If there’s anything more baffling than the lives and daily motivations of celebrities and pop stars, it’s the public response that comes when they do new things. And Beyoncé is no exception. However, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that we kind of understand the media’s inability to make up its mind about this one.
Last night Beyoncé released a new song, or rather a new song and a half called Bow Down/I Been On. Some reports say it’s a new song that’s set to go alongside Bey’s new “Mrs. Carter” Tour. Other reports have no idea what the impetus for this new song could be. The The Atlantic Wire attempted to critique it using much of the negative reaction. And Vulture offered talking points in order to intelligently discuss it amongst other music-philes.
The one thing we can all agree on is that the song is boastful, brash, and in its full scope wants the listener to know that there is no one quite like Beyoncé so don’t even try to compare her, put her in a box, or relegate her to just being Hov’s wife. Could any of this have something to do with the recent spate of Beyoncé-centric news (not all positive) that’s hit the airwaves since she was accused of lip syncing at the presidential inauguration, that was then followed up by a pyrotechnic-laden Super Bowl performance some say put the lights out in the stadium, which then proceeded a self-directed docu/concert/mentary that aired on HBO? That’s a lot of Beyoncé in the last three months.
So now we have a new single that gives us a newer sound than we’ve heard from Beyoncé which finds her not only singing in small verse, but has her attempting a swagger-heavy, chopped and screwed sound made trendy again by more contemporary rappers like A$AP Rocky. Many reviewers are trying to figure out just what Beyoncé is trying to tell us in all her fabulousness. It’s not that she’s coveting the career of the likes of Nicki Minaj, or that she wants to perform a husband and wife hip-hop act with Jay Z, or that she’s feeling that her reign as one of the bigger stars in the world is up for debate — or is it? Is she feeling the urge to reinvent? To go after the haters in a way she hasn’t had to do before when her celebrity was more ubiquitous? After-all, she talks quite a bit about “bitches” in this single. We wonder who she’s targeting.
Then again, this could all mean nothing and it could just be Bey’s way to get everybody talking. To keep her name in the news, just one more way to keep fans in lockstep as she promotes a new tour. Possibly. But reality does tell us that reigning in the music business is not absolute. So maybe she’s just hedging all her bets. One thing is abundantly clear if the single’s cover art is any indication, Bey thinks you really should just “bow down.” There really are no other options since she’s been running the game since elementary school it would appear.
Here’s the new single(s). What do you think?
Image: Wikimedia
