What a spectacular week in music! Let’s take a look at this week’s big developments.
- 🐝 Billboard honours Queen B
Let’s start with the tremendous but obvious news: Billboard has named Beyoncé the greatest pop star of the 21st century! King Bey beat out the likes of Taylor Swift to the crown.
And it’s no surprise. While Beyoncé has 32 Grammy wins, the most wins in history, the top spot wasn’t awarded based on numbers. Others, like Swift, may have higher streaming numbers, for example. But it’s Beyoncé’s impact, evolution and influence that led to Billboard giving her the accolade. “Few artists this period can match her in any of the most critical basic categories of pop stardom – commercial success, performance abilities, critical acclaim and accolades, industry influence, iconic cultural moments – and absolutely no one can equal her in all of them,” said Billboard.
Her career began in the late 90s with the girl group Destiny’s Child. Her dad, Mathew Knowles, managed the group, which dropped its eponymous debut album in 1998. It was only with its second album, The Writing’s on the Wall, that the group became recognised with hits like “Say My Name” and “Bills, Bills, Bills.”
After some drama and lineup changes (hello, Michelle!), they settled as a trio and gave us bangers like “Survivor” and “Bootylicious.”
She launched her solo career in 2003 with the album Dangerously in Love, which included hits like Crazy in Love and Naughty Girl. She has since become the powerhouse we know and love today.
In March, the Single Ladies star released her country album Cowboy Carter, which has been described as “richly researched and meticulously constructed” by Rolling Stone and “an immersive experience from start to finish” by exclaim. She shared that the album wasn’t a country album. “This ain’t a country album,” she said in a statement. “This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” She highlighted that Cowboy Carter was born from an experience that did not make her feel welcome. “Because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” she said. There’s speculation that she was referring to the reaction (more like racist backlash) to her 2016 performance with The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks) at the Country Music Awards.
Cowboy Carter is the second in a planned trilogy of albums. The first offering, Renaissance, was released in July 2022.
Beyoncé’s consistent ability to evolve artistically and her dedication to addressing social issues through her work has solidified her status as The King! 🐝🐝🐝
Billboard noted her consistency as part of why she’s one of the greats. “She was still a teenager managed by her father when “Say My Name” hit No. 1; she was a 42-year-old married mother of three by the time “Texas Hold ‘Em” got there – and in between the two, there were precisely zero moments in which Beyoncé was not *BEYONCÉ*. There are no flop eras for Bey, no periods where she disappeared for a half-decade, no clear missteps that were not immediately and emphatically course-corrected.”
We’re inclined to agree!
- 🎵 Users want Spotify to wrap up using AI
Moving away from our queen, the music-streaming app Spotify released its annual Spotify Wrapped, and users aren’t impressed.
Spotify Wrapped is essentially a recap of how you spent your time on the app, which song you listened to the most and which artist was your favourite. The feature has been running since 2016, and with its colourful banners and whimsical language, it is meant to be fun to share on social media, fostering community among users.
This year, the once-beloved recap of our listening habits has been called “lazy,” with people upset over missing features like top genres, albums, and podcasts.
And what’s with those bizarre genre names like “pumpkin spice rollerskating pop”? It feels like Spotify spent more time confusing us than delighting us.
In a response to youth digital news website Pedestrian TV, Spotify said, “We’ve been working in this space for more than a decade. Since 2011, our investment in AI and, in particular, Machine Learning has made Spotify what it is today: a personalised experience for every user that drives discovery and connection through the power of recommendations.”
But if this year’s Wrapped is anything to go by, more work is needed.
Do better next year, Spottie.
- 🎧2024 was Brat
Rolling Stone recently released their Top Albums of 2024 list, and Charli XCX’s Brat was named number one, followed by the abovementioned Cowboy Carter. Our favourite Pretty Girl from Joburg, Tyla’s self-titled debut album, also made the top ten at number six after Sabrina Carpenter’s addictive Short n’ Sweet at number four and Billie Eilish’s ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ at number five. “Brat is not only a hyperpop roller coaster of post-Saturn return, early-thirties anxieties, and It-girl bravado, but it’s also a still growing, evolving project that XCX has continued to build upon with bonus tracks and full remix album that flips the original versions of the songs on their heads,” the publication said.
We end off with a bit of sad news: Rapper Eminem’s mom, Debbie Nelson, passed away last week. The rapper had a contentious relationship with his mother, but they seem to have made up at the time of her death.
So, what are you listening to this weekend?
Tshego is a writer and law student from Pretoria. A keen follower of social media trends, his interests include high fantasy media, politics, science, talk radio, reading and listening to music.
He is also probably one of the only people left who still play Pokemon Go.
