How Beyoncé turned female empowerment into an art on ‘B’Day’
Časi: Postavi glagol v oklepaju v ustrezno obliko (active and passive).
Still hot off the success of her 2003 solo debut Dangerously in Love bangers “Crazy in Love” and “Baby Boy,” the world was awaiting Beyoncé’s next move. But the world had to wait. She ____________________ (2 FORCE) to delay her sophomore album due to the Dreamgirls filming schedule, but the role turned out to be the stroke of inspiration Beyoncé was searching for—she turned a post-production vacation into secret studio sessions hidden even from the execs at her record label, Sony.
This no-business devotion to her creative process resulted in what may arguably be the moment Beyoncé truly escaped the shadow of her past and ____________________ (3 STEP) into the spotlight as a singular solo artist—unmistakably Beyoncé—delivering a game-changing, genre-bending, exhilarating new album, B’Day, which turns 10 on September 4, as she celebrates her 35th birthday.
The release ____________________ (4 COULD NOT/COINCIDE) with a better day; in many ways this was Beyoncé’s coming-of-age tale and the first of many daring moves to come in what has become the defining solo career of the last decade. It was faster. It hit harder. And it was funkier than Miss Knowles ____________________ (5 EVER/BE) before.
As she leaned away from traditionally constructed pop into something much edgier, Beyoncé showed off her R&B swagger on tracks such as “Upgrade U” and the energetic “Get Me Bodied,” while ’60s-inspired soul shined on “Suga Mama” and live instruments exploded on the sexually driven “Green Light,” ____________________ (6 INCORPORATE) an infectious and pulsating bass drum that drops into a smooth trumpet solo.
Perhaps most impressive, Beyoncé tapped into the mind of Deena from Dreamgirls and crafted an empowering narrative of all the things she wished her character had said. “Ring the Alarm,” one of the most venturous tracks she’d ever released, was examined infidelity, bravely exposing a vulnerable, frantic Beyoncé belting, “But I ____________________ (7 BE) damned if I see another chick on your arm” over screaming sirens, and “Freakum Dress” was a call of action to bring out your inner sexy. Of course, we can’t forget the successful radio hit “Irreplaceable,” the ballad that unshackled female worth and the confidence ____________________ (8 KICK) your unworthy man to the curb.
“Every time I get on the stage I’m nervous,” Beyoncé said in a 2006 interview with MTV, as she addressed a question of how she always looks so composed and never scared.
“I’m actually really scared when I’m not nervous, because then I don’t transform into that person that people are used to ____________________ (9 SEE).”
That’s the beautiful key to Beyoncé’s success; she’s always pushing to reinvent herself in ways that still seem genuine. She harnesses fear and transforms her reserved personality into an unstoppable force on stage.
Videos ____________________ (10 NOW/BECOME) just as an important part of Beyoncé’s work, and although B’Day wasn’t a visual album she went on to release an anthology DVD for the record, with each video a distinct vision. This kind of storytelling planted the seed for the cinematic works of her self-titled album and, most notably, the highly successful Lemonade that perfected the art.
Were it not for B’Day, we ____________________ (11 NOT HAVE) the wonderfully agile Beyoncé today. The album was so drastically deviant, refusing to compromise in any aspect, or even deliver carefully packaged Hot 100 singles, that some didn’t know quite what to make of Beyoncé’s solo career, but one thing was certain: there was no way she ____________________ (12 COULD/DISMISS).
B’Day was the first chapter in the book of unconventional pop that Beyoncé has mastered so well now. It was feminine, emotional and brutally unapologetic; she stuck to her instincts. Beyoncé bared her inner self to us 10 years ago on her 25th birthday, and at 35, she’s grown into her self with even more grace. This is indeed a B’Day worth ____________________ (13 CELEBRATE).
(Adapted from observer.com on 2 September 2016)
