It’s safe to say that most of us love to hear of a success story of someone who came from nothing and made something of themselves. Normally, anyone who beats the odds has our instant support. We show extra support for the short kid on the basketball team, the big girl on the cheerleading squad, the nerd who made the dance team … we seem to love to see small blots of color stand out in a regularly bland world. So why is it that when what was once diamond in the rough truly begins to shine it loses its shimmer in our eyes and we do everything we can to tarnish it?
This scenario makes me think of none other than the uber-talented Beyonce Knowles. When Destiny’s Child initially hit radio, we cheered at the fact that these little country girls were getting a chance at stardom. Even as the group began to progress and transition into brighter stars, they still had our support. We even looked forward to their solo projects, BUT some of us had already begun the turncoat behavior.
Beyonce was the first to give a solo career a try and some loved it and hated it. The hate wasn’t because of the quality of the music, it had more to do with her shining a little more than her group mates. But after a little damage control from her team and demonstration of her insane work ethic, we started buying the album, we knew all the words, and created Beyonce hysteria. She became an instant superstar beyond her wildest dreams.
Now, for some reason, she’s become “enemy #1.” We built her up to the entertainer that she is, measuring every female artist by her looks and vocal ability and gawking at her personal life, but now we don’t want to see her succeed. She just released a new album, 4 – for which sales figure will be released shortly, and the majority want it to tank.
Why is it so hard to just commend her on a job well done and continue the support we once had? We criticize her more and more as she ventures out to edgier music and lands movie roles, and we dog her for her OWN decision to remain childless and who she chose to marry. What is it that we want from her?
You cannot deny the continued growth we’ve seen in Beyonce. She’s a testament to what we should all embrace, hard work and self belief, and we should let her success drive us to be the best that we can be. Relax…it’s okay to love her!
–juwon jackson
