By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
Is Beyonce overrated? Well according to one writer, the R&B superstar is nothing more than a lackluster bore. And this has been a subject that many music enthusiasts have pondered, seeing as Beyonce has managed to have an amazing career that has remained stellar for over a decade, a rarity in today’s music business. Although Beyonce originally found success as 1/4 a member and the lead singer of Destiny’s Child, Beyonce’s success as a solo artist is indisputable. In fact, Beyonce has gone on to become a bigger start without Destiny’s Child, and even having a baby hasn’t managed to slow her down any. And to demonstrate how incredible Beyonce’s career still is, Beyonce’s current album 4 is doing quite well and many will agree it’s one of her least promoted albums. Virtually without any promotion, Beyonce’s singles such as Love On Top and Dance For You have already topped the charts.
But despite Beyonce’s lengthy music career, and ability to chart without much promotion (and not to mention her pretty impeccable stage presence), there are still people who feel that Beyonce is overrated.
In fact, King Bey was recently named as the 3rd most overrated music artist of all time.
The writer of the controversial list claims that Beyonce is overrated not because she lacks any talent or an amazing singing voice and stage presence, but because she lacks any originality. He even claimed she was lazy:
“Again, it must be pointed out that I don’t dislike many of these artists. I actually quite enjoy Beyonce as an R&B singer; I gave last year’s 4 a solid rating in the review I did of it. She has a fantastic voice and she has made some very good albums. What I cannot abide is the amount of overcredit she gets for being some kind of innovator in the genre. Any innovation her albums present is the product of her other producers and writers of her music; for the most part she doesn’t actually write her own stuff. She contributed lyrics to barely over half of the songs on 4, and frankly the ones where she seems to have the most creative input are the weakest (for example, “1+1”). It wasn’t always this way; she has never completely written her own songs, but she contributed a lot more to I Am…Sasha Fierce and had input on every song on B’Day. As time has gone on, “Queen B” as her fans call her has become lazier and lazier and seems willing to rest on her laurels. Yet she is still considered to be the top female R&B singer out there. Crap on other R&B stars all you want, but many of them are more complete artists than Beyonce, who is increasingly becoming a good performer and little else.”
Of course Beyonce’s fans were outraged. Many of them made points such as Beyonce working harder than most artists in the business and the many long hours she puts into her craft. They even demanded to know why artists like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj (who have been criticized for not having strong stage presences) did not make the list.
In addition to Beyonce, Chris Brown (came in at number 4) and Drake (came in at number 7) were also on the list. Both were said to have created unforgettable music, says the writer.
What say you? Do you think Beyonce is one of the most overrated music artists of all time or is the writer reaching?
BS!!!! Who wrote this list, Keri Hilson?
She might as well have written it. It’s as pathetic as her entire career has been.
Damn!!! LOL
Oh dear,,,I’ll just sit back and watch how this turns out. LOL!!!
I totally disagree. Who called Beyonce an innovator anyway? Beyonce is successful because she makes music that a lot of people can relate to. Man, when I was in college, me and my girls would put on Beyonce to party to. And when a Bey song came on in the club, women everywhere just went crazy. There’s just this kind of power and ultra feminism in her music that most women love. So what that she doesn’t write her own songs, no one cares. I sure don’t and I love her music. She’s been around for over 10 years for a reason. Keri Hilson is a song writer, but she’ll never be a big star. And that’s because song writing doesn’t make you a star, It’s more to it.
I think your response perfect sums up how I feel. Beyonce makes her fans feel a certain way with her music. She makes them feel sexy, strong, happy, and empowered. As long as she keeps making that kind of music, she will stay on top.
Yeah. She’s pretty overrated. Can’t sing all that great, but has a pretty face. That’s all it takes though.
Ok. Then why isn’t Keri, Ciara, Cassie, or Ashanti as successful? Oh, I’ll wait.
Please let them know. If Beyonce was only successful because of her looks, why can’t Keri Hilson get on? People kill me. They let their jealousy take over common sense.
How about this question, if Beyonce were fat and ugly, would she still be considered great? She would be in Texas right now singing in her church.
The industry has been about looks for YEARS. Like the other posters said, looks get you a deal but it takes much more to stay relevant for over ten years. But at the end of the day, the chick works hard and has become a great entertainer. I don’t get the hate people have for her.
To answer your question, Keri, Ciara, Cassie and Ashanti don’t have the same type of promotion. If they did, they could have had much more solid careers. Beyonce can sing live and much better than any of those other girls, but look at Rihanna. She has ZERO stage presence and sounds like a goat in heat, but what she DOES have is great promotion. That’s why she’s so hugely popular.
The person who made this list is a fail. The people who really should have been on this list didn’t even make it. I love Rihanna, but home girl sounds like a damn goat. She’s terrible and can’t even perform. And yes, Nicki is one of the most overrated people we have seen in years. Beyonce actually works hard. She learned how to sing better and perform better. Rihanna and Nicki would never do that. Why? Because they don’t care.
Oh please! So which one of the Bey haters wrote that crap?! Beyonce is one of the biggest stars in the biz because she is a hard worker. Rihanna’s non talented a– should have been in the number one spot.
All Beyonce does is p-ssy pop on stage. Anyone can do that. She has no talent.
Beyonce sucks. Her husband does too. Neither one of them have any real talent, they just copy of the people with the real talent. Beyonce, any woman who’s ever done music & Jay-Z, most of the better rappers before him like BIG. F-ck them.
COSIGN.
I stopped reading when he called her lazy. -_-
Basically. Beyonce may be many things, but lazy is not one of them. I remember reading somewhere how she records all her performance and watches the tape right after her concert. They says she’ll stay up to 5am watching the performances she just did so she can take notes and make improvements. She deserves every bit of her success.
If Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne aren’t on here, I can’t even take this list seriously. Beyonce is a very hard worker, and most of her music is pretty good. You don’t have to be a song writer to be a legend, but you do have to work hard. And it’s clear that Wayne, Nicki, and Rihanna don’t.
How do you know how hard someone worked to get into the industry? Obviously they did do SOME kind of work to get to the level of success they got. You don’t get major recording deals and sell platinum records just sitting around the house.
I see some of yall trying to bring Nicki into this…don’t! She wasn’t on here for a reason. 😉
To all you Bey fans, please tell me how she is NOT overrated. She can’t sing that great, and her songs aren’t all that either. All she does on stage is sexually charged prancing around. The writer was saying that there are way more talented people than her who should have had a career of her caliber. And he’s right. And yall know it too. Get out of your house of dereon box and wake the hell up.
You know what, if you stepped outside of your hatred for Beyonce, you would know that all of the best artists of all time have been called overrated at some point. Michael Jackson, James Brown, the Beatles, etc. have been called overrated by someone. But the reason they were legends were because they worked extremely hard and made music that made people feel something. Hate all you want, but at the end of the day, history will have the last say and Beyonce will have a good one.
beyonce is so overrated/overexposed!! So tired of seeing narcisitic beyonce wherever I go….:(
I like Bey and I do believe she is overrated. Her success has come from her song writers. All the songs she wrote personally does not make it to the radio. She is good, I mean great at turning other people lyrics into hits. If it was not for Neyo, Keri Hilson and more writing songs for her, she will not be as succesful as she is now.
They don’t call it the X-factor for nothing. Bey’s got that and that’s what propels a career. Yes, there are other stars who are better songwriters, dancers, and singers, but it’s rare to have that package of presence, performance, and appeal. She’s got pure star quality.
She is overrated…. There other people who work as hard as her and never get the attention they deserve cause she always right there.. Like Monica, Fantasia and so on.. Yea I said it!!!!
I truly enjoy Monica and Fantasia, but they don’t have Bey’s star quality, and they’re very niche artists. I often think that Beyonce is more overexposed than she is overrated. She’s hella talented, but she’s the first person to admit that it took years of hard work to get to her level.
Beyonce is a niche artist too. She is not as mainstream as some try to make her out to be. There are other artists that have sold more/have more hits and a bigger fan base than her (including Rihanna) regardless of talent so why is she considered the Queen? Queen of what? It sure ain’t music.
“Queen of what?” > > She’s the Queen of YOUR MIND you pressed soul. Why else would you be sitting her on an old azz post responding to everyone who had something good to say about her? I would tell you to bow down but you already did by showing how pressed you are in these comments. Thank you for keeping my fave relevant…in the back of your mind and on Google. Couldn’t do it without you!
she is overrated. her voice isn’t good at all. it is always put through a mixer. always. she can’t sing. she’s functionally retarded. she has never written her music. she certainly doesn’t play any instrument. she’s had managers, producers, etc….who’ve made her career her entire life. and she’s a complete idiot. i mean moron.
How many stupid and retarded people do you know are worth about $300 million? You bitter people are sad.
You can be dim witted and be a multi millionaire. All you gotta do is surround yourself with smart people who have the money and power to market you and advise you and you can get rich. I’m not saying Beyonce is an idiot or lazy, (she seems like she’s a hard worker and good at taking instruction), but I get tired of people equating certain qualities (intelligence, goodness, hard work) to wealth. They are not automatic equals. Stop throwing someone’s wealth around everytime someone has a crtique. Money doesn’t make you a good person or worthy of praise.
Lazy people don’t create their own wealth. Not only are you jealous, but you’re ignorant too! You have no idea what it takes to be a big star in the music biz for over a decade. I guess you think Bey did that wasting time like you are by searching for her on Google. But you don’t know what it takes to get that kind of money. Bitter you are. How pathetic.
Its a matter of personal taste. One man’s rags is another’s riches. I would never call MJ or Whitney overrated because IMO they were exceptionally talented and did what they did like nobody else. But other people may think otherwise. As for Beyonce, I think she’s quite talented, but I agree she’s overrated. Booty shakin’ and flinging hair on the stage isn’t exactly innovative, but people seem to go crazy for it. Beyonce has a lot of bells and whistles, she produces catchy songs, but lacks soul in comparison to the aforementioned artists. I can’t speak to whether or not she’s lazy, but her style definitely seems very gimmicky.
Well stated, Janine!
Janine your comment proves you haven’t never watched a Beyonce concert. She does more than “booty shake.” She puts in more hours into rehearsing than any of today’s artists. I like her beacause of her work ethic and because she seems to strike a jeslousy chord in people which means she is doing something right. If Beyonce wrote deep music, she wouldn’t sell records. Pop stars are successful because they make catchy music. Why is that so hard for people to understand? Interestingly enough, Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. A lot of his music had no substance and he didn’t write his own music. Critics of his day even said he couldn’t sing or that his dancing and grabbing of the crotch was unnecessary. He wasnt a Marvin Gaye, lol at you saying he had “soul” when he was known for Pop music. But his crotch grabbing was crticized…kind of like how you feel about Beyonce’s booty shaking. Yet when he died, he died as a legend. Whitney Houston was one of the greatest, but even she couldn’t sing her own sings when the drug abuse kicked in. She wasn’t a song writer either, and they criticized her all the time when she was alive too. Yet, she died a legend. Beyonce isn’t perfect, but she works hard, gets criticized just like all the others you say she can’t compare to, which leads me to believe that she too will be a legend when it’s all said and done.
I agree with this article Beyonce is definitly overrated.
I am being completely objective as well, (not an hater either).
She is talented but she is not original, creative and innovative. The reason why acts like Ashanti, Keri, etc are not as popular is because they do not have the same corporate backing and marketing. So those are not really good examples. The reason why Beyonce is popular is because she has corporate backing and she has marketing from a major label which is different from artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Anothony Hamilton, Janelle Monae etc (That are better artists but are not impacted by the same level of marketing)
There are alot of artists that are more talented than her that make much better music but unfornately do not have the same backing or marketing. I notice alot of people are using looks in Beyonces defense but when has looks been a factor of how talented or deserving of success someone is? Madonna was not all that in terms of looks but she is an Icon because of the risks she took musically.
The thing about Beyonce is… she is a descent performer but she is not an ARTIST and yes there is a difference.
She works hard and being good at being a performer but personally You are a ARTIST FIRST and performer second. When a SINGER performs they are simply expressing their music on stage but Beyonce does not do that. She does not write, produce, or put anything personal in her music. Her music is mediocre and very gimmicky which is why she will never be a legend. At the end of the day, when those legends such as MJ, Whitney etc are gone their legacy lies within THEIR MUSIC… Beyonce does not have that nor has she made the same level of impact.
She is hard working but I think she is lazy in the sense that she never strives to push herself ARTISTICALLY or creatively she always plays it safe with coming out with the same ol songs. I dont think she is that good of a dancer and singer as well but she does has talent.
So is she talented?
Yes
Are their more talented singers?
YES
Does she deserve her success?
Partially yes and Partially no
Is she overrated?
Yes
There is no way in the world she deserves 16 grammys for mediocre songs and legends like Bob Marley dont even have ONE. :/
Just because shes talented doesnt mean she deserves to be called the greatest… I mean c’monnn
MOST pop stars are overrated to begin with. What gets me, is the comments in these type of articles, they always list other pop stars in their arguements. People like Whitney Houston or Patti Labelle both still being pop whores that did nothing really innovative at all with music besides oversing and ad-lib the hell out of songs. ALL of them are overrated, half of them don’t write their own music, can’t play a single instrument, and produce music about the same old sh-tty pointless materialistic/baby mama drama crap.
Its a shame that Pop music in general gets the spotlight so much. All it causes is the devolution of true music. Not a single pop artist can even begin to compete with the best of Classical artist.
I studied classical music and I disagree with you. Whitney Houston is one of the best singers (technically and aesthetically) I’ve ever heard. Her voice has even been admired and studied by famous classical singers themselves. As far as writing songs and playing instruments goes, a song writer or guitar player is NO MORE gifted than an exceptional vocalist. Your voice is just as much an instrument as a keyboard and can touch a person’s heart and convey emotions just as much, if not more effectively. Also, many classical singers DO NOT write their own songs and often sing covers to classical songs written centuries ago. In fact, classical music is arguably one of the LEAST innovative genres because it is based off replicating music that was created centuries ago. The emphasis is more on technique and mimicking the greats of the genre rather than embracing imperfections and difference to create a more unique sound.
Here are my thoughts…
1 No one can say Beyonce is not successful. In this day and age, she worked hard, her family worked hard to make Destiny’s Child a success and she kept the ball rolling. She is an extremely hard, dedicated, pushing forward individual.
2 However, she is not Whitney Houston, Adele, Mariah Carey, Edyta Gorniak, or Christina Aguilera when it comes to the most essential instrument; the voice. Beyonce’s voice is ok, but she can hold a tune and sing live one she does.
3 Additionally, when it comes to dancing she is NOT Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, or Usher. The ass shaking same routing for past decade has been exhausting to watch
4 Beyonce has a strong presence, she’s confident in her own way and embraced a full body figure with huge legs and made other women confident. For that she deserves credit! And I must add, she has a beautiful face.
5 She admitted that she wants to be more educated for her child. FINALLY!! As Beyonce can not speak in public, her vocabulary is poor and she uses body gestures and her hands to speak. On a flip side of the coin, because of these shortcomings, she can related to a broader audience.
6 She embraced the fact how much she is loved by public, by her fans, and what a phenomena she is. The tittle was given to her, why shouldn’t she run with it?
7 She produces so called “one time hits”. The songs are popular for a while, and we forget about the. I can’t recall two or three sentences from even one of her songs. However, when they come out I often listen to them during the popularity and hot stage.
8 People had put Beyonce on a pedestal, which is incredibly hard to maintain and the expectations are extremely high as well, probably too high. In some way, we the people, set the entertainer for failure by expecting her to maintain the extremely high level of… Of what? Really I don’t know. She is not the best singer, she is not the best dancer. When it comes to reinvention well Madonna was a master, Lady gaga is a trendsetter, and so is Rihanna with her constantly changing looks. Pink has progressed and her music changed and we appreciate her professional growth, expression of emotion in voice, and amazing words in her songs. We also appreciate the simplicity, beauty, mega voice, and related to Adele.
So I don’t know what we want from Beyonce and what we expect of her as she is not the best in the categories mentioned above; voice, dance, expression of emotion in songs, writing sons, or producing hits, which would last for decades to come. Either way, she is a success and we all should let her be. She is not saving babies, finding cure for epidemic illnesses, or finding a way to stop world hunger. She is an average entertainer who used the limelight to her advantage…. that’s all
Some people will say anything to get reaction.
Here’s some advise to the author of the article “get a life and a
decent job!!!”
I’ve been to a couple Beyonce concerts and even though I enjoyed them, I do feel she lacks substance when she performs. She DOES have a tendency to do A LOT of butt shaking, weave twirling, and other antics that do become a bit stale at times. Also, her performances often seem mechanical, over rehearsed, and she does not have the vocal prowess of a Jennifer Hudson or Fantasia to really blow you away. To be honest I think I liked her concert more for the pump and circumstance and party vibe than her actual performance. I don’t believe she works any harder than most other artists in the industry. I just believe her performances look so ‘laboured’ and forced that it makes it seem that way. She’s not a very organic or effortless…..
Stop lying. Your broke a-s has never been to a Beyonce concert. I can tell by your hateful and bitter azz comment that the closest you’ve been to a Beyonce concert is a two second YouTube clip. Work on your life and you won’t have to Google Bey and be bitter on old azz posts.