# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

# data[].attributes.body
Beyoncé is an extremely influential person. Her popularity is untouched. She’s able to drop off for 3 years and then comeback with a new album that only increases her fame. The love that she has for herself, kids and husband serves as an example for the younger generation and gives other people courage to be themselves. Without her, not only would music industry be completely different but as well as the entire world. Its hard to find someone who doesn't at least know one lyric or song by her.

# data[].attributes.body
Beyoncé’s career has inspired many across the world. The birth of Destiny's child had changed America in many different ways, it's because of their effect on pop culture that the name is so well known. She’s “broken” the internet several times with her album lemonade and the announcement of her twins being born. She’s caused memes to be created and has inspired people to spoof her music videos and outfits. Her opinion is one that is greatly weighed, if Beyonce doesn't like something it probably bad.

# data[].attributes.body
Destiny child’s impact on society is has been immense. They’ve redefined what the R&B genre is with their unique sound and powerful voices. The last source in this list is one of the more successful examples of how one of the groups members (Beyoncé) has changed people. Halle x Chloe have recently stepped onto the scene of the music industry and have gained some popularity. Their music is intricate and well made. They were encouraged by Beyonce to continue their work and to keep their sound.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
#Flawless. (Photo: Melissa Phillip, AP)

On April 23, Beyoncé gave us Lemonade, a living, breathing love letter to black women and a sweeping meditation on the emotional gauntlet we're so often expected to run in silence - the crosses we're expected to die on daily, the betrayal we're told to unflinchingly absorb, and the song of liberation we're expected to swallow.

Two weeks later, some are still thirsting for more from Lemonade - not for the sake of healing, but rather for the satisfaction of knowing the intimate details - and alleged infidelity - that go into such an aching piece of art.

And it's those people, says the singer's mother, who are missing the point.

"People make it all about the cheating and betrayal and, yes, that's a part of it because that is something you have to heal from," Tina Knowles-Lawson told ABC13 in Houston Sunday. "If you really listen to the poetry it is one of hope and redemption and hopefully that can be healing for people."

"It could be about anyone's marriage," Knowles-Lawson continued in reference to speculation that Lemonade is a retrospective look at Jay Z's infidelity. "I think that everybody at one time or another has been betrayed and lied to and it's about the pain and it's about the healing process and it's about how do you get past that and move on."

Broaching her own experiences with betrayal, Knowles-Lawson opened up about how her daughters helped her move on from their father, Mathew Knowles, whom she divorced in 2011 following infidelity. "I remember my first little pity party and I called them crying and you know, they all came," she shared. "We had a slumber party, we watched old movies all night and ate ice cream - it was very healing."

Knowles-Lawson has since learned to make lemonade of the lemons life has given her. She's now remarried to actor Richard Lawson and maintains that her family continues to give her strength. "My children are my rock," she said. "It's just been the best gift God could have given me."

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1T7bcGc

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Beyoncé's mom breaks down 'Lemonade' for those who missed the point

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Flawless. (Photo: Melissa Phillip, AP) On April 23, Beyoncé gave us Lemonade, a living, breathing love letter to black women and a sweeping meditation on the emotional gauntlet we're so often expected to run in silence - the crosses we're expected to die on daily, the betrayal we're told to unflinchingly absorb, and the song of liberation we're expected to swallow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jay Z's Tidal boasts Lemonade and Prince exclusives as competition (and sniping) intensify: "It's like 'Game of Thrones' for streaming.'"

There's a guiding business principle to the nearly 20-year-old career of global pop icon Beyoncé: Being the exception is the rule.

Certainly that was the case with her sixth solo album, Lemonade, which appeared as a Tidal exclusive on the night of Saturday, April 23, paired with a one-hour HBO special as a visual accompaniment (788,000 tuned in live, according to the network). In an unorthodox -- and somewhat unpredictable -- release, some 18 hours later Lemonade was available for purchase in the Tidal digital store for $17.99 (a package that includes the HBO special, which was directed by Jonas Akerlund, Mark Romanek and Kahlil Joseph, among others), and by early Monday, iTunes and Amazon also had the album (a physical version is due out May 6).

Call it a tiered rollout: methodical, tactical and, if not flawless, perfectly successful.
How Beyonce Addressed Cheating, Father Issues & Black Pride Prior to 'Lemonade'
Executives at Columbia Records -- Beyoncé's longtime home at Sony Music, with which she recently re-upped her commitment in an exclusive licensing partnership between the label and her company, Parkwood Entertainment -- were said to be "very happy with day one." Some 1.8 million tweets referenced the singer that day, but they were even happier with album sales, estimated to come in at more than 450,000 in the week ending April 28 (and likely 550,000-plus with track- and streaming-equivalent albums), say industry forecasters. It's the sort of success story "we all need," says a high-ranking source.

Perhaps none more so than Tidal, the streaming service Jay Z bought for $56 million. Beset early on by criticism of its artist-ownership model, executive overhaul and a series of tech mishaps, Tidal struggled to find its footing. But in the past four months, it has laid claim to two No. 1 albums ( Rihanna's Anti and Kanye West's The Life of Pablo), the 300-song digital catalog of Prince and now Lemonade, which Tidal will stream exclusively "in perpetuity," a rep tells Billboard.

In fact, what was called a misstep weeks ago, the stop-start of West's "living album," Pablo, can now be seen as a positive. Tidal showed a new nimbleness in the face of artistic whims -- needed even for Lemonade, which a week before its release was still being worked on, according to insiders. Pablo purportedly racked up 250 million global streams in its first 10 days (the album was released wide six weeks later).
Beyonce Kicks Off 'Formation World Tour' in Miami: Photos
Still, exclusives don't sit well with all streamers. Spotify global head of communications and public policy Jonathan Prince released a statement in the wake of Lemonade calling such deals "bad for artists and bad for fans." But Spotify's commanding market-share lead (30 million subscribers) enables it to take that stance.

Tidal's reliance on high-profile exclusives tripled its number of subscribers worldwide between September 2015 and March 2016 to 3 million, according to the company."The jury's out on the long-term effect of exclusives," says MusicWatch managing partner Russ Crupnick, who notes that while Tidal flew to No. 1 in the App Store, its usage among listeners is steady at 1 percent. "If I can get Lemonade a day later on iTunes, how exclusive is that? It's like knowing you can get the new Tesla at the Kia dealer."

Tidal's competitors aren't sitting idle. In March, Spotify raised $1 billion in convertible debt financing, upping its war chest to $2.5 billion. (Tidal has not disclosed funding.) Apple Music is growing fast, announcing on April 26 that it has added 2 million subscribers since February, reaching 13 million. (Apple also locked in a one-week exclusive for the new Drake album, Views From the 6, due April 29.)
Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Is a Revolutionary Work of Black Feminism
Future's manager, Anthony Saleh, who negotiated a deal with Apple that included the exclusive release of the rapper's Evol in February, says the current climate "is like Game of Thrones for streaming -- pick your poison ... [Yet], we're big on consumers being able to just get [the music]."
This article was originally published in the May 7 issue of Billboard.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Beyonce Shook Up the Music Industry (Again) With 'Lemonade'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There's a guiding business principle to the nearly 20-year-old career of global pop icon Beyoncé: Being the exception is the rule. Certainly that was the case with her sixth solo album, Lemonade, which appeared as a Tidal ­exclusive on the night of Saturday, April 23, paired with a one-hour HBO special as a visual ­accompaniment (788,000 tuned in live, according to the network).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"The woman that every woman aspires to be." That's how one of my university peers describes Beyoncé. And she speaks for many. Few musicians today have inspired a genuine cult of personality. But Beyoncé, the undisputed wearer of pop music's crown, has done just that. "All hail Queen Bey!" cry her horde of devoted fans, who call themselves the BeyHive, an apt name for the followers of a star who generates such deafening buzz. When she dropped her self-titled album out of the blue in December 2013, I witnessed the spectacle of 'Beyoncé syndrome' first hand. On a tense night during final exams, I watched in awe as my fellow students set aside term papers and study guides to get drunk - 'drunk in love', that is. Students swarmed to every computer in the library to watch Beyoncé gyrate across a beach and profess her love for her megastar husband Jay-Z. As an outside observer, I marveled at the new video album's infectious effect and wondered about its cause. What makes Beyoncé so gripping? Why is her voice - in song, speech, and even silence - so resonant for so many, especially millennials?

Beyoncé is a true Renaissance woman: a musician, a business mogul, a feminist, a mother, and a brand whose cultural gravity seems to emanate not from any one of these talents but from all of them in concert.
The music comes first
Since her early days with girl-group Destiny's Child, Beyoncé's music has been the object of near universal acclaim. It's a testament to her artistry that fellow pop giant Kanye West has been willing to sacrifice his public image on Queen Bey's altar twice: first by upstaging Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to protest about Beyoncé's Single Ladies video failing to win an award and then again this February at the Grammy Awards to rant when she lost album of the year to Beck. It's hard to disagree with him, especially on the latter count: Beyoncé's self-titled album not only proved innovative musically, it rewrote the business model of the industry. Released directly to iTunes in the dead of night without any warning, yet alone promotion, it broke all the rules. Pitchfork has since declared it to be among the top 15 greatest albums of the decade thus far.

But Beyoncé's musical gifts extend far beyond the recording studio - she has recently embarked on her fifth world tour, adding to a performance resumé that already boasted two US presidential inaugurations and the halftime show at the Super Bowl. The music may be the foundation of the Beyoncé phenomenon, but it's also merely the starting point.
The business behind the art

In an American corporate world disproportionately governed by men, Beyoncé distinguishes herself as the founder and CEO of her own record label and production company, Parkwood Entertainment. According to Forbes, her personal earnings more than double those of her husband. He is a shrewd entrepreneur in his own right who famously declared himself "not a businessman but a business, man." Beyoncé's self-titled album sold a staggering 617,000 copies in three days following its release, doing Kanye West the poetic justice of swiping an iTunes Store sales week record from Taylor Swift. That number is an almost unfathomable feat for a $16 (£10) record dropped at a time when the digital single is supposed to have supplanted the album in importance.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been dubbed the Barack and Michelle Obama of pop culture - but unlike the US president and his wife, they have no limit on their term. The scope of their power and influence was on display in December at the Barclays Center, where Prince William and Kate Middleton came to see the Brooklyn Nets, of which Jay-Z is a partial owner. To the tune of God Save the Queen, the royal couples met courtside.
A new feminist icon
In 2014 Forbes declared Beyoncé to be the world's most powerful celebrity, and she has leveraged her global brand in support of gender equality through her influential charity, the #BeyGood Project. Her hit single Flawless samples from a TEDx Talk called We Should All Be Feminists by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Beyoncé belts the anthem's first verse and then cedes the floor to Adichie, who relays the definition of a 'feminist' as "the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes".

This has been strong a theme in her recent work. On International Women's Day last month, her #BeyGood charity organisation teamed up with the Clinton Foundation to remind us of a harsh reality: "Despite progress over the last several decades, women and girls remain the majority of the world's unhealthy, unfed and unpaid." Queen B's Instagram features a homage to fellow cultural icon Rosie the Riveter. Her performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, which framed her silhouette against a backdrop of capital letters spelling 'FEMINIST' provoked celebratory tweets from other prominent feminists, such as Maria Shriver and Jessica Valenti.
Domestic goddess

Part of Queen Bey's allure comes from the public image she projects of her private intimacy with her husband and daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. The fine line she navigates between hyper-sexual pop star and family life has attracted no shortage of attention. She has drawn the ire of some in the US conservative movement who accuse her of being a libertine, TV host Jon Stewart recently rebuked former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for his finger wagging at her music's exploration of marriage's sexual dimension in songs such as Drunk in Love. But you could also argue she has reimagined the traditional constraints on women in their roles as mothers and wives.

The Drunk in Love portrait of her marriage to Jay-Z is an example of the fresh thinking that makes Beyoncé so seductive: she has refashioned marital commitment in fun and sexy terms, giving marriage a new face at once enviable and unfamiliar. "She's somehow relatable and untouchable at the same time," as Entertainment Weekly's Melissa Maerz told me.
Greater than the sum...
"She's the fantasy woman for a generation that's obsessed with having it all," says Maerz. The central value that Beyoncé represents - across her art, entrepreneurship, activism, and family devotion - is boundless potential, a message particularly appealing to millennials. What can't she do? Maybe there have been better albums released in recent years, people who have made more money, feminists more ardent and consistent and mothers whose sacrifice was greater. But can anyone else approach Beyoncé's breadth across all of these realms? She's the total package, a Renaissance woman with a cult so vast and devout it's inescapable - but hardly unjustified.
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The woman that every woman aspires to be." That's how one of my university peers describes Beyoncé. And she speaks for many. Few musicians today have inspired a genuine cult of personality. But Beyoncé, the undisputed wearer of pop music's crown, has done just that. "All hail Queen Bey!"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If music and pop c ulture entertainment domination was the conclusive test, then "ALL HAIL QUEEN B!" Beyoncé Knowles, at only thirty-five years old, has claimed the number one spot in the female music industry and is one of the most talented stars of her generation. She has not only proven her brilliance as a female music artist above all other generations, but she has also established herself as an icon of feminist empowerment. Music, through the use of music artists and singers, has always been a significant platform of influence for the evolution and creation of societies, cultures, and generations throughout the history of pop culture. Pop stars and musicians, such as Beyoncé, often use their celebrity status to spread social and political messages that can change accepted societal ideology and impact mass cultural audiences ( PopStarFeminist). Over the years, female pop stars have been known to play major roles as influencers, especially for young women, according to their generation.(QueenBFlawless). Not only has Beyoncé evolved into a millennial female pop star icon, but she has also earned the title as pop culture's most influential celebrity and face of modern-day feminism. This essay will analyze Beyoncé, as an essential signifier to the pop cultural significance of feministic ideology, and will lead to a better understanding of modern feminism as a newly created culture in our 21 st century society.
The History of Feminism: Feminism Comes in Waves
In order to fully understand the cultural significance of Beyoncé's effect on the millennial young women of the 21 st century, we must analyze the ideology of feminism and its societal evolution throughout the years. Understanding how feminism came to be is key to understanding how it has been received by diverse groups of women throughout history and where it is in society, today. Feminists generally divide the history of feminism as a social movement into three different periods. In historical context, Feminism has been studied a nd defined to come in "waves." Just like a literal wave, as one wave moves out another comes in but still retains much of the structure of the original wave. As such, feminist movements are characterized as first, second and third waves respectively, with recent discussions happening regarding the creation of a fourth wave in our society of 21 st century millennia's. In historical context, the analogy of waves which define the cultural shift of feminism also act as a perfect illustration for the generations of women who make it up. In order to decipher the cultural significance of modern feminism, as the newly created fourth wave, we must understand the first three waves that came before and the historical impact that had on pop culture of past generations. The four "waves" model of the evolution has been used as a shorthand structuring device to organize feminist history and to track the "progress" of feminist interventions into social, political, and economic change for women ( Feminist Theory and Pop Culture).
The History of Feminism: The First Wave of Feminism
In the early 18th to 19th century, female emancipation emerged out of an environment of urban industrialism and liberal, socialist politics. This period in history is referred to as the first wave of feminism ( Rosanne). The goal of the first wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The first wave feminists were a diverse group in both their background and goals, but many of their efforts focused primarily on enfranchisement, women's legal inequalities to men, and getting women the right to vote. For some women in the movement, this was because they wished to pursue social reform goals that were not necessarily connected to gender. Other women of the first wave had more radical goals, including sexual freedom and expanding the roles of middle-class women in the workplace ( Questioning Gender). The first wave is significantly known in history as a "political movement" for feminism in society ( Bustle).

Janis Joplin was a woman in a "male dominated, sexist culture," who, in an industry where women relied heavily on male producers, developed herself as an artist and historical feminist first wave figure of pop culture significance. Janis Joplin is considered not only not be among the greatest women rock artists, but a strong contender as one of the greatest rock artists in history, regardless of her gender. She is a first wave signifier, remembered as "the sixties' most liberated chick." Time refers to her as "the most powerful singer to emerge from the white rock movement," Rolling Stone calls her "one of the biggest female rock stars of her time," and Vogue dubs her "the most staggering leading woman in rock" ( Sweet Scars of Paradise). Janis Joplin holds her place as a revolutionary of women's role in popular music by establishing herself as an equal to, or even superior to her male peers, both in her musical performance, and in her liberated sexuality; her influence extended through her music into the suburbs of America to challenge preconceived notions of womanhood ( Janis Joplin).
The History of Feminism: The Second Wave of Feminism
The second wave of feminism began in the 1960s and continued through the 1980's. This period is described feminism and broadened the discussion to include workplace safety, pay equality, reproductive rights, domestic abuse, rape and set new expectations for the moral compass of our gender relations ( Four Waves of Feminism). The second wave is considered the "social movement" for feminism, as this particular period encompassed issues of injustice around such social inequalities ( Bustle).

Helen Reddy, a social justice activist, life-long feminist, and celebrity singer know as the "queen of housewife pop," was the world's top-selling female vocalist in 1973 and 1974. She is known throughout the history of music and pop culture as the celebrated woman who wrote and sang the unofficial anthem of second wave feminism ( Rolling Stones). Reddy's anthem "I Am Woman" is still considered a well-known feminist anthem as it directly and forcefully addresses issues of feminism, women's rights, and gender equality. The song was revolutionary and considered a rallying cry for early second-wave feminists who were just opening their eyes to the ghastly state of women's rights and beginning to fight for their equal place in society. Starting with the lines "I am woman, hear me roar / In numbers too big to ignore", I Am Woman was a masterly achievement. The central idea of Reddy's song, not only changed second wave history, but also painted a picture of the quintessential second wave feminist as the long-oppressed woman burning with aggression, undaunted by the threat of pain and struggle, ready to fight and roar the truth of women's equality to society( TheGaurdian ). Second wave feminists, such as Helen Reddy, sought to create new, more fully human and positive images of women in both pop culture and the media to fight the negative images and messages so commonly in circulation. Reddy's ideas of feminism, which were portrayed in her music, allowed pop culture to create the new generation of second wave feminism, which was defined in adherence to the principles espoused within her music. Helen Reddy's contribution, as a significant influencer of music in pop culture, is what makes her a second wave signifier to the evolution of feministic ideology throughout history.
The History of Feminism: The Third Wave of Feminism
Emerging around the 1980's and into the 1990's, third-wave feminism encompassed a diverse range of theories and orientations among both activists and academic scholars. This wave of feminism was all about including all races, ethnicities, classes, sexual identities while attempting to resolve previous issues that resulted from first and second waves of historical feminism. Third-wave feminism never found a cohesive structure because it was very deconstructionist in nature ( Questioning Gender). According to Women, Music, and Culture, the third wave emphasized that there were many ways a feminist could live, and that individual choice was paramount. Every woman could redefine feminism in her own way. This particular wave is historically known as the "individual movement" of feminism. The third wave made way for much more heterogeneous ideas on feminism, known as intersectionality. Intersectionality is the idea that identities are made up of different interrelated aspects. Feminism was no longer a uniformity that only applied to one identity; race, sexuality, class, etc, were all facets that tied an individual identity together. This was studied so that injustices were to be understood and fought on multidimensional level ( Rosanne). Third wave feminists, ultimately, wanted to create a society that accepted the idea that women should be able to be themselves and do what they want, without gender stereotypes holding them back.

Third wave's use of feminist activism in pop culture was particularly evident in much of the music in the early to mid 1990s, especially with the Riot Grrrl movement. The Riot Grrrl music scene was a grouping of bands which started in the Washington D.C. area in the early 1990s as a way for young women to participate in the male-dominated punk rock scene in the music industry. A powerful women fronted band, Bikini Kill, was a historical third wave signifier of the made music during the Riot Grrrl movement that intended to address misogyny, sexual violence, and racism to a certain degree. It was a time of empowerment, of "girls to the front," and of a loud and in your face attitude. This punk band Bikini Kill published the "Riot Grrrl Manifesto" which began a radical feminist musical genre that took off around the world, calling out for the empowerment of women's voices and taking up the issues of violence against women and homophobia ( Bikini Kill). The "Riot Grrrl" title was conceptualized as a way to "reclaim the validity and power of youth with an added growl to replace the perceived passitivity of 'girl'" ( Sense Publisher). In historical context, Bikini Kill, is a significant signifier not only of third wave feminism, but also for the larger encompassing system of the feminism as an idea, that would not only evolve in popular culture, but also have a culturally-shifting impact on society, according to generation.
The Fourth Wave of Modern Feminism
The Fourth Wave of feminism brings us into the 21st century, as tech-savvy and gender-literate young feminists constitute the budding of the fourth wave. According to the The Beyoncé Effect, the most agreed upon aspect of the fourth wave of feminism is the use of technology and digital culture. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs are just a few of the ways contemporary feminism has taken to the internet. Activism and feminist theory present itself in the form of social media that is dedicated to addressing female gender representation in media.

One of the foundational issues of modern feminism argues that imagery in media and popular culture often degrades and objectifies women, creating unrealistic social expectations which can hurt relationships between men and women, limit women's relationships with one another, and even distort women's relationships to their own bodies. The fourth wave's deployment of social media, as the modern and future platform of feminist activism, has created a digitally-driven culture for feminist's in today's millennial society ( Baum Gardner). The new generation of women in the fourth wave are finding the idea of modern feminism in pop culture to often be reflected in celebrities or women of powerful influence whom are seen as prominent figures in the media.
"The Bey Effect" - Beyoncé's Brand of Feminism
By standing in front of a massive sign reading "Feminist" while performing at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, Beyoncé gained the praise of many millennial feminists. According to USA Today, in an image-driven culture where the six second sound bite rules and meme's are more popular than books, the image of Beyoncé declaring her feminism to the world was considered iconic.

Beyoncé's confounding mainstream persona, as one of the most powerful influencers in America, is a major key to the entertainer's success. The success of her "flawless" public image, as an exemplar of female empowerment, has allowed her to have a significantly powerful impact on the millennia's of the 21 st generation. Many mainstream feminists of today's society seem to think Beyoncé, often referred to as Queen B, to be the face of the fourth wave and ultimate cultural signifier of modern day feminism. As an individual signifier of such beknownst female power, she is a central component to the evolution and cultural shift of today's modern idea of feminism. Her influence has contributed to the modern-day change in values, overall meaning, and created a newly constructed culture for modern-day female empowerment.

Beyoncé denotes a modern-day American woman, mother, pop star and one of the most influential female celebrity's in today's music industry. Connoted, as the millennial face and icon of modern feminism, her influence and public image in society has decoded the ideology of feminism in all political, cultural, and social dimensions of the 21 st century. Through actively promoting women's empowerment through her songs, videos, interviews, and performances, Beyoncé has made feminism an explicit part of her retrospective public image ( Rosanne). She has shown us that modern feminism, is a social behavior that can also be seen as political in the sense that it reflects such interests and values of a modern subjective group, known as "feminists," whom express certain values and opinions of female empowerment. Beyoncé, an activist and icon of the subjective group of modern-day feminists, is an ultimate contributor to the meaning and pop cultural significance of the systematic ideology of modern feminism in today's society. It can also be interpreted to show that society has changed in ways where, even a pop star with an apolitical facade, such as Beyoncé, can be a representation of political values that guide the social behavior of feminism in a society. This goes to show that society has conformed in which a way that often cultural, social, and political values are often concealed behind such images that do not look political at all.
Feminism as a New Millennial Culture
Situating historically iconic signifiers such as Janis Joplin, Helen Reddy, Bikini Kill, and Beyoncé within the system of related feministic phenomena, with which they can be associated and differentiated, is the essential formula for interpreting pop cultural signs of the ever-evolving system and ideology of feminism.

Each wave of feminism throughout history had similar intentions to empower women to see the importance of their gender and role in society. Since music becomes popular when enough people see something of their own identities in a song, political and issue-based music must find a way to re-open the eyes of the masses to this fact before they can re-enter what we commonly consider to be popular culture. All feminist ideas that were expressed at one time in music have become acceptable to society as such ideology has been repeated in enough songs.

While each period of feminism encouraged the similar phenomena-related concept of women's empowerment, individual signifiers of each specified wave differentiated the ideology and cultural impact of feminism throughout history. Janis Joplin's rock and roll of the first wave motivated the youth culture to resist arcane rules against sexuality. Helen Reddy's music of the second wave encouraged individuals to seek personal freedom. Bikini Kill, of the third wave, accompanied by musical styles of the "Riot Grrrl" movement lent itself to feminist and anti-government ideas, which motivated individuals to oppose power and fight for change. For better or for worse, the fourth wave of modern feminism has been created because of the media's portrayal of influential woman of power, celebrities, the Beyoncé's of pop culture. As feminism has filtered into modern mainstream consciousness, fourth wave millennials have come of age in a time when feminist ideology is absorbed by pop culture in a way that makes Beyonce's lyrics almost indistinguishable from the writings of Simone de Beauvoir ( Feminist Theory and Pop Culture).

As we now know, the ideology of feminism in society has had a long history. The cultural phenomenon of feminism, which is made up of many overdetermined cultural signs, historical changes, and cultural shifts in such ideology, has lead to the creation of modern feminism as an even larger enveloping system. Modern feminism is the wave where feminist ideas are the great recurring theme in music and media. Thanks to the influence of modern feminist pop stars, popular culture has created a defining feminist generation according to adherence to the principles espoused in the music of such influential feminist celebrities like Beyoncé.
CONCULSION:
Beyoncé Knowles, is not only a signifier of fourth wave feminism, but also for the system of feminism as an idea. Feminism, with it's overall evolution in popular culture and idealistic impact on society, according to generation, has lead to the construction and ultimate creation of the even larger encompassing system of 21 st century modern feminism. The evolution of feminism as an idea throughout history has made feminism such a widely popular phenomenon throughout society. As we have analyzed the cultural significance of feminism in pop culture, we can conclude a better interpretation and understanding for the broad cultural significance of modern feminism in today's millennial society. Beyoncé, as an important signifier within this system, has introduced modern feminism as the newest "wave" of feminism and cultural shift to take place in our social-media driven millennial society.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Beyoncé Effect: The Millienial Face of Modern Feminism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If music and pop culture entertainment domination was the conclusive test, then "ALL HAIL QUEEN B!" Beyoncé Knowles, at only thirty-five years old, has claimed the number one spot in the female music industry and is one of the most talented stars of her generation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
See the Far-reaching Impact of Beyoncé's Lemonade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How Beyonce's Lemonade influenced higher education, businesses, and emoji.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sam was caught on camera singing 'Drunk In Love' in the shower (we've all been there babes), and he even credited Queen Bey with helping him to lose weight too. Proof Yonce is just as good #BodyGoals as she is #CareerGoals for the stars. Picture: PA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Share to email

Share to facebook

Share to twitter

Share to linkedin

Share to google

Adrienne Samuels Gibbs covers TV, music and film. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Not only did Beyoncé's Coachella 2018 performance make history and shake pop culture, it also sold a ton of music. In particular, that snazzy Destiny's Child reunion where Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams harmonized with Bey to sing "Soldier," "Lose My Breath" and "Say My Name," ushered in a major bump in digital sales.

According to Nielsen, after the performance ended, digital song sales for Destiny's Child hits soared some 767% on Sunday, April 15, not even 24 hours after the group collectively wowed the crowd. The trio is marking the 20th anniversary of the chart-topping girl's group, and the sudden uptick in downloads means the ladies have not lost relevancy even though they don't often perform live together. As for Bey, though it's hard to fathom that there are some people out there who don't already own her music, she still managed to sell yet more of it. Digital song sales for Beyoncé's catalog saw a 228% increase compared to a baseline established prior to Coachella.

Beyonce, with 7,000 units sold, overall moved more units because her baseline is larger than that of Destiny's Child, which moved around 1,200 units, according to Nielsen.

Of all that music, the song "Hold Up" was the top-selling track for Beyoncé' with a sales spike of 287%.

Popular live concert performances or live television performances typically lead to a short-term increase in music streams and sales. For example at this year's Grammys, six-time winner Bruno Mars, whose wins included Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year, saw sales for album 24K Magic increase 157% versus the prior day. "That's What I Like," which took home the Grammy for Song of the Year, saw an 186% increase in sales, which translates into close to 2,000 units. And going back a few years, after Tupac's hologram made a Coachella appearance in 2012, the late rapper's "Greatest Hits" actually returned to the Billboard 200. That was the result of a 571% increase in sales of the 1998 album compilation.

Approximately 125,000 attended Coachella in 2017. Last year's event was live-streamed on YouTube and garnered some 9 million viewers. This year's opening headliner, Beyoncé' (who was later joined on stage by her husband Jay-Z, and Rowland and Williams of Destiny's Child) could be seen on the live stream and on any number of personal Facebook pages or Instagram accounts of tens of thousands of people who attended the music festival's opening headlining act.

Adrienne Gibbs is a Chicago-based journalist. Follow her @adriennewrites on FB and Twitter.

Share to email

Share to facebook

Share to twitter

Share to linkedin

Share to google

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Beyoncé And Destiny's Child Sales Soar After Epic Coachella Performance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Share to email Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Share to google Adrienne Samuels Gibbs covers TV, music and film. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Not only did Beyoncé's Coachella 2018 performance make history and shake pop culture, it also sold a ton of music.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Who Is Beyoncé Knowles?

Born in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé Knowles first captured the public's eye as lead vocalist of the R&B group Destiny's Child. She later established a solo career with her debut album Dangerously in Love, becoming one of music's top-selling artists with sold-out tours and a slew of awards. Knowles has also starred in several films, including Dream Girls. She married hip-hop recording artist Jay-Z in 2008. In late 2013, she surprised audiences by releasing her fifth studio album, self-titled Beyoncé, and has twice performed at the Super Bowl. In April 2016, she released her sixth studio album, Lemonade, after the airing of an HBO special.

Thanks for watching! Visit Website

Early Life

Singer and actress Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas. She started singing at an early age, competing in local talent shows and winning many of these events by impressing audiences with her singing and dancing abilities.

Thanks for watching! Visit Website

Thanks for watching! Visit Website

Destiny's Child

Teaming up with her cousin, Kelly Rowland, and two classmates, Beyoncé formed an all-female singing group. Her father, Matthew Knowles, served as the band's manager. The group went through some name and line-up changes before landing a record deal in 1997 with Columbia Records. Destiny's Child soon became one of the most popular R&B acts, with the release of their first, self-titled album. Gaining momentum, the group scored its first No. 1 single on the pop charts with "Bills, Bills, Bills," off their second album. The recording also featured another smash hit, "Say My Name."

While enjoying her group's success, Beyoncé began exploring other projects. She made her acting debut in 2001 with a starring role in MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera. She then co-starred with Mike Myers in the Austin Powers spy parody Goldmember the following year.

Solo Career

On the musical front, Beyoncé took center stage as a solo artist, releasing her first album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003. The recording became a huge success for her both commercially and critically. It sold millions of copies and won five Grammy Awards. On the album, Beyoncé worked with a number of different artists, including Missy Elliott, Sean Paul and Jay-Z. She was rumored to be dating Jay-Z around this time, but the couple did not publicly acknowledge their relationship.

Destiny's Child released their last studio album, Destiny Fulfilled, in 2004, and officially broke up the following year.

On her own, Beyoncé continued to enjoy great success. Her second studio album, 2006's B'Day featured such hits as "Irreplaceable" and "Deja Vu." On the big screen, she starred opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jaime Foxx and Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls. The film was adapted from the hit Broadway musical of the same name.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z

In 2008, Beyoncé married rapper and music mogul Jay-Z in a small, private ceremony in New York City. Among the guests sighted at the wedding were Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles; her father and manager, Matthew; her sister, Solange; Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams; and friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

The newlywed continued to work as hard as ever, promoting her latest effort, I am ... Sasha Fierce (2008). Beyoncé scored two big hits off the album-"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and "If I Were a Boy." She also returned to the big screen that year, starring as R&B legend Etta James in Cadillac Records. The following January, Beyoncé sang James' trademark song, "At Last," for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at his inaugural ball.

In addition to acting and performing, Beyoncé ran a clothing line called House of Dereon with her mother. She also launched her own fragrance, Heat, in 2010. Throughout her career, Beyoncé has served as a spokesperson and model for several other brands, including L'Oreal and Tommy Hilfiger.

Beyoncé found herself under fire after performing a private concert for Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi on New Year's Eve in 2010. She later donated her fee from the event to help victims of the Haitian earthquake. According to some reports, Beyoncé said that her father had been responsible for arranging the Libyan concert. She decided to drop her father as her manager in March 2011. Later that year, Beyoncé reached the top of the album charts with her latest solo release, 4.

In January 2013, Beyoncé generated some negative headlines for her performance at President Obama's second inauguration in Washington, D.C. She was criticized for reportedly pre-recording a version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and lip-syncing to her own track during the outdoor ceremony. Despite wide media coverage, in the days following the incident, Beyoncé did not publicly address the controversy.

Not long after, prior to her appearance at Super Bowl XLVII, Beyoncé performed the song live at a press conference. She explained to reporters that she had used a "backing track" at the inauguration, adding that she would "absolutely be singing live" at the NFL's biggest event of the year, according to The Huffington Post.

Indeed, Beyoncé more than redeemed herself in the public eye at the Super Bowl on February 3, 2013. During the event's halftime show, she took the stage and wowed the crowd, joined by her former Destiny's Child bandmates Rowland and Williams for parts of her performance. Beyoncé also announced that her next major tour would start in the spring of 2013.

Photo: Theo WargoGetty Images for TIDAL

Awards, Accolades and Surprise Album

At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Beyoncé walked away with six honors-the most wins in a single night by a female artist. Her record was matched two years later by pop/soul artist Adele. In 2010, she also tied the record for most No. 1 hits on Billboard's Pop Songs chart, which is based on radio airplay. In 2011, she made the Forbes Top 10 list of entertainment's highest-earning women. By 2013, Beyoncé had won 16 Grammys.

Beyoncé broke records once again on December 13, 2013, with her fifth studio album, self-titled Beyoncé. The album surprised fans and critics alike, as no promotion for the album had been announced prior to its release. The record, which Beyoncé called a "visual album," was released exclusively on iTunes, with physical discs available for purchase after December 18. The record-breaking album sold more than 800,000 copies throughout the weekend it was released alone.

The collection-which was the fastest-selling album ever distributed by iTunes-also marked Beyoncé's fifth studio album to debut at No. 1, making her the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her first five albums. She released the Platinum Edition of the album in 2014, and the following year won three additional Grammys, including a Best R&B Performance award for "Drunk in Love."

Second Super Bowl and 'Lemonade'

In February 2016, Beyoncé returned to the Super Bowl stage, once again earning raves for her performance. This time around she appeared with Bruno Mars and Chris Martin of the band Coldplay, highlighting her new single "Formation" and subsequently announcing a world tour. The tune, its video and accompanying halftime show also garnered a wave of attention for politicized lyrics and imagery touching on everything from black power to Hurricane Katrina.

Just two months later, HBO aired an hour-long Beyoncé conceptual film, Lemonade, which presented tracks from the album of the same name released immediately afterward. The cable special showcased the singer reeling from the romantic and sexual betrayal of her partner while acknowledging the strength found in communities of African-American women. Tennis star Serena Williams and young actress Quvenzhané Wallis also made appearances in the New Orleans-based project, which was helmed by a variety of directors and featured poetry from Warsan Shire.

Lemonade the album was only initially available via Tidal, the online streaming service backed by Beyoncé's spouse, Jay-Z, and then eventually became available on iTunes and Amazon with its accompanying film. Musical contributors to the project, which quickly garnered acclaim, included Jack White, The Weeknd, James Blake and Kendrick Lamar. Lemonade debuted at No. 1, making Beyoncé the only artist in history to have all of her first six studio albums reach the top of Billboard's album charts.

In February 2017, a pregnant Beyoncé delivered a surprise performance at the Grammys, singing songs from Lemonade amid a swirling spectacle of lights, holograms and backup dancers. Although she lost the coveted Album of the Year Grammy to Adele, she did take home two awards, for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video.

Known as "Queen Bey," the famed singer readied to take on the role of a different queen with the November 2017 announcement that she was headlining a remake of Disney's The Lion King. Scheduled for a 2019 release, the live action reboot of the 1994 animated hit will feature Beyoncé as Nala, the budding love interest of the titular character, to be played by Donald Glover.

Shortly afterward, it was revealed that Queen Bey also reigned as the highest-earning female musician of the year. According to Forbes, Beyoncé snagged $105 million in pretax income June 2016 through June 2017, a number that easily outpaced the earnings of fellow divas Adele ($69 million) and Taylor Swift ($44 million). Forbes attributed the windfall to the success of Lemonade and the singer's Formation World Tour, which grossed approximately $250 million.

2018 Tour and Coachella

In March 2018, reports surfaced that Beyoncé was working on new music and preparing to hit the road with Jay-Z. Following a false alarm in which a tour announcement appeared and quickly disappeared from her Facebook page, the power couple officially announced that the On the Run 2 Tour would kick off in Cardiff, Wales, on June 6.

One year after she canceled a planned appearance at Coachella because of her pregnancy, Beyoncé took the stage for an eagerly anticipated performance at the April 2018 music festival. The first black woman to headline the event, Beyoncé wowed attendees and critics alike with her top-shelf singing and choreography, delivering favorites like "Crazy In Love" and a rendition of the civil rights anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing." She was also joined during the two-hour set by hubby Jay-Z, sister Solange and her old Destiny's Child cohorts, Rowland and Williams.

One week later, Beyoncé delivered another highly acclaimed show at the festival. While the 27-song set and guest list remained nearly identical, the headliner shook things up with her costume changes, coming across as looser and more "off-the-cuff," according to Rolling Stone.

Beyoncé Children

Following years of pregnancy rumors, Beyoncé and Jay-Z went public with the news of their impending new arrival in 2011, the mom-to-be showing off her growing baby bump at the MTV Video Music Awards that August.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed a baby daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, on January 7, 2012. The couple spared no expense to maintain their privacy during this special time, renting out a floor of New York's Lenox Hill Hospital.

In February 2017, Beyoncé announced on Instagram that she and Jay-Z were expecting twins. Later, the iconic shot was revealed to be the year's most-liked Instagram post, with 11.1 million fans offering their approval.

They welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, in June 2017. Although the couple didn't immediately confirm the twins' birth or their names, People magazine reported that they had filed trademark documents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the names Sir and Rumi. In the early morning hours of July 14, Beyoncé made it official, posting a photo in which she's holding her one-month old twins.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Citation Information

Article Title

Beyoncé Knowles Biography

Author

Website Name

The Biography.com website

URL

Access Date

{{$root.currentTime | date:'MMMM d, yyyy'}}

Publisher

Last Updated

Original Published Date

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Born in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé Knowles first captured the public's eye as lead vocalist of the R&B group Destiny's Child. She later established a solo career with her debut album Dangerously in Love, becoming one of music's top-selling artists with sold-out tours and a slew of awards.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As someone who considers herself a total connoisseur of all things Destiny's Child, I'm always down to grab dinner and drinks to reminisce over every single detail from the pop group's heyday, back when a pre-Sasha Fierce Beyoncé was being groomed to run the world. That forever relevant conversation would then be followed by a marathon viewing session of some of Destiny's Child hottest music videos. After several winded, sweaty attempts at performing choreography from the "Lose My Breath" video, the discussion would inevitably segue into an important question: why the ladies of DC3 went their separate ways in 2005.

I mean, didn't they almost have it all? Even the late, great Whitney Houston told Destiny's Child to stay together, but did they listen? Obviously, they did not. (Because they're independent women, remember?) So that still leaves the question that thrives on conspiracy theories and the leftover tears of distraught DC3 fans who would still love to see the group reunite: Why did Destiny's Child break up?

Was it because they were finally too mature to be shaking their collective jelly on stage in a series of horribly coordinated outfits, even if they were hand-stitched by Beyoncé's mom? Nope, that couldn't be it, because they actually experimented with the grown and sexy look before the split. Clearly, there's more to this story than DC3 simply outgrowing their image.

So, here's where things get a little complicated. Technically, Destiny's Child didn't break up - they disbanded. Honestly, the phrase breaking up is way too harsh to describe what happened with DC3. Instead of dissing one another in a flurry of shady text messages, eye rolls and nasty cat fights, they simply decided that their destiny had been fulfilled and said as much in a heartfelt statement to their fans, which read in part, "After all these wonderful years working together, we realized that now is the time to pursue our personal goals and solo efforts in earnest. ... No matter what happens, we will always love each other as friends and sisters and will always support each other as artists."

Obviously, some people choose to go with less warm and fuzzy versions of DC3's not-really-a-breakup breakup. One popular theory was that Beyoncé's successful solo career brought about the group's demise, but you should seriously reconsider saying that to a Beyoncé fan because - just don't.

Besides, the ladies' statement sounds so much sweeter than the "Nice knowin' ya, bye!" sentiment implied by referring to their professional parting of the ways as "breaking up." In other (nicer) words, it was the perfect time for each of the ladies to embrace their transition into more mature territory, personally and professionally. Nothing more, nothing less.
Images: DestinysChildVEVO/YouTube; Giphy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As someone who considers herself a total connoisseur of all things Destiny's Child, I'm always down to grab dinner and drinks to reminisce over every single detail from the pop group's heyday, back when a pre-Sasha Fierce Beyoncé was being groomed to...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exclusive  Destinys Child Interview filmed in Leipzig, Germany

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A lot of things have happened in the last ten years. We started owning phones that might explode at any moment, London was bought by Foxtons and transformed into a phallic skyline of wealth, and emojis overtook words as our preferred mode of communication. Most importantly, though, we've had to get used to a life without Destiny's Child (prayer hands emoji), the American R&B girl band that ruled the late 90s and early 00s, shaping the music that now dominates our Soundcloud choices (or mine, at least).

What was once the soundtrack of a shared youth has now become a major influence on what that same generation is singing, rapping and dancing about. Without a hint of rose tint, Destiny's Child legitimately transformed the sound of R&B forever, especially in the years following their disbandment, when the Tumblr-hungry generation devoured the every move, style and sound of Beyoncé, Kelly, Michelle, LaTavia, LeToya and Farrah.

It's now been ten years since Kelly Rowland announced the group's split on stage at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, before the band confirmed the news in an exclusive statement to MTV. To mark this time-stopping occasion, we've pinpointed the ways that Destiny's Child changed the game, and why their distinct influence can be found peppered all over today's pop landscape, from Tinashe to Ariana Grande.
THEY PIONEERED YOUR FAVOURITE DOUBLE-TIME VOCAL STYLE
" Question: Tell me what you think about me, I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings." That line from the Charlie's Angels mega hit " Independent Women" can only be sung in one way: a smooth, in-and-out double-time that we have come to associate with the late 90s and early 00s. It's a style that still dominates the airwaves: crank up Tinashe's Aquarius to 100, and you can hear the exact same intonation on lines like " I'm-a blow your mind, take it out on the floor like that" in " All Hands on Deck" or the half-sung, half-rapped flow (" If we pretend that I'm happy when I'm really not, pretend that I give you everything I got") on " Pretend" featuring A$AP Rocky.

Jon Pareles described this vocal style in The New York Times following the band's split. "The sound that defines Destiny's Child is the way its melodies jump in and out of double-time," he wrote. "Above brittle, syncopated rhythm tracks, quickly articulated verses alternate with smoother choruses."

Parales speculated that the trick was introduced to the music because Queen Bey couldn't do it any other way. "The secret hidden by studio production is that Beyoncé can't keep up with the complex rhythms," he said. "Onstage, she kept falling behind. But given a wordless moan or a chance to swoop through a phrase, she was superb." Yeah, whatever.
THEY CLOCKED ON TO OUR DIGITAL ANXIETIES
In 1999, TLC released FanMail, a pioneering album that aestheticised internet loneliness and honed in on the very real problem of too much communication. Destiny's Child addressed those fears just as plainly in the same year: " Have AOL make my emails stop," they sang on " Bug A Boo", a track about some guy and his non-stop digital pestering.

The song speaks to the post-internet generation louder than ever. "It's not hot that when I'm blockin' your phone number, you call me from over your best friend's house", they sing over bass thuds and sample-lifted string patterns. "It's not hot that I can't even go out without my girlfriends, without you tracking me down". It's a line that sounds almost throwaway, but holds real weight in the era of cyber stalking, revenge porn and pervasive social media giants.

Post-internet sadness is, of course, now beautifully commonplace among our favourite R&B-ers, from the dead-eyed, autotuned Sad Boys mastermind Yung Lean, to the scrawled, Tumblr-hating words found on Drake's Blog and the (anti)social media in the glossy effervescence of a Rae Sremmurd vid. It's worth remembering that Destiny's Child did this first, right before the clock swung to Y2K and we stepped through the internet looking-glass definitively.

THEY REPPED MISSY ELLIOTT & TIMBALAND
The divas' second album The Writing's on the Wall made superstars of the group back in 1999, becoming one of the biggest-selling R&B albums of all time. Behind the smooth-as-cream choruses of " Confessions", the drum-laden " Get on the Bus" and the slow-jam rework of " Say My Name" were long-time collaborators Missy Elliott and Timbaland, who produced and wrote some of Destiny's Child's fiercest creations and were instrumental in shaping the R&B landscape of the time, from Aaliyah's One in a Million to Missy's own Miss E... So Addictive.

I miss Destiny's Child so much.
- Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 7, 2012
THEY PERFECTED THE ART OF A TIGHT HARMONY
When V Magazine observed a connection between Ariana Grande and five-octave falsetto queen Mariah Carey, the pop singer shut them down, saying: "When you hear my entire album, you'll see that Mariah's sound is much different from mine." Instead, she name-checked Destiny's Child as her prime source of vocal inspiration. "That's where I discovered my range. I grew up listening to Destiny's Child. I would try so hard to mimic Beyoncé's little runs and ad-lib things. They are so precise. It's like math. Remember the Destiny's Child version of ' Carol of the Bells '? I took it apart, put it in GarageBand, and dissected it all. That's how I learned about harmonies and runs and ad-libs. Thank you, Destiny's Child!"

These precisely harmonised vocal arrangements are exemplified on their third album where they all take turns at lead vocals. "Everybody is a part of the music," Beyoncé told MTV ahead of the release. "Everybody is singing lead on every song, and it's so great - because now Destiny's Child is at the point vocally and mentally that it should be at. It's just great to be a part of this group."

DC's honey-dripping harmonies are, in turn, indebted to Motown pioneers The Supremes - and, later on, the silvery and sultry runs of Janet Jackson, but it was the Beyoncé and co that wrapped these arrangements in a fresh, millennium-friendly packaging and delivered them to a generation raised on MTV and Kiss FM.

"INDEPENDENT WOMEN" BECAME A 00s MANTRA
While feminism has become a spiderweb of threads over the past ten years, turn-of-the-millennium R&B was all about third-wave feminist ideals centred around uber-capitalist power and not relyin' on no man (see also: TLC's " No Scrubs"). Nowhere is this idea more prominent than in Destiny's Child's "Independent Women", where the sweepingly infectious chorus goes: " All the women who are independent, throw your hands up at me / all the honeys who makin' money, throw your hands up at me."

Putting aside for a second the fact that this arguably propagates heteronormative stereotypes - and also that it acted as the lead soundtrack to Charlie's Angels (a film based on three women who work for one, unseen male millionaire) - the track still holds up as a mantra of female strength, vocal assertiveness and closing the gender wage gap.

"'Independent Women' continues an argument expressed in an earlier Destiny's Child song, ' Bills, Bills, Bills', which harangues a gentleman for not paying his way in a relationship," Laura Barton commented in The Guardian in 2007. "(But) 'Independent Women' goes further, explaining that a woman should not require a man to buy her shoes, house, automobile or the 'rocks' she is 'rockin'' but should instead head out to find gainful employment and, therefore, financial liberation. (The bit about Charlie's Angels and Lucy Liu is pretty superfluous and should probably be ignored.)"
THEY HAD A DANCE BATTLE WITH THEMSELVES
There's a moment in the video for militaristic 2004 banger "Lose My Breath" where Beyoncé dances as if she's applying make-up with a compact mirror, like a reincarnation of Paris is Burning legend Will Ninja, before blowing what looks like white powder into the face of another version of herself. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that encapsulates the over-the-top, enduring brilliance of DC at their best.

And this is without mentioning the premise behind the visual, whereby some mid-00s visual effects make it look like there are three differently styled versions of Destiny's Child ('sassy', 'classy' and 'street') battling against each other in a back alley, dropping down low and bump-'n'-grinding up against muscle-clad onlookers. While dance battles have always been a fixture in the traditional R&B music vid, we've yet to see one executed with such eclipsing style.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A lot of things have happened in the last ten years. We started owning phones that might explode at any moment, London was bought by Foxtons and transformed into a phallic skyline of wealth, and emojis overtook words as our preferred mode of communication.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Earlier this year, Chloe and Halle Bailey made the leap from YouTube fame to the biggest music video of 2016. The Atlanta-born teenage sisters, known professionally as Chloe x Halle, were featured among pop-culture powerhouses like Serena Williams, Zendaya and Amandla Stenberg in Beyoncé's , which premiered in April, less than a week before they released their own five-song debut EP, Sugar Symphony. "Something magic was in the air there in New Orleans," 16-year-old Halle recalls of filming the project. "We were all saying, 'What a time to be alive.' Just to even witness somebody like Beyoncé make such a statement and invite us ... how lucky are we?"

Featuring the sisters in Lemonade is not all the pop megastar has done to shepherd the girls into the limelight. Chloe x Halle launched their YouTube channel at the ages of 13 and 11, respectively, with a cover of Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had" that their older sister filmed for them. Later, their angelic harmonies on a version of the singer's "Pretty Hurts" led to their breakthrough. "Beyoncé saw our YouTube video online, and that's because so many people shared it, and it created a buzz," 17-year-old Chloe explains. Beyoncé shared the clip on her Facebook page and a year later, in 2015, the girls secured a $1 million dollar contract with the singer's label Parkwood Entertainment.

From the time their ages were in the single digits, the Bailey sisters were exploring their talents. For Halle, watching her older sister sing or dance encouraged her. "I realized after I started [following her] that I'm not just imitating," she recalls. "I really had a passion for singing, acting and all this stuff we did together."

When Chloe was 10 years old and Halle was eight, their dad started to teach them how to write, focusing on basic song structure. "The first few songs we wrote were horrible," the youngest sister admits. "But as time went on, they turned into something beautiful." After playing around Atlanta they began posting covers online, and from there a fan base grew that would one day include First Lady Michelle Obama, who invited the sisters to open for her 2016 South by Southwest Keynote and appear on her song "This Is for My Girls."

Though high-profile co-signs have been essential to their career, Chloe x Halle have a do-it-yourself mentality. "A couple years ago I started producing more seriously, and my sister and I would do everything together," says Chloe. The sisters recorded their EP and many of their originals in their Los Angeles home studio. "I was so happy to have someone there to tell me what sounded good and to give me a confidence booster because trusting in yourself is important."

"I'll just see her freestyling and doing all these incredible acrobatics on the guitar, and I'm like, 'Whoa, that's my sister.'" -Chloe Bailey

Both girls learned their instruments on YouTube, watching tutorials on how to play their favorite songs. "I still consider myself an amateur guitar player because I'm always trying to grow and I'm always trying to learn," Halle, a huge fan of Lenny Kravitz and Jimi Hendrix, offers. The teen has been playing the instrument for close to four years now.

"In rehearsals I'll just see her freestyling and doing all these incredible acrobatics on the guitar, and I'm like, 'Whoa, that's my sister,'" Chloe adds. "I'm so proud of her."

Both Chloe's production skills and Halle's guitar tricks can be heard best on the hauntingly hypnotic "Drop," a maniacally catchy, anti-pop-structure pop song. "We got a call from [Beyoncé] and she was like 'Oh, my gosh, girls, this is amazing. You guys are so talented. Your head is in the right direction,'" Halle reveals of their mentor's reaction. Feeling encouraged by their label, the girls finally knew they were onto something with their genre-bending style.

"We have an open ear for anything, and I think that really plays into our music," Chloe explains. Halle considers herself a "jazz-head" and has been listening to Billie Holiday since she was five years old, drawn to the singer's "pink CD with her beautiful flower in her hair." A childlike fascination with a beautiful album cover soon led to a serious study of female jazz vocalists, and the sisters cite both Holiday and Sarah Vaughan as inspirations for the bridge on "Drop."

"I admire how Halle loves jazz so much," Chloe adds. "I feel like I'm the younger sister sometimes." The 17-year-old counts herself as a superfan of Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, Tune-Yards and Twenty One Pilots, describing her taste as "anything that gets my heart pumping and my ears perking up."

Their diverse listening diet has come in handy for the Baileys, leading them to creating one of the year's best and most unusual pop debuts. "Our dad taught us to do everything on our own," Chloe explains. "This music industry is so dominated by men and older people. You have to look into yourself and say, 'I can do this. I'm bomb too. I can have wonderful ideas.'"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Earlier this year, Chloe and Halle Bailey made the leap from YouTube fame to the biggest music video of 2016. The Atlanta-born teenage sisters, known professionally as Chloe x Halle, were featured among pop-culture powerhouses like Serena Williams, Zendaya and Amandla Stenberg in Beyoncé's , which premiered in April, less than a week before they released their own five-song debut EP, Sugar Symphony.