Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."I know that folks love me as a pop star. Now I want them to understand me as an artist," says the founding member of Destiny's Child of her first solo album. Poor, deluded fool. The airbrushed image on the album-sleeve, in which the singer wears, well, almost nothing, will doubtless give potential purchasers a clue as to the record industry's take on Beyoncé Knowles. Musically, it's a depressing affair. In all the tracks - from the soft rock of "That's How You Like It" to the sappy soul of "Speechless" - you can practically smell the furniture polish in the executive boardroom. There are nods to old-style soul and contemporary R&B, with guest slots from Luther Vandross and Missy Elliott, though further starry collaborators, among them The Neptunes, Sean Paul and Outkast's Big Boi, fail to lift the album above a torpor of low-grade pop and R&B. Beyoncé adopts a series of guises throughout the album - in "Naughty Girl" we have brazen Beyoncé, while in "Hip Hop Star" we're presented with bad-ass Beyoncé. The surfeit of ballads, meanwhile - "Be With You", "Yes", "The Closer I Get to You" and "Me Myself and I" - ensure we're familiar with her sensitive side. Lyrically, it's beyond bad. "I wish he was a Virgo, same sign as me/ Because I've been hurt by a Pisces," she coos in "Signs", before having recourse to some Mariah Carey-esque yodelling. That would be almost forgivable if there were at least a couple of booty-shaking anthems on a par with Destiny's Child's "Independent Women Part II" or "Jumpin Jumpin". Alas, nothing here comes close.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
0Comments