Tag: Beyoncé Knowles

Beyonce v. Lorella Cuccarini — Inspiration or Ripping Off?

My mother used to say that copying is the greatest form of flattery. Then I’d tell my mother she’s ridiculous. I’m not one of those people who enjoys when others copy my work. In fact, you probably don’t want to be on the other end of that accusation. It isn’t pretty. So when Beyonce was accused of copying Lorella Cuccarini’s 2010 performance during the Billboard Music Awards, she insisted that she was merely inspired by it, and didn’t directly copy it. Hey, at least she admitted to having seen the performance. Most artists would dismiss it as a strange coincidence. Lorella’s performance is so original, it’s only fair to say that Beyonce liked the idea and took it on as her own. So does it matter? If I were Lorella, it would infuriate me, especially since no credit was given to her idea during the performance. She only admitted to the similarity after the copy-cat accusations surfaced. Watch below and judge for yourself.
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Glee’s Heather Morris Shows Off Hot Dance Moves for Esquire Magazine

If you watch Glee, then you know about Heather Morris. She was hired by Ryan Murphy to teach the cast the choreography for Beyonce’s Single Ladies video, and Murphy was so impressed by her, he hired her as a series regular for the show. If you watch closely during Glee’s dance routines, you’ll notice how Heather Morris outshines the rest of the cast, which was certainly most clear during the Britney tribute week. In the video below, Heather Morris rocks out to some different songs, and her body is hypnotizing. I realize the hypocrisy of this post, given that I often insult the Glee kids for inappropriately sexualizing their images. I’ve made an exception for Heather Morris though. When you’re that good, general rules don’t apply.

Harper Blynn at the Hotel Cafe — Great Performance

Last Sunday my friend invited me to The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles to see Harper Blynn play.  The venue opened in 2000, and it is known for featuring new singer/songwriters. Harper Blynn started their performance with singer/songwriter Schuyler Fisk, who I later found out is Sissy Spacek’s daughter.  Despite her often described “folk” music, I actually found her to be a confusing cross between pop and country, with a strange resemblance (physically and musically) to Colbie Caillat.  To be fair, I must confess my limited musical knowledge, which explains why my only legitimate criticism of their combined performance is the strange blend of Fisk’s sweet looking, polished demeanor and the unwashed looking Harper Blynn boys.  To put it plainly, the chemistry was odd.  As soon as Harper Blynn played alone, the energy in the room completely changed.  The band is comprised of four band members, including: Pete Harper (keys and rhythm guitar); Jason Blynn (lead guitar); Sarab Singh (drums); and Whynot Jansveld (bass), and to quote Paste Magazine, who voted Harper Blynn the #1 new discovery of the CMJ Festival, “despite their Brooklyn address and hipster credentials, there’s nothing remotely indie rock about the band-the harmonies recall Simon & Garfunkel, and the melodies would make Elvis Costello proud.”  They promoted their new self-titled EP during the show, leaving out songs from their debut album, Loneliest Generation.  They closed the show with a cover of Beyonce’s Halo, which they’ve become known for after a previous performance of the cover went viral.  The biggest applause of the night came from the Halo cover, which I pondered for a bit before stumbling across a very well-written article by Jim Malec.  He said, “massively popular mainstream hits can be adapted under an indie aesthetic and made appealing to a young, hip crowd.”  And “It’s surprising that more indie artists don’t strive for that same type of catchiness in their own tunes.”  While I’m not sure I agree that Harper Blynn’s music lacks catchiness, I will say that their upcoming EP certainly sounds more catchy than their debut album.  It will be worth the wait. Watch their video for Loneliest Generation below.

[Great photo via Anthony Saint James]

Blog Weekly Roundup — Tabloid Review

  • Tony Parker cheated on Eva Longoria with his teammate’s wife.  Astrochicks
  • Kate Winslet and her hot model boyfriend broke up.  Ok! Magazine
  • Teri Hatcher quit Desperate Housewives.  Hollywood Life
  • Lindsay Lohan was replaced in the Linda Lovelace biopic.  Us Magazine
  • Natalie Portman has a great ass.  The Superficial
  • Sean Connery is one of 26 people that have to deposit a $86 million dollar bond as part of a property scam.  Real Bollywood
  • Portia De Rossi refused to be interviewed by men.  Monsters and Critics
  • Britney Spears and Beyonce have something in common: their parents are reuniting.  E! Online
  • Wesley Snipes is going to jail for tax evasion.  Bloginity
  • Jessica Simpson’s fiance isn’t a mootcher after all.  Trending Daily
  • Anne Hathaway admits that actors sometimes have real sex in movies.  Radar Online

Britney Spears’ Glee Episode — Who is Heather Morris?

On last night’s Britney/Brittany episode of Glee, I noticed the stand-out dance performance of Heather Morris, so I decided to look her up and find out her story.  I was shocked to discover that she’s actually a professional dancer, and she performed with Beyonce at the Grammys as one of her Single Ladies.  Considering there were only three Single Ladies in total (including Beyonce herself) that’s a pretty huge accomplishment.  Apparently, she got the role on Glee because Ryan Murphy asked her to teach the Single Ladies choreography to the Glee cast, and he liked her so much, he hired her for the show.  She’s been saying quirky one-liners ever since, while patiently waiting for her chance to strut her stuff.  Last night was her chance, and she certainly took advantage of it.  Overall, the episode was fantastic.  My only complaint was that the men sang Stronger instead of Oops I Did It Again, but you can’t have everything.  My favorite line in the episode was said by Heather Morris, when she touched a fellow student’s nappy hair and said, “it looks like a Jewish cloud.”  To watch Heather Morris perform single ladies with Beyonce at the Grammys, watch the video below.

Hollywood Truth or Myth: Madonna Writes Her Own Music

Madonna gets a lot of respect and rightfully so.  But part of that respect comes with the idea that she writes her own music.  The truth?  Some of her biggest hits were written by others.  That includes, Borderline, Like a Virgin, Dress You Up, Holiday, Papa Don’t Preach and Material Girl.  As for her other popular songs, she “co-wrote” them, which could mean a million different things.  Many artists today take someone else’s song, tweak a line or two, and then attach their name to get song-writing credit.  I’m not suggesting that Madonna does this, but this post does provide an opportunity to expose the process.  Beyonce, for example, is one of the biggest culprits.  On her album, I am . . . Sasha Fierce, she “wrote” the song Smash Into You, with Tricky Stewart and The Dream.  The song was originaly entitled, Smack Into You, and it appeared on Jon McLaughlin’s album prior to Beyonce “writing it.”  The two versions are completely identical, yet Beyonce somehow received songwriting credit.  Another very famous example is Paul Anka, whose song, Toot Sweet, was used as the theme for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.  Anka was told that Carson wanted his song for the theme, but he would only agree if Carson was  given song-writing credit.  According to Anka, he accepted the offer because it was better to get 50% of something, than 100% of nothing.  To hear the Beyonce song comparison, listen to the two songs below.

Did Katy Perry Rip-Off Ke$ha?

Katy Perry’s song, California Gurls, sounds a lot like Ke$ha’s Tik Tok, and there’s a very clear reason for that.  Both songs are produced by Dr. Luke and co-written by Benny Blanco.  Top artists often use the same producers and song-writers, and overlaps are bound to occur.  You might remember this same thing happening with Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce.  Unlike Kelly Clarkson; however, Katy Perry gets it, and has yet to release a statement bashing her team.  In case you missed the Clarkson tirade that I am referring to, she was pissed because Beyonce’s song, Halo, sounded too much like her single, Already Gone.  Both songs were written by OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, and instead of understanding the inevitable similarities, Clarkson bashed Tedder in the press, saying that Tedder is responsible for people thinking that she ripped-off Beyonce, and that she wanted to remove the track altogether, but her label would not allow it.  Tedder was furious with her tongue lashing, and subsequently said that the idea that he would try to dupe Beyonce and Clarkson into singing the same track is both “hurtful and absurd.”  As for Beyonce, she never made a statement on the matter.  Listen to the Tick Tok/California Gurls mash-up below.

Janet Jackson Performs at the Essence Music Festival – Without Pants

Here we go again.  There are a lot of different ways to design a stage-worthy costume, and apparently they all involve not wearing pants.  Lady Gaga started this trend, and every other female singer in the industry feels the need to copy it.  Those include Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, and the list goes on and on.  Just because one person becomes known for doing something, doesn’t mean you have to do it too.  The reason Gaga is successful, is because she is unique, so by taking her ideas on as your own, you’re merely a copy-cat.  I suppose I’m so annoyed because Janet Jackson recently performed on American Idol wearing a black jumpsuit, and I remember thinking that she looked the best I’ve ever seen her.  I thought: leave it to Janet to have an individual style, and stand-out without all the bells and whistles.  So when she showed up a the Essence Music Festival looking like everyone else, it seriously bummed me out.

Blog Daily Roundup

  • Pierce Brosnan and his son, Sean Brosnan, will star in a film together.  Playlist
  • Mena Suvari married that guy that likes to grab her butt.  Radar Online
  • Mel Gibson’s Baby Mamma says he beat her up.  TMZ
  • Beyonce’s record label is worried that she’s still not speaking to her father.  Page Six
  • Simon Monjack’s mother is accusing Brittany Murphy’s mother of not calling the cops soon enough.  Contact Music
  • Fergie is not leaving the Black Eyed Peas.  Gossip Cop
  • Season 7 of Entourage is premiering soon.  Indie Wire
  • The world’s ugliest dog is very cute.  dlisted.

Kelly Clarkson is Angry at Ryan Tedder? – Or Just in General?

Some people are speculating that Kelly Clarkson’s new song ‘wash, rinse, and repeat,’ takes a dig at Ryan Tedder, who wrote her hit single, ‘Already Gone.’  Clarkson publicly lashed out at Tedder after she heard Beyonce’s ‘Halo,’ accusing him of basically writing the same song for both of them so he could make double the money.  Tedder said that the two songs are similar because he has a specific song writing style, but he in know way tried to get away with pitching the same song to two different artists.  Personally, I’m sick of Kelly Clarkson’s disrespectful attitude.  First of all, she lodged a mighty accusation Tedder’s way, which could have been extremely damaging to his career.  And those songs don’t sound near enough alike to warrant such a tongue lashing.  Second, Kelly Clarkson needs to keep her big mouth shut.  You might remember her insulting the legendary Clive Davis when he correctly predicted that her non-pop album would tank.  Listen below and determine for yourself whether she is perpetuating this Tedder accusation.