PERHAPS appropriately for someone who has grown up in the glare of publicity, pop sensation Beyoncé celebrated her 25th birthday earlier this year by releasing a new album. And this month she lights up the big screen in
Dreamgirls — a movie remake of the award-winning Broadway musical.With a world tour beginning next year, too, there’s no doubt that Beyoncé is out to prove that she’s no longer the shy, innocent girl group member but a shining star who wants to speak her mind and celebrate her increasing confidence. Georgia Cassimatis caught up with her in New York.
Your dad is such a groover! He played us all the songs on your new album and insisted the lights were dimmed, candles were lit, and the music was playing full blast. Then he danced around the room! So is it difficult having your dad as your manager?
(Laughing) Oh no! Please don’t embarrass me. Oh it’s scary, just the thought of it . . . argh! No, it’s not hard with family working so close. What’s hard is having to set boundaries with them. Like when my dad calls me at 1.30 am asking me to make a decision there and then. I’m like ‘It’s 1.30 am! Who else is up? Can’t you can just tell them tomorrow!’ That’s always tough, but then again I realised that no-one else would care about me enough to be up that late worrying about my life and career. So there are both positives and negatives to it.
You work with your mum on her fashion label, your sister has written three songs on your album and your dad is your manager. It really is a family business, isn’t it?
Family is really really important to me. My friends are too. I’ve been performing for so long and I’ve accomplished so many things that if it ever became a problem combining work with my family then I’d change things. To be honest, it was harder when I was 18 and I had to say ‘no’ to my dad and mum about certain things in my career. Now that they’ve all got their own gigs life is much easier. My dad has his own record label, I have my own place, and my mum has her own fashion label, so it’s refreshing when we come together and work.
You made the album straight after filming Dreamgirls, which is loosely based on the life of The Supremes. Does doing a movie make you crave a return to music and recording?
Doing movies is great because it makes the music that much sweeter when you get back into the studio. For six months I didn’t go into the studio when I played Deena in Dreamgirls because I didn’t want to confuse her life with my life. But playing Deena was intense because I had so much to say and such a strong desire to say it that after the film I snuck away into a studio by myself and recorded my songs privately. I just had to do it on my own.
What did you feel you had to say?
My character in Dreamgirls plays a woman whose dreams were her husband’s, not hers. Everything her husband wanted she thought she wanted because she lost herself completely in what he wanted. I really became that character when I played her. I really lost myself in her. When you play a character for six months you become them. I just had so many things I wanted to say about love, and being strong and empowered.
Is this also because you feel more mature now that you’re 25?
It could be part of it. I feel a lot older than 25 to be honest. I feel like an old woman, like I’ve been around a long time — not in a physical way, but spiritually. I even look at young artists and feel proud of them coming up the ranks.
Where does your name come from, by the way?
It’s my mother’s maiden name. People used to think it was made up or a stage name, but it’s from France; it’s a Creole name.
People are saying there’s a lot of anger in your latest album, B’day. What’s the difference between it and your last album?
I think this is the first time people have heard me angry. People will be surprised but they’ll also relate because sometimes I feel like screaming, just like other people do. I’m the type of person who’s usually really calm and holds everything in so it’s great because this record was a release. It has more aggressive beats and I wanted something with a deeper, more mature feel. I personally love songs that make women feel really strong and although I was too shy to say it before, I’m not now.
How does your boyfriend, rap artist Jay Z, react to this strong side of you and what is it like working together?
He along with everyone else is shocked that B’day is so different. People ask me all the time if we practise, write and perform together. Do we tell each other what to say and do? No we don’t. We were both very successful before we met each other, so when we work together I sing and he raps, and we don’t tell each other how to rap and sing.
You released the album on your birthday this year. How do you like to celebrate?
Last year I was performing on my birthday and the audience sang Happy Birthday to me. That was beautiful, 30,000 people singing for me. I also love dinners and surprise parties with good food and just the friends I can trust around me. Then I can be myself and just laugh, dance and cry . . .
You define hard work. Where do you find the strength to do what you do and be who you are?
I have a drive that I can’t explain. Certain people have it. I’m really critical and I like to work hard at something that I love. I appreciate what I have and I am not comfortable being lazy.
Do you feel like you’ve missed out on any of your youth because you’ve been working as a performer for so long?
No, it wasn’t that I had a childhood where I couldn’t play outside or my parents made me work all the time. I always wanted to be on the karaoke machine and my mum would say, ‘why don’t you go out and play?’, and I’d say, ‘no thanks, give me a mike’! But growing up and becoming known at a young age I had to learn things a different way. Every bad hairstyle and outfit has been documented, and that’s something I don’t think is fair about growing up in the public eye. But that’s my life, I can’t change it. It is what it is.
Which singers did you listen to when you were growing up?
Anita Baker and Luther Vandross because that’s what my mother played in her hair salon. I’d just sing those songs everywhere, wearing people out!
What do you do in your spare time?
I love seeing my nephew, going to restaurants, having a nice glass of wine, and really just lying in my bed and doing nothing. I also love communicating with people, talking, debating why men and women do certain things.
You’re a musician, actress, fashion designer, and pretty much a brand name company. Where do you see yourself in the next 25 years?
It really depends what happens. I love music, I always want to sing and perform. I want to do a movie a year but that might change. I’m young and still don’t know what life is like with a husband and children. I’m just going to play it by ear. But doing an album every year sounds great to me.
So what distinguishes you from every other performer?
What I’ve managed to do is write and produce my own music. When I first started that wasn’t common. I’m an entertainer, performer and a singer. I just hope to be around a long time and one thing that matters is that I’m respected for my talent.
Five things you always carry in your handbag?
I carry really big suitcases with outfit changes in there in case I have to ‘step it up’! I always have lip gloss, mascara, hairspray, a spare pair of stilettos, and hair straighteners because the paparazzi might be hanging around and I have to do my hair! I never carry a mobile phone because I don’t want to be available.
Do you get nervous when you have a new release coming out?
Yes. It’s only normal and human. But I find nerves make me work hard. I’d be nervous if I wasn’t nervous!
By Georgia Cassimatis/Planet Syndication.
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