Beyoncé gets ‘Fierce’

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Nov 21, 2008

Beyoncé doesn’t wear make-up. Sasha Fierce, on the other hand, lines her eyes in black Sharpie. Beyoncé’s lips are naturally plump, but Sasha Fierce has seemingly paid for a few collagen injections. Beyoncé puts her hair in a simple ponytail, while Sasha Fierce lets her locks flow wildly.

If the last name of Beyoncé’s alter ego doesn’t tip off listeners to what she’s going for with her latest record and assumed persona, nothing will. With “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” we find this freshly married diva offering inspired performances as evidence of a push to new creative heights.

Lead track and first singles “If I Were a Boy” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” showcase her flawless vocal abilities and highlight the border between the singer as we know her and our new friend Sasha (the divide is also emphasized by the fact that Beyoncé has separated her album into two discs).

The focus of “Boy” is solely on her pipes. With a simple backing track and minimal production, Beyoncé conveys a heartfelt message about switching roles in a couple.

“If I were a boy/I think I could understand/How it feels to love a girl/I swear I’d be a better man,” she sings through the narrator’s torment.

If she were a boy, she’d understand how to treat a lady. But the “him” in her life, he’s just a boy, so he doesn’t. She could win another Grammy for breaking down the problems with the male-female couple relationship like this.

Coupled with “Boy” is “Single Ladies,” another of Beyoncé’s female empowerment anthems. Sasha tells them “If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it/Don’t be mad once you see that he want it.”

The song is simple and fun, fit for dancing and just what people expect from Ms. Knowles. It’s more upbeat and likable than old Destiny’s Child club favorites like “Jumpin’ Jumpin,” but has the same effect on the booty.

The Beyoncé half of the album continues with the layered ballad “Disappear.” The artist has said the song reminds her of the Beatles, and she’s right — psychedelic, “Lucy-in-the-Sky-with-Diamonds” organs pervade the verse along with her sweet harmonies.

It’s a mystery as to why the real Beyoncé only sings slow songs about heartache and being lost in the world and leaves the party to Sasha Fierce. “Ave Maria” and “Satellites,” the last two songs for this side, are unsurprising but not disappointing.

The second half of the record continues with “Radio.” Sasha Fierce is on speed, pronouncing her “ohs” as “ows” and tripping to bad European trance. Beyoncé raps poorly on “Diva” and declares that a “diva is a female version of a hustler.” Because if anyone’s running around peddling cocaine and prostitutes, it’s Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. Bad form, Beyoncé.

“Sweet Dreams” features some crunchy back synth beats and interesting transitions between verse and chorus. “Video Phone,” at least, doesn’t have any rapping. It’s like Beyoncé’s heard the phrases “ghetto fabulous” and “gangsta,” attempted to define them for herself, and then failed miserably in her uninformed interpretation.

Beyonce said that Sasha Fierce is “the party girl, she’s Bootylicious. She is but I’m not. She’s my alter-ego. I’m finally revealing who I am.”

But she may want to stick to what’s on her birth certificate when writing and recording her next album. Sasha Fierce may be the inspiration for her stage performance, but evoking her to write pop songs shouldn’t become the singer’s method of operation.

Source: Washington Blade

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