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Beyoncé life story

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (/biːˈjɒnseɪ/ bee-YON-say; born September 4, 1981)[4] is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.

During Destiny's Child's hiatus, Beyoncé made her theatrical film debut with a role in the US box-office number-one Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) and recorded her first solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It also featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2006, she released her second solo album, B'Day, which contained the US number-one single "Irreplaceable", as well as the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar". Beyoncé continued her acting career with starring roles in The Pink Panther (2006), Dreamgirls (2006), and Obsessed (2009). Her marriage to rapper Jay-Z and her portrayal of Etta James in Cadillac Records (2008) influenced her third album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), which earned a record-setting six Grammy Awards in 2010. It spawned the UK number-one single "If I Were a Boy" and the US number-one single "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".

After splitting from her manager and father Mathew Knowles in 2010, Beyoncé released 4 (2011), which was influenced by 1970s funk, 1980s pop, and 1990s soul. Beyoncé received widespread critical acclaim for her albums, Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016); the latter became the world's best-selling album of 2016. She became the first and only music act in Billboard 200 chart history to debut at number one with their first six solo studio albums.[5] In 2018, she released Everything Is Love, a collaborative album with her husband, Jay-Z, as the Carters.

Beyoncé is one of the word's best-selling music artists, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.[6] Her success during the 2000s was recognized with the Recording Industry Association of America's Top Certified Artist of the Decade, as well as Billboard magazine's Top Radio Songs Artist and the Top Female Artist of the Decade.[7][8] Beyoncé is the most nominated woman in the Grammy Award's history, with a total of 24 wins.[9] She is also the most awarded artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, with 24 wins, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.[10][11] In 2014, she became the highest-paid black musician in history and was listed among Time's 100 most influential people in the world for a second year in a row.[12] Forbes ranked her as the most powerful female in entertainment on their 2015 and 2017 lists. She occupied the sixth place for Time's Person of the Year in 2016,[13] and in 2020, was named one of the 100 women who defined the last century by the same publication.[14]

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, to Celestine "Tina" Knowles (née Beyincé), a hairdresser and salon owner, and Mathew Knowles, a Xerox sales manager.[15] Beyoncé's name is a tribute to her mother's maiden name.[16] Beyoncé's younger sister Solange is also a singer and a former backup dancer for Destiny's Child. Solange and Beyoncé are the first sisters to have both had No. 1 albums.[17] Mathew is African American, and Tina is of Louisiana Creole descent (African, Native American, and French).[16][18][19] Through her mother, Beyoncé is a descendant of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard.[18] Beyoncé attended St. Mary's Montessori School in Houston, where she enrolled in dance classes. Her singing talent was discovered when dance instructor Darlette Johnson began humming a song and she finished it, able to hit the high-pitched notes.[20] Beyoncé's interest in music and performing continued after winning a school talent show at age seven, singing John Lennon's "Imagine" to beat 15/16-year-olds.[21][22] In fall of 1990, Beyoncé enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform with the school's choir.[23] She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts[24] and later Alief Elsik High School.[16][25] Beyoncé was also a member of the choir at St. John's United Methodist Church as a soloist for two years.[26]

When Beyoncé was eight, she and childhood friend Kelly Rowland met LaTavia Roberson while at an audition for an all-girl entertainment group.[27] They were placed into a group called Girl's Tyme with three other girls, and rapped and danced on the talent show circuit in Houston.[28] After seeing the group, R&B producer Arne Frager brought them to his Northern California studio and placed them in Star Search, the largest talent show on national TV at the time. Girl's Tyme failed to win, and Beyoncé later said the song they performed was not good.[29][30] In 1995 Beyoncé's father resigned from his job to manage the group.[31] The move reduced Beyoncé's family's income by half, and her parents were forced to move into separated apartments.[16] Mathew cut the original line-up to four and the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups.[27] The girls auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to Elektra Records, moving to Atlanta Records briefly to work on their first recording, only to be cut by the company.[16] This put further strain on the family, and Beyoncé's parents separated. On October 5, 1995, Dwayne Wiggins's Grass Roots Entertainment signed the group. In 1996, the girls began recording their debut album under an agreement with Sony Music, the Knowles family reunited, and shortly after, the group got a contract with Columbia Records.

The group changed their name to Destiny's Child in 1996, based upon a passage in the Book of Isaiah.[32] In 1997, Destiny's Child released their major label debut song "Killing Time" on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.[30] The following year, the group released their self-titled debut album,[29] scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". The album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, with moderate sales and winning the group three Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist, and Best R&B/Soul Single for "No, No, No". The group released their Multi-Platinum second album The Writing's on the Wall in 1999. The record features some of the group's most widely known songs such as "Bills, Bills, Bills", the group's first number-one single, "Jumpin' Jumpin'" and "Say My Name", which became their most successful song at the time, and would remain one of their signature songs. "Say My Name" won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Best R&B Song at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.[27] The Writing's on the Wall sold more than eight million copies worldwide.[29] During this time, Beyoncé recorded a duet with Marc Nelson, an original member of Boyz II Men, on the song "After All Is Said and Done" for the soundtrack to the 1999 film, The Best Man.[33]

LeToya Luckett and Roberson became unhappy with Mathew's managing of the band and eventually were replaced by Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams.[27] Beyoncé experienced depression following the split with Luckett and Roberson after being publicly blamed by the media, critics, and blogs for its cause.[34] Her long-standing boyfriend left her at this time.[35] The depression was so severe it lasted for a couple of years, during which she occasionally kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything.[36] Beyoncé stated that she struggled to speak about her depression because Destiny's Child had just won their first Grammy Award, and she feared no one would take her seriously.[37] Beyoncé would later speak of her mother as the person who helped her fight it.[36] Franklin was then dismissed, leaving just Beyoncé, Rowland, and Williams.[38]

The remaining band members recorded "Independent Women Part I", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. It became their best-charting single, topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks.[27] In early 2001, while Destiny's Child was completing their third album, Beyoncé landed a major role in the MTV made-for-television film, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, starring alongside American actor Mekhi Phifer. Set in Philadelphia, the film is a modern interpretation of the 19th-century opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet.[39] When the third album Survivor was released in May 2001, Luckett and Roberson filed a lawsuit claiming that the songs were aimed at them.[27] The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 663,000 copies sold.[40] The album spawned other number-one hits, "Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[41] After releasing their holiday album 8 Days of Christmas in October 2001, the group announced a hiatus to further pursue solo careers.[27]

In July 2002, Beyoncé made her theatrical film debut, playing Foxxy Cleopatra alongside Mike Myers in the comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember,[42] which spent its first weekend atop the US box office and grossed $73 million.[43] Beyoncé released "Work It Out" as the lead single from its soundtrack album which entered the top ten in the UK, Norway, and Belgium.[44] In 2003, Beyoncé starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr., in the musical comedy The Fighting Temptations as Lilly, a single mother with whom Gooding's character falls in love.[45] The film received mixed reviews from critics but grossed $30 million in the U.S.[46][47] Beyoncé released "Fighting Temptation" as the lead single from the film's soundtrack album, with Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free which was also used to promote the film.[48] Another of Beyoncé's contributions to the soundtrack, "Summertime", fared better on the US charts.Beyoncé's first solo recording was a feature on Jay-Z's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" that was released in October 2002, peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[51] Her first solo album Dangerously in Love was released on June 24, 2003, after Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland had released their solo efforts.[52] The album sold 317,000 copies in its first week, debuted atop the Billboard 200,[53] and has since sold 11 million copies worldwide.[54] The album's lead single, "Crazy in Love", featuring Jay-Z, became Beyoncé's first number-one single as a solo artist in the US.[55] The single "Baby Boy" also reached number one,[50] and singles, "Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl", both reached the top-five.[56] The album earned Beyoncé a then record-tying five awards at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards; Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Crazy in Love", and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Closer I Get to You" with Luther Vandross. During the ceremony, she performed with Prince.[57]

In November 2003, she embarked on the Dangerously in Love Tour in Europe and later toured alongside Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys for the Verizon Ladies First Tour in North America.[58] On February 1, 2004, Beyoncé performed the American national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII, at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.[59] After the release of Dangerously in Love, Beyoncé had planned to produce a follow-up album using several of the left-over tracks. However, this was put on hold so she could concentrate on recording Destiny Fulfilled, the final studio album by Destiny's Child.[60] Released on November 15, 2004, in the US[61] and peaking at number two on the Billboard 200,[62][63] Destiny Fulfilled included the singles "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier", which reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[64] Destiny's Child embarked on a worldwide concert tour, Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It sponsored by McDonald's Corporation,[65] and performed hits such as "No, No, No", "Survivor", "Say My Name", "Independent Women" and "Lose My Breath". In addition to renditions of the group's recorded material, they also performed songs from each singer's solo careers, most notably numbers from Dangerously in Love. and during the last stop of their European tour, in Barcelona on June 11, 2005, Rowland announced that Destiny's Child would disband following the North American leg of the tour.[66] The group released their first compilation album Number 1's on October 25, 2005, in the US[67] and accepted a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2006.[68] The group has sold 60 million records worldwide.[69][70]

Beyoncé's second solo album B'Day was released on September 4, 2006, in the US, to coincide with her twenty-fifth birthday.[71] It sold 541,000 copies in its first week and debuted atop the Billboard 200, becoming Beyoncé's second consecutive number-one album in the United States.[72] The album's lead single "Déjà Vu", featuring Jay-Z, reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[56] The second international single "Irreplaceable" was a commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Australia, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States.[56][73] B'Day also produced three other singles; "Ring the Alarm",[74] "Get Me Bodied",[75] and "Green Light" (released in the United Kingdom only).[76]

At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2007), B'Day was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Ring the Alarm" and Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration"for "Déjà Vu"; the Freemasons club mix of "Déjà Vu" without the rap was put forward in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category. B'Day won the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.[77] The following year, B'Day received two nominations – for Record of the Year for "Irreplaceable" and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Beautiful Liar" (with Shakira), also receiving a nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Pictures, Television or Other Visual Media for her appearance on Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture (2006).[78]

Her first acting role of 2006 was in the comedy film The Pink Panther starring opposite Steve Martin,[79] grossing $158.8 million at the box office worldwide.[80] Her second film Dreamgirls, the film version of the 1981 Broadway musical[81] loosely based on The Supremes, received acclaim from critics and grossed $154 million internationally.[82][83][84] In it, she starred opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy playing a pop singer based on Diana Ross.[85] To promote the film, Beyoncé released "Listen" as the lead single from the soundtrack album.[86] In April 2007, Beyoncé embarked on The Beyoncé Experience, her first worldwide concert tour, visiting 97 venues[87] and grossed over $24 million.[note 1] Beyoncé conducted pre-concert food donation drives during six major stops in conjunction with her pastor at St. John's and America's Second Harvest. At the same time, B'Day was re-released with five additional songs, including her duet with Shakira "Beautiful Liar".

On April 4, 2008, Beyoncé married Jay-Z.[90] She publicly revealed their marriage in a video montage at the listening party for her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce, in Manhattan's Sony Club on October 22, 2008.[91]I Am... Sasha Fierce was released on November 18, 2008, in the United States.[92] The album formally introduces Beyoncé's alter ego Sasha Fierce, conceived during the making of her 2003 single "Crazy in Love". It was met with generally mediocre reviews from critics,[93] but sold 482,000 copies in its first week, debuting atop the Billboard 200, and giving Beyoncé her third consecutive number-one album in the US.[94] The album featured the number-one song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"[95] and the top-five songs "If I Were a Boy" and "Halo".[56][96] Achieving the accomplishment of becoming her longest-running Hot 100 single in her career,[97] "Halo"'s success in the US helped Beyoncé attain more top-ten singles on the list than any other woman during the 2000s.[98] It also included the successful "Sweet Dreams",[99] and singles "Diva", "Ego", "Broken-Hearted Girl" and "Video Phone". The music video for "Single Ladies" has been parodied and imitated around the world, spawning the "first major dance craze" of the Internet age according to the Toronto Star.[100] The video has won several awards, including Best Video at the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards,[101] the 2009 Scottish MOBO Awards,[102] and the 2009 BET Awards.[103] At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for nine awards, ultimately winning three including Video of the Year.[104] Its failure to win the Best Female Video category, which went to American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me", led to Kanye West interrupting the ceremony and Beyoncé improvising a re-presentation of Swift's award during her own acceptance speech.[104] In March 2009, Beyoncé embarked on the I Am... World Tour, her second headlining worldwide concert tour, consisting of 108 shows, grossing $119.5 million.[105]

Beyoncé further expanded her acting career, starring as blues singer Etta James in the 2008 musical biopic Cadillac Records. Her performance in the film received praise from critics,[106] and she garnered several nominations for her portrayal of James, including a Satellite Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress.[107][108] Beyoncé donated her entire salary from the film to Phoenix House, an organization of rehabilitation centers for heroin addicts around the country.[109] On January 20, 2009, Beyoncé performed James' "At Last" at First Couple Barack and Michelle Obama's first inaugural ball.[110] Beyoncé starred opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba in the thriller, Obsessed. She played Sharon Charles, a mother and wife whose family is threatened by her husband's stalker. Although the film received negative reviews from critics,[111] the movie did well at the US box office, grossing $68 million—$60 million more than Cadillac Records[112]—on a budget of $20 million.[113] The fight scene finale between Sharon and the character played by Ali Larter also won the 2010 MTV Movie Award for Best Fight.[114]

At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, Beyoncé received ten nominations, including Album of the Year for I Am... Sasha Fierce, Record of the Year for "Halo", and Song of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", among others.[115] She tied with Lauryn Hill for most Grammy nominations in a single year by a female artist.[116] Beyoncé went on to win six of those nominations, breaking a record she previously tied in 2004 for the most Grammy awards won in a single night by a female artist with six. In 2010, Beyoncé was featured on Lady Gaga's single "Telephone" and appeared in its music video.[117][118] The song topped the US Pop Songs chart, becoming the sixth number-one for both Beyoncé and Gaga, tying them with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the Nielsen Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992.[119] "Telephone" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.[120]

Beyoncé announced a hiatus from her music career in January 2010, heeding her mother's advice, "to live life, to be inspired by things again".[121][122] During the break she and her father parted ways as business partners.[123][124] Beyoncé's musical break lasted nine months and saw her visit multiple European cities, the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, Australia, English music festivals and various museums and ballet performances.

On June 26, 2011, she became the first solo female artist to headline the main Pyramid stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival in over twenty years.[126][127] Her fourth studio album 4 was released two days later in the US.[128] 4 sold 310,000 copies in its first week and debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, giving Beyoncé her fourth consecutive number-one album in the US. The album was preceded by two of its singles "Run the World (Girls)" and "Best Thing I Never Had".[56][117][129] The fourth single "Love on Top" spent seven consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest peak from the album.[130] 4 also produced four other singles; "Party", "Countdown", "I Care" and "End of Time". "Eat, Play, Love", a cover story written by Beyoncé for Essence that detailed her 2010 career break, won her a writing award from the New York Association of Black Journalists.[131] In late 2011, she took the stage at New York's Roseland Ballroom for four nights of special performances:[132] the 4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé concerts saw the performance of her 4 album to a standing room only.[132] On August 1, 2011, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped 1 million copies to retail stores.[133] By December 2015, it reached sales of 1.5 million copies in the US.[134] The album reached one billion Spotify streams on February 5, 2018, making Beyoncé the first female artist to have three of their albums surpass one billion streams on the platform.[135]

On January 7, 2012, Beyoncé gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.[136] Five months later, she performed for four nights at Revel Atlantic City's Ovation Hall to celebrate the resort's opening, her first performances since giving birth to Blue Ivy.[137][138]

In January 2013, Destiny's Child released Love Songs, a compilation album of the romance-themed songs from their previous albums and a newly recorded track, "Nuclear".[139] Beyoncé performed the American national anthem singing along with a pre-recorded track at President Obama's second inauguration in Washington, D.C.[140][141] The following month, Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.[142] The performance stands as the second most tweeted about moment in history at 268,000 tweets per minute.[143] At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, Beyoncé won for Best Traditional R&B Performance for "Love on Top".[144] Her feature-length documentary film, Life Is But a Dream, first aired on HBO on February 16, 2013.[145] The film was co-directed by Beyoncé herself.

Beyoncé embarked on The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour on April 15 in Belgrade, Serbia; the tour included 132 dates that ran through to March 2014. It became the most successful tour of her career and one of the most successful tours of all time.[147] In May, Beyoncé's cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" with André 3000 on The Great Gatsby soundtrack was released.[148] Beyoncé voiced Queen Tara in the 3D CGI animated film, Epic, released by 20th Century Fox on May 24,[149] and recorded an original song for the film, "Rise Up", co-written with Sia.[150]

On December 13, 2013, Beyoncé unexpectedly released her eponymous fifth studio album on the iTunes Store without any prior announcement or promotion. The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, giving Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number-one album in the US.[151] This made her the first woman in the chart's history to have her first five studio albums debut at number one.[152] Beyoncé received critical acclaim[153] and commercial success, selling one million digital copies worldwide in six days;[154] Musically an electro-R&B album, it concerns darker themes previously unexplored in her work, such as "bulimia, postnatal depression [and] the fears and insecurities of marriage and motherhood".[155] The single "Drunk in Love", featuring Jay-Z, peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[156]

In April 2014, after much speculation,[157] Beyoncé and Jay-Z officially announced their On the Run Tour. It served as the couple's first co-headlining stadium tour together.[158] On August 24, 2014, she received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé also won home three competitive awards: Best Video with a Social Message and Best Cinematography for "Pretty Hurts", as well as best collaboration for "Drunk in Love".[159] In November, Forbes reported that Beyoncé was the top-earning woman in music for the second year in a row—earning $115 million in the year, more than double her earnings in 2013.[160] Beyoncé was reissued with new material in three forms: as an extended play, a box set, as well as a full platinum edition. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), in the last 19 days of 2013, the album sold 2.3 million units worldwide, becoming the tenth best-selling album of 2013.[161] The album also went on to become the twentieth best-selling album of 2014.[162] As of November 2014, Beyoncé has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and has generated over 1 billion streams, as of March 2015.[163]

At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2015, Beyoncé was nominated for six awards, ultimately winning three: Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for "Drunk in Love", and Best Surround Sound Album for Beyoncé.[9][164] She was nominated for Album of the Year, but the award went to Beck for his album Morning Phase.

On February 6, 2016, Beyoncé released "Formation" and its accompanying music video exclusively on the music streaming platform Tidal; the song was made available to download for free.[166] She performed "Formation" live for the first time during the NFL Super Bowl 50 halftime show. The appearance was considered controversial as it appeared to reference the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party and the NFL forbids political statements in its performances.[167][168][169] Immediately following the performance, Beyoncé announced The Formation World Tour, which highlighted stops in both North America, and Europe.[170][171] It ended on October 7, with Beyoncé bringing out her husband Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Serena Williams for the last show.[172] The tour went on to win Tour of the Year at the 44th American Music Awards.[173]

On April 16, 2016, Beyoncé released a teaser clip for a project called Lemonade. It turned out to be a one-hour film which aired on HBO exactly a week later; a corresponding album with the same title was released on the same day exclusively on Tidal.[174] Lemonade debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making Beyoncé the first act in Billboard history to have their first six studio albums debut atop the chart; she broke a record previously tied with DMX in 2013.[175] With all 12 tracks of Lemonade debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Beyoncé also became the first female act to chart 12 or more songs at the same time.[176] Additionally, Lemonade was streamed 115 million times through Tidal, setting a record for the most-streamed album in a single week by a female artist in history.[177] It was 2016's third highest-selling album in the US with 1.554 million copies sold in that time period within the country[178] as well as the best-selling album worldwide with global sales of 2.5 million throughout the year.[179] In June 2019, Lemonade was certified 3× Platinum, having sold up to 3 million album-equivalent units in the United States alone.

Lemonade became her most critically acclaimed work to date, receiving universal acclaim according to Metacritic, a website collecting reviews from professional music critics.[181] Several music publications included the album among the best of 2016, including Rolling Stone, which listed Lemonade at number one.[182] The album's visuals were nominated in 11 categories at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, the most ever received by Beyoncé in a single year, and went on to win 8 awards, including Video of the Year for "Formation".[183][184] The eight wins made Beyoncé the most awarded artist in the history of the VMAs (24), surpassing Madonna (20).[185] Beyoncé occupied the sixth place for Time magazine's 2016 Person of the Year.[186]

In January 2017, it was announced that Beyoncé would headline the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. This would make Beyoncé only the second female headliner of the festival since it was founded in 1999.[187] It was later announced on February 23, 2017 that Beyoncé would no longer be able to perform at the festival due to doctor's concerns regarding her pregnancy. The festival owners announced that she will instead headline the 2018 festival.[188] Upon the announcement of Beyoncé's departure from the festival lineup, ticket prices dropped by 12%.[189]

At the 59th Grammy Awards in February 2017, Lemonade led the nominations with nine, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year for Lemonade and "Formation" respectively.[190] and ultimately won two, Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade and Best Music Video for "Formation".[191] Adele, upon winning her Grammy for Album of the Year, stated Lemonade was monumental and more deserving.[192]

On June 13, 2017, Beyoncé gave birth to twins Rumi and Sir Carter at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.[193] In September 2017, Beyoncé collaborated with J Balvin and Willy William, to release a remix of the song "Mi Gente". Beyoncé donated all proceeds from the song to hurricane charities for those affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in Texas, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean Islands.[194]

On November 10, Eminem released "Walk on Water" featuring Beyoncé as the lead single from his album Revival. On November 30, Ed Sheeran announced that Beyoncé would feature on the remix to his song "Perfect".[195] "Perfect Duet" was released on December 1, 2017. The song reached number-one in the United States, becoming Beyoncé's sixth song of her solo career to do so.[196]

2018–present: Everything Is Love and The Lion King On January 4, 2018, the music video of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's 4:44 collaboration, "Family Feud" was released.[197] It was directed by Ava DuVernay. On March 1, 2018, DJ Khaled released "Top Off" as the first single from his forthcoming album Father of Asahd featuring Beyoncé, husband Jay-Z, and Future.[198] On March 5, 2018, a joint tour with Knowles' husband Jay-Z, was leaked on Facebook.[199] Information about the tour was later taken down. The couple announced the joint tour officially as On the Run II Tour on March 12[200] and simultaneously released a trailer for the tour on YouTube.[201] On March 20, 2018, the couple traveled to Jamaica to film a music video directed by Melina Matsoukas.[202]

On April 14, 2018, Beyoncé played the first of two weekends as the headlining act of the Coachella Music Festival. Her performance of April 14, attended by 125,000 festival-goers, was immediately praised, with multiple media outlets describing it as historic. The performance became the most-tweeted about performance of weekend one, as well as the most-watched live Coachella performance and the most-watched live performance on YouTube of all time. The show paid tribute to black culture, specifically historically black colleges and universities and featured a live band with over 100 dancers. Destiny's Child also reunited during the show.

On June 6, 2018, Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z kicked-off the On the Run II Tour in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Ten days later, at their final London performance, the pair unveiled Everything Is Love, their joint studio album, credited under the name The Carters, and initially available exclusively on Tidal. The pair also released the video for the album's lead single, "Apeshit", on Beyoncé's official YouTube channel.[205][206] Everything Is Love received generally positive reviews,[207] and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with 123,000 album-equivalent units, of which 70,000 were pure album sales.[208]

On December 2, 2018, Beyoncé alongside Jay-Z headlined the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 which was held at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.[209] Their 2-hour performance had concepts similar to the On the Run II Tour and Beyoncé was praised for her outfits, which paid tribute to Africa's diversity.[210]

On April 17, 2019, Beyoncé alongside media-service provider Netflix, premiered the 137-minute documentary and concert film Homecoming, mainly regarding Beyoncé's historic 2018 Coachella performances.[211][212] The film was accompanied by the live album Homecoming: The Live Album.[213] It was later reported that Beyoncé and Netflix had signed a $60 million deal to produce three different projects, one of which is Homecoming.[214] Homecoming received six nominations at the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[215]

Beyoncé starred in the voice over role of Nala in the remake The Lion King, which was released on July 19, 2019.[216] In March 2017, director Jon Favreau stated that Beyoncé was his top choice for the role, and that the studio and himself would be willing to do whatever it took to accommodate her busy schedule.[217] On November 1, 2017, her role was confirmed in an official announcement.[218][219] Beyoncé is featured on the film's soundtrack, released on July 11, 2019, with a remake of the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" alongside Donald Glover, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, which was originally composed by Elton John.[220] Additionally, an original song from the film by Beyoncé, "Spirit", was released as the lead single from both the soundtrack and The Lion King: The Gift – an album released alongside the film, produced and curated by Beyoncé.[221][222] Beyoncé called The Lion King: The Gift a "sonic cinema." She also stated that the album is influenced by everything from R&B, pop, hip hop and Afro Beat.[221] The songs were additionally produced by African producers, which Beyoncé said was because "authenticity and heart were important to [her]," since the film is set in Africa.[221]

During an interview for the Wall Street Journal, Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles, revealed that the singer had borrowed some of her art pieces for a new project already in development.[223]

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyonc%c3%a9

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junker-town · 4 years

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The winners and losers of the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline

Who was the biggest winner and biggest loser of the trade deadline?

From Andre Iguodala to KAT to Andre Drummond, these are the winners and losers of the NBA trade deadline.

We didn’t expect the 2020 NBA trade deadline to feature much activity. We were wrong. The final 72 hours before trade season ended instead featured the usual flurry of activity we’ve come to expect from this league. Contenders leveled up, several young stars changed addresses just when it seemed like they would stay put, and deals flew out from left field that we’re still trying to process.

That said, this trade deadline paled in comparison to the seismic shifts we saw this summer in free agency. The rush of deals at the buzzer made this day seem more significant to the title race than it actually is. There were no superstar trades, nor was there a significant veteran joining as the final piece of a title contender, a la Rasheed Wallace to Detroit in 2004 or Marc Gasol to Toronto last season. The D’Angelo Russell-Andrew Wiggins trade between Golden State and Minnesota is interesting, but both teams are in the lottery. Otherwise, the biggest names that moved are role players that could provide a small, though useful boost to their new teams.

Let’s assess the damage.

WINNERS

Andre Iguodala

Iguodala will make an incredible agent if he chooses that path once his playing days are over. When he was last a free agent, he feigned interest from the Rockets and others to procure a three-year, $45 million deal from the money-conscious Warriors despite his advancing age. When the Warriors traded him to the Grizzlies last summer, Iguodala brokered an arrangement with Memphis that allowed him to chill on the sidelines and still get paid. Now, he’s back in the title race as a member of the Miami Heat, and got a two-year, $30 million contract extension to boot.

Must be nice to get paid not to work for several months, then get a multi-million cash advance from your new team before you even step on the court.

Bruh you’re a legend @andre . My guy sat half the season. Spent time with his family. Promoted his book. Sharpened up his post retirement plans and cashed out ✊ respect bruh.

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) February 6, 2020

Miami Heat

They didn’t get Danilo Gallinari, which would have cemented them a serious threat to win the East. But Pat Riley still did well to improve his team’s depth by swapping out three non-rotation players for Iguodala, Jae Crowder, and Solomon Hill. All three should shore up a defense that’s been mediocre this year despite the individual success of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Imagine Butler and Iguodala at the top of Erik Spoelstra’s 2-3 zone. Good luck scoring on that.

Plus, Riley maneuvered the Heat into position to have cap space this summer without jeopardizing any room in 2021, which projects as a much stronger free-agent class.

Karl-Anthony Towns

It’s. Happening.

2/3 pic.twitter.com/QU43MMNkwj

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 6, 2020

Well, not the Devin Booker part, at least not yet. Still, Towns gets to play with his best friend that also happens to be a quality point guard to pass him the ball. That should cheer him up after losing 13 games in a row.

Andrew Wiggins

Wiggins’ resurgence lasted all of a couple weeks this year before he reverted back to his bad habits. It’s possible he’ll be a tease the rest of his career. But the Steph/Klay/Draymond Warriors offer as good a landing spot as any to channel him into a defined role that gets the most out of his strengths. Harrison Barnes did quite well for himself playing off those three. Now, it’s Wiggins’ turn.

Creative Arts Agency

For years, the prominent sports and entertainment agency was the shadow ruler of the Knicks. As Ricky O’Donnell explains:

CAA represented Carmelo Anthony, who the Knicks traded for ahead of free agency and later re-signed to a max extension. CAA represented J.R. Smith, who became Sixth Man of the Year with the Knicks. CAA also represented his brother Chris Smith, who worked his way onto the Knicks despite lacking the qualifications to hold down an NBA roster spot. There were rumors that former Knicks coach Mike Woodson changed agencies to CAA in 2012 to keep his job. Former assistant general manager (and currently Knicks G League GM) Allan Houston and player personnel director Mark Warkentien were also represented by CAA.

In a 2014 ESPN story, one Knicks player told reporter Chris Broussard the franchise was playing favorites to CAA clients. ”You see how guys from CAA are treated differently,” the player said. “How they get away with saying certain things to coaches. How coaches talk to them differently than they talk to the other guys. It’s a problem.”

Their influence waned once the Knicks hired Phil Jackson, who vowed to remove their tentacles from the operation. But half a decade later, they’re baaaaaaack, and now in an official capacity. Congratulations to Leon Rose and William Wesley for taking over Knicks front office power that opened up when owner James Dolan fired Steve Mills two days before the trade deadline.

Toronto Raptors

They didn’t make a trade, but none of their other East rivals did either, save for the Heat. More importantly, the Knicks’ decision to return to the CAA well quenched the increasing risk that team president Masai Ujiri would leave Canada to save basketball in Manhattan.

LA Clippers

They beat out their crosstown rivals for Marcus Morris, a hard-nosed knockdown three-point shooter that will slide into their starting and closing lineups. He won’t help the Clippers’ shaky rim protection and isn’t a great passer, but his shooting ability should open the floor for a Clippers offense that can occasionally stagnate. All it cost was a first-round pick the Clippers didn’t need, a couple fringe prospects they weren’t playing, and a worse combo forward in Maurice Harkless that wasn’t fitting in.

Houston Rockets

Here’s more on why the Rockets’ all-in move on small-ball was smart. Would’ve been nice if they got another big man, though.

Clint Capela

Capela is a better player than he’s shown over the last couple years. Houston’s shift to more isolation plays instead of pick-and-roll took him out of his comfort zone, and swapping Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook shrunk the floor on the dwindling roll opportunities he did get. Now, he gets to play on a Hawks team that with a young pick-and-roll maestro in Trae Young that will spoonfeed him a half-dozen lob opportunities a game.

Kyle Kuzma

The Lakers refused to include Kuzma in a potential deal for Morris, though it’s unclear how they would’ve made the money work in such a deal anyway. They also didn’t deal Kuzma for Derrick Rose, Robert Covington, or any number of win-now veterans that could have fit more reliably with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That’s a big bet on Kuzma rising to the challenge in his first deep playoff run.

(I also think it was the right call, especially if the Lakers also win the Darren Collison buyout sweepstakes).

MODEST WINNERS

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies should be praised for extracting some value out of a proud veteran that never suited up for them. They also deserve more credit than they’ve been given for locking up starting shooting guard and resident shit-talker Dillon Brooks on a reasonable three-year, $35 million extension instead of letting him test a barren restricted free agency market this summer.

But the specific trade they ended up making with Miami carries downside risk that may not have been necessary. I’ve been a Winslow fan for a long time, but he’s missed nearly half of all possible regular-season games since his rookie season and has only played in 11 games this year due to back trouble. He’s promising when healthy, but hasn’t been able to stay on the court. Excluding Iguodala, the price for taking a chance on Winslow was two useful rotation players this year (Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill) and $29 million in salary next year for two players (James Johnson and Dion Waiters) that fell out of favor in Miami. That’s a hefty cost, especially considering Memphis took itself out of having cap space with this move and the Brooks extension. Memphis is not a free-agent destination, but cap space has other uses. Having it allowed them to take on Iguodala last summer for an additional draft pick, for example.

Better hope Winslow stays healthy.

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers didn’t make any slam-dunk moves, but getting Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III shores up a shaky bench at a minimal cost. Burks could be an especially nice fit as a second ball-handler when Ben Simmons plays without Joel Embiid.

:shruggie:

Golden State Warriors

Despite insisting otherwise, the Warriors did ultimately sign D’Angelo Russell to be a trade asset. How did they maximize that asset? In essence, the Warriors traded:

The inevitable loss of Kevin Durant in free agency.

Andre Iguodala

2024 first-round pick, top-4 protected, then essentially unprotected if it doesn’t convey.

Omari Spellman

Jacob Evans

And in return, they received:

Andrew Wiggins

2021 first-round pick from Minnesota, top-3 protected, then unprotected if it doesn’t convey

2021 second-round pick from Minnesota

That’s ... OK I suppose. Obviously, Durant was a goner either way. Russell is better than Wiggins and on a marginally better contract, but I don’t think the difference is stark and Wiggins has less positional overlap with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The 2021 first-rounder from Minnesota could be in the lottery and pairs nicely as a trade asset with Golden State’s own high 2020 pick. At the same time, losing that 2024 pick to clear Iguodala may come back to bite them if they are forced to rebuild down the road.

I probably would’ve held on to Russell until the summer, but there’s still a chance the Warriors come out ahead, especially if they can rehabilitate Wiggins.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves needed to do something to put a smile on Karl-Anthony Towns’ face, and best friend D’Angelo Russell certainly does that in the short term. They also got decent value for Robert Covington in the form of one first-round pick and two useful restricted free agents to be in Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez. Their long-term outlook is better now than it would’ve been if they did nothing.

But this still doesn’t look like a team that can really contend in Towns’ prime. Russell and Towns should be a nice offensive pick-and-roll tandem, but they will get lit up on the other end. Losing Covington weakens an already terrible defense, though Beasley is at least on Towns’ age curve. They really need Jarrett Culver to turn into a building block, and early returns are mixed. Not having their own 2021 pick may hurt more than keeping their 2020 selection if draft experts are right about the weakness of this class. Losing Wiggins may be addition by subtraction, but the Wolves aren’t projected to have much cap space unless they move on from some of their new additions.

At least Minnesota got a point guard. That alone salvages the situation.

LOSERS

New York Knicks fans

To quote Posting and Toasting’s Jonathan Schulman:

Out of the frying pan and into the fire for New York. James Dolan hates learning lessons and is perpetually bent on repeating mistakes. As long as he’s in good company, he seems fine making his money hand over fist and succumbing to the will of more virile men. Eventually the mistakes of the past will echo into the Knicks’ future and Dolan will impose his petty vengeance on another friend. This time it’s Leon Rose.

The Knicks are spinning the decision to hand the keys to Rose, a prominent player agent, as a move that mirrors the success of recent agent/executive crossovers like Bob Myers in Golden State and Rob Pelinka with the Lakers. That’d be easier to believe if a) Dolan and the Knicks didn’t have a checkered history with Rose’s CAA, and b) the alternative of pursuing Masai Ujiri didn’t loom so heavily in the background.

Why is it so hard for Dolan to be patient and use his deep pockets to go get the smartest basketball executive possible?

Everyone involved in the Andre Drummond trade

What a sad ending to Andre Drummond’s seven-and-a-half years in Detroit. The Pistons held onto him for too long in multiple desperate attempts to achieve relevancy, then discovered he had no trade value once they finally realized they had to move on. They ended up accepting a trade package of dead salary and a low second-round pick, all because they feared Drummond would exercise his $27 million player option. That’s a paltry return for a player who was supposed to usher in a new era years ago.

And what’s the upside for Cleveland in making this deal? They “won” the trade today, but it’s hard to see how Drummond becomes a key part of their long-term future. Either he walks for nothing this summer, or he plays his way into a lucrative contract extension that puts him on a different timeline from their young backcourt. Perhaps the Cavaliers can rehabilitate his value and trade him again, but that requires the league forgetting how little they value him now.

As for Drummond ... man. He needed a change of scenery, but now he’s walking into a franchise that’s miles away from contention and has horrible locker-room chemistry. He’s taking it as well as you’d expect.

If there’s one thing I learned about the NBA, there’s no friends or loyalty. I’ve given my heart and soul to the Pistons , and to be have this happen with no heads up makes me realize even more that this is just a business! I love you Detroit...

— Andre Drummond (@AndreDrummond) February 6, 2020

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets’ involvement in Tuesday’s four-team Houston-centric blockbuster seemed like a setup for something bigger. Shabazz Napier for Jordan McRae isn’t what we had in mind.

I understand the Nuggets were unlikely to keep Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez even if they did have their restricted free agent rights. I understand their rotation was too deep to accommodate everyone. But the return package of a late 2020 first-round pick and two unproven youngsters in Noah Vonleh and Keita Bates-Diop is still underwhelming.

Sacramento Kings

Just gonna leave this here.

The Kings signed Trevor Ariza and Dewayne Dedmon in free agency and traded both of them before the All-Star break.

— Paul Flannery (@Pflanns) February 6, 2020

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suzteel · 5 years

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Another one! Did I mention that I was bored?

The rules are: Put your music on shuffle, write the first 10 songs that come on and your favorite lyrics from them.

1) Love and Great Buildings, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness I wanna keep the lights on Repair the foundation, maybe hire a crew Plant a little garden, start the renovation, get my ass back to you

2) Counting Stars, Augustana Suddenly I'm caught in your light Opened the door, and you stepped inside And I'm watching the hours Looking for reasons Find that I'm missing every beat of your heart 'Til you're back in my arms, I'll be waiting up, counting the stars

3) Nightmares, All Time Low There's a little house on a perfect little hill Just short of a fairytale There's a little child with a million ways to feel Caught up in a hurricane

4) La La La (feat. Sam Smith), Naughty Boy If our love is running out of time I won't count the hours, rather be a coward When our worlds collide I'm gonna drown you out before I lose my mind

5) We Like It, Computer Games Hey, who cares if we like it We love it all, we love it Oh, what's it to you if we like it Cause we like it, we love it all

6) Stutter, Darren Criss Baby we could fuck the right Turn around and wrong it

7) Evil Things, Marc Broussard I'll be everything There's a miracle in the melody of this song I sing Will be beautiful, endless everything You're the miracle in the melody and this song's for you

8) 10,000 Nights of Thunder, Alphabeat I was not looking for artsy fartsy love I wanted someone to love completely Someone more than weekly

9) Headstrong, Trapt Conclusions manifest, your first impressions got to be your very best I see you're full of shit and that's alright That's how you play, I guess you'll get through every night

10) Never Know, Jack Johnson I heard this old story before With the people keeping calling for the metaphors But, don't leave much up to the imagination So I want to give this imagery back But I know it ain't just so easy like that So, I turn the page and read the story again and again and again

#meme #music

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thevalleyledger · 6 years

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Marc Broussard at the Levitt Pavilion - by Diane Fleischman

Marc Broussard at the Levitt Pavilion – by Diane Fleischman

Story & Photographs by Diane Fleischman

I would imagine after the second downpour of rain Tuesday evening at Muskifest, the Music Gods, emerged and exclaimed, “Enough rain, let there be music!” Then the skies parted, and rain was no more. Luckily, the rain did stop, just in time for Marc Broussard to take the stage at the Levitt Pavilion.

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radiomax · 1 year

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Monday 3/13/23 6pm ET: At The Crossroads with Brant Zwicker

The B. Christopher Band – Thirty Years (3:00) Blues Arcadia – Now or Never (3:30) Harrison Kennedy – Cranky Woman (3:34) Marc Broussard – I’ve Got to Use My Imagination (5:00) Floyd Lee & His Mean Blues Band – Mean Blues (4:48) Janiva Magness – Strong as Steel (4:02) Stan Mosley – A Woman Needs to Be Loved (4:00) Mary Stokes Band – It Takes Time (2:36) The Maple Blues Band – Mating Cry…

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#At The Crossroads #Blues #Brant Zwicker #RadioMax

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artisthousemusic-blog · 7 years

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Touring The World

By Marc Broussard

As a professional, my first real trip away from home was opening a couple of shows for Ari Hest in Texas. We went up there the night before, and met Ari at his show with Jason Mraz in College Station. Momentary Setback had only been out a few months. Ari was working merch when we arrived, and just before I peeked into the hall to see Mraz, a gal walks up to me and shoves my shoulder saying, “I know who you are. You’re Marc Broussard!” I hadn’t even really played a show outside of Lafayette, and here’s a bona fide fan of mine heaping a load of praise in my direction. I was stunned! Little did I know how this encounter would set the stage for most every encounter I’d ever have from that point on.

I’m still dear friends with that first road fan. She’s been to my house and knows my wife and I well enough to call anytime. As a matter of fact, she was my wife’s maid of honor! She was, and still is, a champion for me—working at times to spread the message of how my music has brought a little joy to her life. I haven’t the faintest idea why. You see, I don’t think I ever lost the wonder of being blindsided by such stories. I’ve found myself coasting along, battered by waves, and aimless in my pursuits for most of my career. It’s served me alright for a while, but more important are the stories that result from that kind of bumbling along. From the good to the bad and everything in between, I’m diving deep into my memory for a chance at breathing life into an epic tale told by a fly on the wall. It’s a story of perpetually being open to the gift of a precious moment—whether it is for you or for someone else. Here’s to the late nights and drunken ones, to the hungover sound checks and meet and greets, to wild drunkards at merch and the merch mama’s that have to fight ‘em off! Here’s to the fans who are my champions, as I am theirs. Here’s to The Sheriff.

____________________________________________________________________________

The Ugly

I don’t want to go into great detail about the worst fan encounters, but I will say the good suffer for the bad. When I get to meet my fans, I generally try my best to be friendly with everybody. Small talk isn’t easy for everybody, though, so some encounters can be a tad awkward. These aren’t the ugly ones; I love these encounters. The real ugly ones are the drunks that are brand new to my music. Maybe a friend or family member brought the fella out to the show and he just so happens to run into me afterwards. This guy had such a good time that he can’t fathom why I’m not more famous. This is where it gets interesting. He—a total stranger, mind you—starts giving me business advice! He’s telling things like, “That Georgia song! Go with that one!!” as if that song is somehow gonna make me famous overnight if I just mail it to radio stations 13 years after it was released?!

I wouldn’t have much to say about this guy other than a punchline or two except that he’s usually big and touchy. Touchy in more than one sense, too. He loves to grab on me and demand to show me the town and he’s also usually quite sensitive to any kind of challenge to his ego or sincerity.

The kind of joshing I would normally engage in with my friends or even my sons could easily get me into trouble with a goon like this. It can be hard to know what he’s thinking at any given moment so it’s best to mind the p’s and q’s.

Sometimes the gals can get a little wild, too. Although, it’s exceedingly rare and they’re usually more familiar with who I am. It’s been a long while since, but I can remember this woman asking to nibble on my ear while I was signing merch. I said, “Lady, I’m a married man.” She said, “So am I. Just real quick.” I haven’t quite had to develop signals for this kind of psycho, but you can better believe I was throwing up red flags to my guys that night! Once again, these encounters happen so infrequently it barely merits mentioning. Were it not for the comedic value, I wouldn’t spend time on it at all.

The Bad (Conversationalist)

Small talk. We all know what it is. Not all of us are good at it. And those that are, aren’t good at it all the time. Small talk has (probably) started epic love affairs and major conflicts. You wanna know why being a new dad feels so awkward at first? No small talk. It’s this kind of mundane conversation that lets you know the pulse of the other person—their flow and rhythm. When small talk goes well, you walk away saying, “Well that was nice.” Kind of feels like you made a new friend. But when it goes bad, you say, “Oh my word, how weird?! Am I weird?! That was so weird!!” What’s worse is that lots of people I make small talk with already know a great deal about me.

They know my name and feign offense when I introduce myself. They know where I’m from, my wife and kids’ names, my parents’ names, where I went to high school and a whole lot more. And I know nothing about them. So unless they have something to tell me, I’m gonna have to make small talk. Sometimes they’re shaking with excitement which makes me excited. I’ll grab ‘em and just softly yell, “OH MY GOD!” to try and break up the tension. That usually gets a laugh and not much more. I’ve also resigned myself to let the fans sort it out in the parking lot which of them was the biggest a-hole to me. My fans are generally fantastic people who won’t let a slight against me or they go without at least confronting it, forcefully, if necessary. This usually involves people that make it up to the front row late in the show or people that cut in line at merch. You wanna see a middle-class suburban lady lose her shit? Try elbowing your way up to the front during “Beauty of Who You Are.” You will learn quickly how elbows can be used. #lol

The Good

I recently thought about what my job description would look like on a job posting site. Needless to say, it’s an attractive profession on many levels, not the least of which is the praise. Imagine virtually every customer heaping praise upon you every chance they got. Well, I don’t have to because I get to experience it. For a while there, I think the praise clouded my judgement and overfed my ego a bit too much. I call it the Tiger Woods Syndrome. You grow up being told how awesome you are and you start to buy the hype. Then something comes along that challenges your assumptions and it rocks you. Luckily, I have a strong support system and was able to find my purpose early in life. I found out what it is I’m here for, at least in part, so it’s made me see things more clearly.

The praise I receive from fans often takes the shape of a story. They’re stories about how my music affected someone’s life. From the estranged father and son to the couple sharing a first dance, my songs are the soundtrack for bringing people together in love, and that’s exactly how I wanted it. These stories are life-affirming for me. They let me know that I’m on the right track and give me the fuel I need to keep going. Some are quite heavy and bring me to tears. I share them with my wife and we talk about tragedy. One of my favorite things to see is a couple on the dance floor during a show, not looking at me or the band … just at each other. Those are beautiful moments that I’m privileged to witness. Some might say “barf” but I’m a sucker for romance. The real kind, that is. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to tell the real story of love and to let you know that it exists. Fairytales don’t exist but that deep, abiding, faithful, passionate love does. I’ve seen it. I have it. I’ve lost it and won it back. My fans tell me about it all the time. It’s real, ya heard me?!

I’ve met more people than most. It’s just part of the job. I’m not always in the mood to meet new people but I do always enjoy it. In general, most people are good, even some of the bad ones. I’ve met and befriended folks from all walks and cultures, and we really are all very similarly awkward. It’s mostly because we all want to be loved. Love is our highest function. It’s what we are designed for, chiefly. This is all just my opinion, mind you, but it’s an opinion based on years of careful observation. Why I am here isn’t much different from why we are here, either. Sounds kinda sappy but I believe it’s true. Like Maze said, “Love is the key.”

Touring the world has been the best education of my life. Getting the chance to become just another person on the streets of Paris, Berlin, Zurich, New York, Tokyo, and so many more, gave me perspective I could not have received otherwise. To get to be the “other,” or the “outsider” that no one sees and then to be thrust into the spotlight is to witness two extremes of human experience: with and without external love. I’ve been so lonely as to feel a tenuous grasp on life itself, because, make no mistake, the absence of love is death. No love for oneself is the quickest way to the grave. Fortunately for me, there are lots of really wonderful people out there who don’t mind letting me know just how much I’m loved.

I’m forever grateful to them all.

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