The Unreal Perfectionist
Last night when I got home from work, I was inundated with Beyoncé news just like the rest of the world. At first, I thought about how the media turns anything into news and makes something small into a national scandal. What a waste of time, money, and air waves! I will say that I am a Beyoncé fan, still I was a bit disappointed in her decision.
After my initial thoughts about the music and pop culture anthem fiasco, I was left feeling rather sad for B. Frankly I could care less if the woman moves her lips to the music. The real story here is not that she faked the performance, but rather why she faked it. By now we all know the story is most likely true because a gazillion people have combed through her footage and photos looking for clues. Again an utter waste! If we look deeper than well trained lips, why did she really do it?
Humans are in a constant fight in the illusive quest for perfection. There is so much pressure not only for the rich and famous to be perfect, but even for us normal folks. Since “perfect” is basically an impossible goal, we are doomed to failure. Honestly I didn’t even care to research the excuses B would likely give for the facade. If her voice cracked, if her tongue had frost bite— it would have all been news right? So who really cares? Her performance would have been just as beautiful with any of the glitches.
It drives me nuts that we are slowly being consumed by plastic. Why do we need to have perfect voices, perfect bodies, perfect hair, perfect partners, perfect friends, perfect jobs, and perfect lives? Is there no one out there who still believes that flaws, scars, tears, and mistakes can be beautiful? Imperfection should not be a crutch. It is just a confirmation of the human condition. Until we can accept that we will never be perfect no matter how hard we try, we will never find true happiness.
I do feel rather sad for Beyoncé. Who cares what people think? No one will stop buying her music. No one will stop thinking she is beautiful on the outside. I wonder if the perfectionist is really happy though? Does she have inner beauty? She is such a lovely woman. If only she could see that. In the end, her quest for perfectionism could crucify her happiness. B will risk becoming yet another needless casualty in a world of plastic.
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January 23, 2013 at 11:26 PM
Felicia, what a fabulous and inspiring post! Should definitely be an op-ed piece in a national newspaper. Thank you for your amazing insights and perceptions of life!
February 25, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Susan–
Thanks for your comment about an op-ed piece in a national newspaper. I love that you thinks my insights and perceptions of life are worthy of national exposure in print. I am a former journalist- so that is very cool to hear! Hope you are well-
Felicia
January 23, 2013 at 11:39 PM
Understanding the research thing, Accuweather explains pretty while why she lip-synced.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/performing-in-cold-weather-doe/4715960
Truth is, cold weather constricts the throat (to include the larynx), which reduces the ability to sing. It’s common for singers to prerecord their songs and lip-sync if they have Winter performances (outdoors). Jennifer Lopez acknowledged this on the Daily Show last night. Also, I believe it is much more common for people to actually lose their voices in the Winter season precisely because of this reason. Also, even in concerts where the weather is perfect, or otherwise indoors, there’s lip-syncing. Why? Because of acoustics and distortion of sound and feedback and all that jazz. It’s not viable for an artist to sing all the time because of the technical issues as well as the stress on the larynx (I learned that when I was rapping. It was a winter time that I lost my voice, at the show I was performing at, and couldn’t perform anymore because I had no prerecorded tracks, just the instrumentals with the choruses overlaid. The other rappers came prepared).
We may as well just call the media what they are ,which is stupid, because a cursory search from any of their staff on Google could have gotten them an actual scientific basis for why singers do this, as well as proof of the commonality of it. Beyonce has proven herself to be an effective vocalist; the media, however, has proven itself to be growing increasingly lazy and stupid.
You are right, though. This society has a very concerning issue with this fallacious idea of perfection.
January 24, 2013 at 5:09 AM
Very interesting Sahm. I would almost buy that if other artists didn’t perform in all their “realness” that day. I love me some B, but she wasn’t the only performer that day. I guess in all respect to her, she may have done a gazillion performances before that one and may have just had a tired ass larynx? Hum?
On another note… I gotta hear some of your songs. Where are all the goods?
January 23, 2013 at 11:39 PM
The cold weather thing doesn’t explain Milly Vanilly, though. They never could sing.
January 24, 2013 at 5:11 AM
LoL,LoL,LoL— now that was funny. I must confess… I did LOVE me some Milly Vanilly back in the day. I didn’t even care they weren’t singin’
January 24, 2013 at 5:19 AM
Oh and PS. I forgot to add that I have done some singing back in the day as well. Me and two of my friends were the official National Anthem singers at games. Also did some singing at the casino in my hometown, so I had a decent larynx once