When you think about it, the world is full of unexplained phenomena. Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near? Why do I continue to eat ice-cream when I have a lactose intolerance? We may never know. Here’s another mystery I’ve been grappling with for a few years: what did we, the human race, do to deserve the excellence of Beyoncé?
Like everybody else on the planet, I received the gift back when she was lead singer of Destiny’s Child. (In 1998, I co-choreographed a routine to their hit No, No, No, and performed it at school.) I remember no special affection for DC-era Bey: she was a great frontwoman, and managed to carry off some truly terrible outfits with aplomb, but somewhere along the way, my feelings morphed into something more passionate.
Here’s why: raw talent and an unstinting work ethic. It’s that simple. Nobody works harder than Bey. The muscular voice, the obvious care when it comes to choosing her collaborators, the fashion and the thighs: they’re all just frosting. The cake is a ton of sheer hard work, which I was lucky enough to witness when I (finally) saw her in concert earlier this month. When you add in the maturation of her politics (feminism! police brutality! girls’ education!) and her style, Beyoncé is in a league beyond any other popular musician. “Empower” is one of those words much bandied about by marketers eager for women’s cash, but it’s truly how Beyoncé makes me feel. When I watch and listen to her, I feel a number of things: a surge of self-love, wonder, strength and a bubbling, excited joy at being a woman – a black woman, at that. That’s magic.
She may not be the pop star we deserve, but she’s the one we need.
