the antithesis to this new structure, the traditional method of music marketing, becomes the “not-Beyoncé marketing.” Through the release of her latest album, Beyoncé challenges the current structures by not establishing them as the antithesis towards said structures but by establishing them as new structures that in turn antithesize the current structures. The creation of these said structures further reinforces Beyoncé’s cultural significance, creating musical and cultural experiences that is unique to her cultural brand.
Beyoncé has taken advantage of the role of an artist by boldly asserting personal opinions within her music. An artist who is known for her creating songs and lyrics based upon personal experiences and feelings, Beyoncé is often widely outspoken within her music. Perhaps one of the most prominent cultural aspects that she has been widely outspoken about is the topic of feminism. Although her previous records have largely been based upon the female experience, never has she ever been much more outspoken on feminist ideals than in her most recent studio album. Prior to the release of her latest album, Beyoncé’s feminist ideals were largely seen in some of her previous recordings, most notably the lead single “Run The World (Girls)” from her fourth studio album, 4, and “Independent Woman” from her early days with Destiny’s Child. Both songs have aggressively proclaimed female empowerment and femininity, empowering females to take pride in who they were. However, the release of “Run The World” have led critics to believe that Beyoncé should expand the lyrical content of her songs and tackle other issues. In a possible response to such critics, broadened the scope to which she expressed her views on feminism, encompassing various aspects of the feminine experience such as motherhood, depression (primarily postnatal), and insecurity. Beyoncé was perhaps the most candid in one of the most repressed and controversial aspects of the feminine experience - female sexuality.
Since the commencement of her career, Beyoncé has been seen to carry a unique sex appeal associated with her name. However, despite this, the extent to which she has expressed her sensuality, both in her past songs and performances, have been kept to an often reasonable level. Compared to other female artists such as Rihanna and Madonna who have explicitly talked about sex in their records, Beyoncé has often limited the explicitness to which she expressed her sensuality until her most recent album. Although many of the tracks within the album contained a sexual tone, she is perhaps the most frank about sexuality in her two songs “Partition” and “Rocket.” The former song explicitly lyrically narrates engaging in sexual intercourse with her romantic partner in the back of the limousine, narrating, “... he popped all my buttons, and he ripped my blouse/ he Monica Lewinskyed all on my gown.” In addition, at the beginning of each verse, Beyoncé sings, “Driver roll up the partition please/ I don’t need you seeing Yoncé on her knees” (Knowles 2013), foreshadowing the explicitness of the song itself. In the latter song, “Rocket,” Beyoncé narrates the journey of sexual intercourse between two partners from the female perspective. Perhaps the most recognizable lyric of the song is the opening line, where Knowles sings, “Let me sit this ass on you.” Knowles later continues on to sing sensual lyrics under light innuendo, singing, “Rock it ‘till waterfalls (3x).” (Knowles 2013) Beyoncé’s central motivation behind the overly raunchy lyrics of her songs lies in her belief of women owning their sexuality. In her Self-Titled video series, she expresses her unashamedness towards her sexuality, believing that sexuality is “...a power that we all have.” The lyrics are in part a rebellion against the double standard women carry concerning sexuality in comparison to men. In an interview with OUT magazine, Beyoncé addressed the motive behind her sexually charged lyrics:
“I’d like to believe that my music opened up that conversation. There is unbelievable power in ownership, and women should own their sexuality. There is a double standard when it comes to sexuality that still persists. Men are free and women are not. That is crazy. The old lessons of submissiveness and fragility made us victims. Women are so much more than that. You can be a businesswoman, a mother, an artist, and a feminist -- whatever you want to be -- and still be a sexual being. It’s not mutually exclusive.”
A self-described modern-day feminist, Beyoncé has constantly lobbied for the equality of the sexes, most notably concerning sexuality. She has expressed her disapproval over the male’s ability to freely express their sexuality while females are taught to repress it. This point of view is expressed in her song “***Flawless.” The song contains an excerpt from the TED talk of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Concerning female sexuality, the excerpt contains Adichie saying, “We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.” The inclusion of the excerpt reflects Beyoncé’s strong belief in the subject, ultimately stating that the issue should not be expressed in lyrics but explicitly stated by a respected feminist. Historically, women have been shown to be sexually repressed and completely submissive to the power of the man. They are taught to be proper in regards to the man and are caught in numerous double standards, including sexuality. Thus, the structure of the “woman” is defined as submissive, fragile, and sexually repressed human beings. Resultantly through her music, Beyoncé not only challenges the said structure but actually changes the structure herself. She fundamentally redefines the structure by defining the “woman” structure as independent, non-submissive, and sexually free human beings. Therefore, the original structure of the “woman” is replaced and conclusively becomes the “not-woman.” The redefinement of these structures have thus expanded Beyoncé’s cultural emphasis on feminism.
Critics have long lauded the Beyoncé’s latest album, proclaiming it to be her most successful and outstanding work to date. One particular aspect that critics lauded was the experimental nature of the album, primarily through its song lyrics and its accompanying music videos. In part to adhere to her artistic motivations, Beyoncé kept the process spontaneous, stating that she was “rebelling against perfection.” One particular instance of seeking imperfection was with her working relationship with new producer Boots, who produced a majority of the album. When Boots began to work with Beyoncé, he initially showed her the material he felt would compliment her style of music. On the other hand, Beyoncé was much more interested with his experimental material. In one instance, Beyoncé showed interest in a demo that Boots believed to be lusterless, which eventually became the song “Haunted.” Experimentalism was also seen in the writing of lyrics. In the song “Drunk In Love,” Beyoncé recalls the production of the song as spontaneous and purely out of enjoyment and not to create a “hit record.” As Beyoncé and Jay-Z each freestyled several verses of the songs, many producers added their own personal the production to the initial instrumentals, imitating a “jam session.” The song “Partition” is also known to be experimental in lyrics, with Beyoncé freestyling the majority of the lyrics after initially being drawn to the instrumentals of the track. In addition, while the song “XO” was recorded while Beyoncé had a sinus infection, she ultimately decided to keep the original vocals, admiring the imperfection in her vocals. Perhaps experimentalism and imperfection were most sought in the production of her music videos, most notably in the videos for “Yoncé,” “XO,” “No Angel,” “Drunk In Love,” and “Blue.” Each of the mentioned music videos were mainly done through their self-described “Run-N-Gun” process. The videos for “No Angel” and “Blue” were shot while walking through the streets of Houston and Rio de Janeiro, respectively, and interacting with its citizens. The video for “XO” was shot spontaneously as Beyoncé spent a day in Coney Island interacting with the ordinary citizens around her while. In addition, the video for “Yoncé” was shot in various alleyways with hand-held cameras and natural lighting while “Drunk In Love” was shot as Beyoncé and Jay-Z danced and interacted with one another on a Miami beach. The resulting products of the production, song lyrics, and music videos garnered huge praise from critics and fans alike. However, the underlying principle of imperfection and spontaneity has further developed a challenge towards the commonplace structure of “perfection.” Although Beyoncé has been critiqued throughout her career, her work for the most part has been lauded by her critics and fans. This praise from critics and fans have placed Beyoncé on a “goddess-like” pedestal, with fans claiming her endeavors and her utter being personify perfection. As a result, a challenge is proposed towards the structure of perfection as fans and critics labeling Beyoncé’s “imperfect” work as “perfect.” With perfection being known as a pursuit through meticulous planning, Beyoncé’s spontaneity through her work is now being associated with “perfection” when it should in fact be ascribed to “imperfection.” Accordingly, through her work and the responses by her critics, Beyoncé creates the structure of “ Beyoncé perfection” through the way in which she pursues perfection through spontaneity in contrast to “perfection’s” meticulousness. Thence the original structure of “perfection” is labeled the “not-Beyoncé perfection.” This change in structure is unique compared to the structural changes she has influenced - while Beyoncé created and challenged structures through her own personal actions and beliefs, the “Beyoncé perfection” was in part largely driven not only by Beyoncé herself but by the her critics and global following. Beyoncé has been associated with perfection throughout her career, thus giving way to the cultural icon she is today. Her cultural influence and idolization has continued to reach new heights. While Beyoncé continually affirms her imperfection and humanity with her fans, society and culture has continued to idolize and praise her perfection, a phenomenon made clear in the media, most notably within the a Saturday Night Live sketch starring Andrew Garfield.
It began as a typical gathering – a small group of friends coming together to celebrate one of their own's birthday. However, while partaking in a discussion glorifying Beyoncé’s newest album, things take a turn for the worse when the birthday celebrant, Garfield, says that he does not take a liking to that “one 'Drunk In Love' song.” In complete disbelief, his friends ask if what he was saying was a joke, to which he refutes. No sooner, the man finds himself on the run from a covert intelligence agency known as the “Beygency”, whose main objective is to bring down every “hater” of the “Queen Bey.” The man is continually pursued until finally caught by the Beygency, sentenced to be locked away for a large amount of time after being forced to perform the “Single Ladies” dance phenomenon.
The sketch is a humorous representation the extent to which fans and critics idolize Beyoncé, associating her more and more with perfection. However, the sketch ultimately projects the magnanimous cultural force that Beyoncé has evolved into. Beyoncé, through her constant personal and artistic reinvention, has propelled herself into a cultural icon that challenges well-established structures society abides by. With her a sixteen year career that shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, we could honestly say that culture and society will drastically change around us as Beyoncé continues to flourish. All hail the Queen Bey.