[series] Fifteen for Thirty - Part Seven

[saikou]

07. "B'Day" by Beyonce

I don't know if anyone's going to be shocked that this album is on here. Beyonce has had a special place in my heart ever since the first time I laid eyes on her in the 1999 Destiny's Child music video for "Bug-a-Boo". It also helped that she was the stand-out performer of the group and, by 2002, my favorite lady in American music.

If you know of Beyonce and know she's good, but don't really know Beyonce the performer or Beyonce the personality, you are sincerely missing out. Beyonce is the closest Western approximation I can find to the style, heart, and love for life that Ayumi Hamasaki has. That's how much I love her - you know I hold few, if any, artists in the same esteem as Ayumi when it comes to pure humanity and kindness.

I truly believe Beyonce loves her fans, and I truly believe Beyonce loves what she does. Yes, she's gorgeous, and yes she's talented. But she brings it all together in a package that really does merit the legend status.

"B'Day" is her finest album for me. From start to finish it is a classic, something I can and do tend to listen to over and over without skipping to the next track. The USA CD release included only 10 tracks, but the iTunes International Deluxe version includes 19 tracks. It's remarkable that almost every track really does belong on the album. I couldn't imagine it without songs like "Check on It", "Beautiful Liar", or "Flaws and All", and that's just to name three.

Not only that, "B'Day" has one of the most exciting visual canons of this whole list. I just can't wait to write this; obviously I'm not going to be sharing my musical criticism of the lyrical depth of social commentary in this album. This is just... pure... fun.

First of all, as a change of pace, I'd like to open with a criticism. This album's track ordering is wack with a capital W. Why "Get Me Bodied" doesn't lead off this album is unfathomable. I mean, take a look at this video, listen to this song, and tell me it isn't meant to be a lead track. It's not, it's track 9 on the International Edition. Okay, then.

I love all the Fosse influence in this video, not to mention the incredible extended dance showcase at the end which is all part of the song. What a relentless, awesome tune.

When talking about "B'Day", I mention the songs and the videos in the same breath. And it's really hard for me to pick my favorite video of the bunch. But "Upgrade U" is probably it, if just for Bey's Jay-Z crossplay throughout most of the video.

I love also that Bey uses male backup dancers most of the time, especially in this song. The swagger in the choreography is off the hook.

Luckily, both things are on display (the video is in the background on the jumbo screen) in the performance from "The Beyonce Experience", which is in my top 5 concert DVDs ever, right there with Ayumi's Arena Tour 05 and HAARP. Legit.

Oh and ALSO. Beyonce is an incredible live performer. Who else can sing that well in heels while dancing like a beast? NOT MANY, PLAYA. But it's not just about the quality of the singing - Bey also brings it with true personality in her shows. I'm blown away by the way she fills up a stage with charisma. And when you get Beyonce and Jat-Z together onstage, it takes it to supersonic levels.

Hey, how about 1970's-style funk? WHY NOT. Mother-fucking "Suga Mama" - featuring Beyonce's all-female studio and tour band... named Suga Mama. LOL.

I love how Beyonce works the pole in this video, making the moves look truly sexy and almost improvised. Not only that, she does so in trousers and suspenders. I mean GOD.

Well, this being a Beyonce album, there's bound to be the one song that every drag queen in the country performs with gleeful abandon. That song for "B'Day" is "Freakum Dress" (read: Fuck Him Dress, if you're unaware)

Bey's weave is TREMENDOUS in this video. In fact I think this video is "starring Beyonce's evening weave". Shiiiit girl get it.

In addition to the above songs there are also such dancefloor gems as "Kitty Kat", "Greenlight", and "Deja Vu". Gotta love "Deja Vu", for all its old school beats and Jay-Z influence.

It also has "Check On It". Personally I dislike the official video for "Check On It". But I love it when Beyonce takes it straight back to the hood for The Beyonce Experience (seriously, watch this. It's short but it's hypnotic):

THAT'S A FUCKING PERFORMER.

I know that earlier I said "Upgrade U" was probably my favorite video from this album, but I used the world PROBABLY because two other videos give it a very close run for its money... for entirely different reasons.

The first is a thorough departure from the rest of the album. It's the heart and soul of "B'Day", and it's such a gorgeous song that it really came to be my theme song for my favorite brand of beautiful romance... true romance, true love. That is "Flaws and All", and Beyonce looks absolutely ethereal (empahsis on the "real") in this clip:

...what flaws?

I just love this song, regardless, for everything it is. The vocals are on point, and the melody is gorgeous. Shame it isn't on the official US release :|

The other video in the top 3 favorites from "B'Day" is "Ring the Alarm". Sadly, this video is nearly impossible to find on YouTube. In fact, I couldn't find it, period. Just remixes. Even on Bey's VEVO channel I couldn't find it. Weird. Anyway, the video features Beyonce being a completely fierce bitch, which I always appreciate.

Her fashion sense is so on-point. With "I am... Sasha Fierce", Bey adopted a black and white, old Hollywood style inspired and developed by designer Thierry Mugler. Then again, "I am... Sasha Fierce" was the height of Bey'd branding machine. "B'Day" exhibits a more multi-faceted Beyonce. I mentioned it at the beginning of the entry and I'm going to mention it again here, but it's all about FUN with this one.

She is simply... amazing to me. Such an inspiration, such a star.