Beyonce Knowles Carter: Greatest Performer of All Time
by Elizabeth Onafuwa
Elizabeth was the Teen Music Category winner of the Bytes and Pieces Writing Contest.
When performers in music are discussed, performers of the 20th century are mentioned often. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Tina Turner, James Brown, Elvis Presley, Prince, Janet Jackson and others. Performers of the 20th century have huge legacies that have inspired and impacted future generations of musicians. Ultimately, the student ends up surpassing the teacher. Beyonce Knowles Carter is one of the greatest examples of this. Beyonce Knowles Carter learned from these performers and surpassed them to become the greatest performer of all time.
One essential component of being a great performer is being a great vocalist. Some great performers aren’t necessarily the greatest vocalists, for example Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Britney Spears. They are still amazing performers/dancers that light up the stage as soon as they step on it. Luckily, Beyonce doesn’t have this issue. Beyonce is a star-rated vocalist. A star rated vocalist has incredible technical proficiency marked by performance consistency and intonation accuracy as well as great musicality. The golden standard. To be a star rated vocalist but also an amazing performer who knows how to dance and entertain the audience is a rare capability which very few musicians possess, Beyonce is one of those musicians.
Another essential component of being a great, recognizable performer is having iconic and impactful performances. If you’re a good performer and don’t have memorable or impactful performances, what is the point? Beyonce is a performer with many memorable, critically acclaimed, and impactful performances. This is what makes her the greatest performer of all time. The biggest example is Coachella 2018, or “Beychella”. Beyonce was the first black woman to headline the Coachella festival and her performance attracted immediate widespread acclaim. Here’s Beyoncé’s performance by the numbers: Two hours. 26 songs. Around 100 dancers. Four guest appearances (five during weekend two, when J Balvin showed up for the “Mi Gente” remix). Five outfit changes. 18 samples of songs from fellow black artists. 458,000 simultaneous viewers. 232 countries. 43.1 million views. Beychella is still referenced today as a standard for what a memorable and impacful performance. Other online internet fanbases, such as fans of Ariana Grande (arianators) and Billie Ellish (avocados) have done their own versions of “Beychella” such as “Arichella” or “Billiechella”. This shows the widespread impact of Beychella.
Now some may disagree with me. They may put other entertainers/performers ahead of Beyonce. Such as Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, or Madonna. These ladies are all great entertainers, but what they are missing is the vocal skill that Beyonce possesses.
As I have stated before, Beyonce is a star rated vocalist. Incredible technical proficiency is marked by performance consistency and intonation accuracy as well as great musicality. The golden standard. Britney Spears is a great dancer, but an extremely weak vocalist. She is ranked as a D-list singer. D-list singers are described as singers with bad technical proficiency marked by generally bad live performances, intolerable intonation accuracy, and/or poor musicality. Flaws may exceed perfections. Britney Spears also lip syncs often while performing, while all artists lip sync occasionally, this is a habit for Britney. She is a good dancer, but as an all-around performer? She is lacking. Fortunately for Beyonce, she is an all-around performer that is talented in multiple areas. Her talent comes together to put on an entertaining show that is of quality. Beyonce was trained from a young age to sing well while putting on a great performance. Beyonce was literally raised by her vocal teacher, David Lee Brewer, who lived with the Knowles family. Brewer trained Beyonce from when she was eight years old, picking her up from school and giving her four voice lessons every week until she was 20. And she has had other coaches after him. Beyoncé used to run and sing her album at the same time. According to her former trainer, Mark Jenkins, this helped build up her stamina. This prepared her to become an amazing vocalist and performer at the same time.
Being a star rated vocalist, an amazing dancer, and an impactful entertainer is what makes Beyonce Knowles Carter the greatest performer of all time. She has worked hard throughout the years and has finally perfected her craft and risen above the rest.