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Tag: Beyonce

  • Obama Is Not Being Asked to Resign Over Beyonce’s Lip-Sync, Put Away Your Twitchy Tweeting Thumbs You Gullible Lot

    Come on, guys. Think about something before you go all stage five freakout on Twitter. I know that’s too much to ask, but I’m still going to ask it.

    Despite what you may have read, a “rising chorus” of Republicans in Congress led by Rand Paul are not suggesting that President Obama should resign because Beyonce reportedly lip-synced the national anthem (people are still debating it) at this week’s inauguration.

    Yes, that headline is real and was published by a popular magazine. Yes, I understand that it may not seem that far-fetched, considering Congress these days. But the article was published in The New Yorker and was written by Twitter personality, satirist, and frequent New Yorker contributor Andy Borowitz (of the Borowitz Report).

    So, it’s just a joke.

    “By lip-synching the national anthem, Beyoncé has cast a dark cloud over the President’s second term,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky). “The only way President Obama can remove that cloud is by resigning from office at once.”

    While many in the media have blamed Beyoncé for the lip-synching controversy, Mr. Paul said, “We must remember that this happened on President Obama’s watch.”

    Funny, but just a piece of satire, people.

    These people clearly need that told to them:

    Want more? Just check here. Some people get it, but a disturbing amount don’t get it at all.

    I just hope that some of these tweets are a satirical response to the satire. Oy.

  • Beyonce Lip Sync: Twitter, As Expected, Sounds Off

    Now that it’s been confirmed that Beyonce lip-synched her flawless performance of the national anthem at yesterday’s presidential inauguration, we can all just crawl up into a hole and cry ourselves to a sweaty, nightmare-laden sleep.

    Ok, it’s probably not the worst thing to happen. But I’m getting the feeling that people are feeling pretty betrayed by the superstar. Why am I getting this feeling? Twitter, of course.

    Here’s why it’s pretty much confirmed: The NY Post grabbed this quote from a representative of the U.S. Marine Band:

    “All music is pre-recorded for the ceremony because there are so many eventualities and conditions that day. We performed, live, the band. But we received last-minute word that Beyonce was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track. Those were the instructions we were given. We don’t know what the (sic) reason why.”

    To crush us. That’s why.

    Here are some of the best Twitter reactions about the lip-synching fiasco:

    And if you want to relive the lie, here it is:

  • Beyonce Gets Biggest Inauguration Spike on Facebook

    Yesterday, President Obama officially began his second term in office. Inauguration day 2013 features the public reading of the Oath of Office, a parade, some dancing at some inaugural balls, and Michelle Obama’s bangs.

    It also featured Beyonce, simply owning the National Anthem.

    If you want proof that Beyonce was the true star of the day (sorry, Michelle), simply look at the Facebook data. According to the U.S. Politics Facebook team, mentions of “Beyonce” spiked an astounding 42,450% around 12:30 pm ET.

    The next biggest spike was for “Kelly Clarkson,” who saw a 4,900% increase in mentions. The third top-term of the day was “Inauguration,” fittingly, with a 4,600% spike.

    Other terms that saw a spike at some point during the day were President Obama, Michelle, MLK, Parade, Debate, History, and America. As of 1 pm ET, as the inauguration ceremony was closing, the top term on Facebook was “Our President.” As of 6 pm yesterday, the top three terms were “change,” “truth,” and “color.”

    Ok, back to Beyonce. You can check out her performance below. About 1:20, you can see her rip out her earpiece. SHE’S GONE ROGUE, EVERYBODY! SHE’S SINGIN BLIND! Yeah, well, she still killed it. UPDATE: Don’t tell me this. Apparently, Beyonce may have lip-synced the National Anthem.

  • Beyonce: “Disinvite” Petition Removed By White House

    Beyonce has seemingly done her part in the movement to get kids active and healthy, partnering with Michelle Obama to create a music video for the “Let’s Move!” campaign in 2011; however, some aren’t happy that she’s also partnered with Pepsi as the new face of their ad campaign and say she’s undoing all the hard work put into focusing America’s children towards a healthier lifestyle. They’re so unhappy, in fact, that a petition to “disinvite” her from performing the National Anthem at the president’s inauguration was recently posted on We The People.

    “Knowles is renting her image to a product that may one day be ranked with cigarettes as a killer we were too slow to rein in. From saying, as she once did in referring to Let’s Move, that she was “excited to be part of this effort that addresses a public health crisis,” she’s become part of an effort that promotes a public health crisis,” wrote New York Times columnist Mark Bittman.

    The petition, created by “The Family Dinner” author Laurie David, was pulled down three days after it was posted to We The People, a public site for government-related issues. The White House released a statement regarding their decision to pull the petition, saying that Beyonce’s performance is “not something the White House actually has jurisdiction over. Selecting performers is a function of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, not the White House. We the People’s terms of participation state that users cannot post “petitions that do not address the current or potential actions or policies of the federal government.”

    Beyonce’s deal with Pepsi is worth around $50 million, but some of that will go into her future creative endeavors rather than straight into her bank account. In exchange, she’ll appear in their ads, on the sides of Pepsi cans and bottles, and will appear in a Super Bowl performance.

  • Beyonce: $50 Million Deal To Sell Pepsi

    Beyonce: $50 Million Deal To Sell Pepsi

    In a collaboration that’s indicative of Pepsi’s youthful direction, the company has announced a partnership with mega-star Beyonce which will cost them around $50 million.

    The deal will see the singer appearing in ads for the soft drink and her image will be placed on special-edition cans early next year, all of which will coincide with her Super Bowl appearance and a promotional whirlwind for her upcoming album, which doesn’t have a release date yet. In return, Pepsi will give financial support to whatever projects she chooses to do over the next several years. The multi-million dollar budget will be split evenly between ad and promotional costs, Beyonce’s fee, and her creative endeavors.

    “Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve,” Beyoncé said in a statement. “As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity.”

    Of course, Pepsi is not the first brand to strike a deal with a musician or young performer in order to gain from their image, but to land an international superstar like Beyonce is quite a feat. And it isn’t just that she’ll be appearing in ads–which isn’t such a big deal–but the fact that there will be a partnership between the parties that is attracting so much attention.

    “It’s not easy to strike a deal with a celebrity of Beyoncé’s caliber,” David Schwab, head of Octagon First Call’s celebrity acquisition unit–which pairs celebrities and branding opportunities–said. “There’s a lot on the table and both sides have a lot of work to do.”

  • Beyonce Tweets Support For Obama

    Beyonce Tweets Support For Obama

    Beyonce came into the Twitter world much later than the rest of us, because she was busy being married to Jay-Z, having the most talked about–and least seen–celebrity baby ever, and generally ruling the world. But when she joined, she made sure to come in with a bang.

    Bey and her man are famously supportive of President Obama, and she made it known on the social media site that even though she’s from a red state, that won’t stop her from showing him some love.

    Also, she inexplicably wore nerd glasses, but no one batted an eyelash, because she’s Beyonce and she’s allowed. Note: new blunt bangs are getting a workout on the web.

    (image)

  • Beyonce: New Hairdo Has Web Talking

    Beyonce: New Hairdo Has Web Talking

    Beyonce can really do no wrong, it seems, and every time she changes her hair or style, it is emulated to death. So get ready to see a whole lot of blunt bangs on the streets, because that’s what Mrs. Jay Z debuted at a recent Brooklyn Nets game.

    The couple took in the first game for the team–of which Jay Z is part owner–in their usual stylish way, with Beyonce rocking oversized hoop earrings and a colorful Tibi outfit. Her hair has garnered the most attention, however, as everyone is talking about it today.

    Photo: AceShowbiz.com

    Here are some of Beyonce’s looks over the years:

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    Image: People

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    Image: HollywoodNose.com

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    Image: NewHairstyles.org

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    Image: NewHairstyles.org

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    Image: NewHairstyles.org

  • Most Beautiful Woman: Beyonce Takes Top Spot

    It shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise that Beyonce has been voted People Magazine’s Most Beautiful Woman; not only is she physically stunning, she’s also an entrepreneur, a loving mom, and a style icon. Her strength and character make her shine with an inner beauty as well.

    The 30-year old singer, who recently had a baby girl with rapper Jay-Z, says motherhood has changed her only in positive ways.

    “I feel more beautiful than I’ve ever felt because I’ve given birth,” she said. “I have never felt so connected, never felt like I had such a purpose on this earth.”

    Other beauties who made the list include Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence, Adele, Megan Fox, and Christina Hendricks.

    (image)@ScooterTaylor
    Scooter Taylor    Beyoncé won most beautiful woman in the world. In other surprising news the sky is blue.(image) 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Gabriellannaa
    G. Anna V.    Lmfaoooo RT @JoRoc1: Beyonce’s to do list: have great career (check) marry JZ (check) be named most beautiful woman on the planet (check)(image) 1 minute ago via Echofon ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@emmag_
    *~E-M-M-A~*    Cutest mommy ever!! RT @GlobalGrind: Beyonce reveals who Blue Ivy looks like… http://t.co/QtSFLLU7(image) 29 seconds ago via Echofon ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@marieStah
    Peak_moments    #beyonce deserves to be called the world’s most beautiful women. she is talented, focused ,and driven women and thankfully beautiful too.(image) 52 seconds ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • College Humor’s “Stoner Countdown” Honors 4/20

    While the Twitter trends have moved onto other 4/20 anniversaries like Hitler’s birthday and the Columbine tragedy, the celebration surrounding today’s date, and the plant the celebration focuses on has not been pushed aside. There’s still weed-related content hitting the tubes, like the latest music video from CollegeHumor.com.

    Never one to overlook a particular date’s significance, College Humor has once again brought us the power of parody via music video. This time, it’s Beyonce’s “Countdown” that’s getting the treatment, and the parody hits all the notes at almost a pitch-perfect rate. Come for the Reddit reference, stay for cuties enjoying the Devil’s weed in many smokeable forms:

    Now for Beyonce’s version:


    After all that smoking, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if those in the video could finish off one of those thousand-plus-pieces-of-bacon burgers that blew up earlier this week.

    As for the Twitter chatter, apparently, some of the happy 4/20-ers don’t like people criticizing their recreational choices:

    (image)@SlimTrackStar
    Amina Johnson    Why are people so mad about #420?! Wtf? Who gave yall permission to judge. when did someone else’s lifestyle become your problem? Wow. Sad.(image) 4 minutes ago via Plume for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@TeeCee4800
    Mr. FA$T     I see it’s a lot of 420 haters lol y y’all trippin just shut the Fucc up(image) 5 minutes ago via Echofon ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    And then there’s this sobering reality check:

    (image)@DrugPolicyNews
    Drug Policy Alliance    #CUBoulder deploys police, fish fertilizer this morning in bid to quash 4/20 http://t.co/rJQJ0Ywf #Boulder(image) 12 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Followed by this expert

    (image)@JulieBorowski
    Julie Borowski    Well, it looks like drug prohibition got rid of marijuana for good. Bet no one is smoking today. #420(image) 12 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Beyonce Posts First Tweet, Launches New Website

    Beyonce Knowles, front runner of the late-90’s R&B band Destiny’s Child has always been in the public eye, especially since most of the band’s popular songs (Say My Name, Survivor, and many others) still receive a lot of radio play. Even after Destiny’s Child, when she established her own solo career, Beyonce continues to receive attention in the media. Even though she has been in the spotlight for so long, she has never really had a big web presence, nor been active within the social media world until now.

    This past Thursday, the well-known R&B singer published her first tweet on the microblogging service Twitter. Her Twitter account of @Beyonce was created and verified since 2009; however, the account has not had any activity. I have provided Beyonce’s first tweet to the public below.

    (image)@Beyonce
    Beyonce Knowles    Hey World, It’s B! I’m so excited to invite you to my new http://t.co/fZxlrtAh – we’ve been working hard, and it’s finally ready for you XO(image) 1 day ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    The link included within the tweet above directs users to her newly designed interactive website of Beyonce.com, which includes links to Beyonce’s latest news, music videos and tracks, the vault (photoshoots, videos, and pictures), the beyhive (fan collective), performance (tour dates), and i am (inspirations & bio).

    (image)

    Along with @Beyonce‘s recent Twitter activity, this has sparked the hashtag #followmebeyonce, where numerous Twitter users are asking/begging to be followed by the Destiny’s Child star.

    This is a great way for this talented entertainer to establish an online community and communicate with her fanbase.

  • Tiny Puppy, “Beyonce”, Could Win Guinness’ Smallest Puppy Title

    Beyonce–a tiny puppy who, at two-weeks old, can fit comfortably in the palm of a hand and has escaped death a whopping four times–is on her way to becoming the world’s smallest dog.

    At just four ounces, she has to be bottle fed every hour and was so premature at birth that she had no heartbeat. After the heroic efforts of a veteranarian and Beth DeCaprion, who is the founder of The Grace Foundation–an organization dedicated to saving the lives of abused and neglected animals– Beyonce was revived.

    Beyonce was one of five puppies born to a neglected dog named Casey, who was almost euthanized while pregnant after being picked up by animal control. But The Grace Foundation stepped in and rescued her, and now she is the proud mama of a small wonder.

    The Grace Foundation is now working on getting the mini Dachshund/Chihuahua mix into the Guinness Book Of World Records as the world’s smallest puppy. And as for that familiar name?

    “We wanted to give her a very strong person to aspire to be,” DiCaprion said.

  • Beyonce Back on Tour After Baby Blue

    Beyonce is set to return to the stage in May despite rumors that she would take a long break after giving birth to Blue Ivy. Jay-Z has been putting a lot of effort into his plans to make Beyonce’s comeback epic.

    While a world tour is in the near future, the 16 Grammy award winning songstress will resurface by performing three concerts in New Jersey at Atlantic City’s Revel Resorts. Revel said Monday that the shows will be held over Memorial Day weekend for the premiere of the $2.4 billion resort.

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    Sources told the New York Post that, “Just weeks after the birth of Blue Ivy, Jay met with Live Nation to discuss a tour for Beyoncé. He wanted a deal worth about $150million, but they countered with a lower offer.” Beyoncé had earlier hinted that she may tour again this year.

    (image)

    Reps for Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Live Nation declined to comment on the deatils surrounding the world tour.

    Tickets for the May 25 through May 27 concerts go on sale April 6. Beyoncé will perform in the Ovation Hall, which has 5,050 seats.

    Her fans are very excited about her upcoming concerts and wonder if baby Blue will be tagging along.

  • Miyazaki Fans In Japan Set New Tweets Per Second Record

    Japan, Japan, Japan. You rock.

    In case any of you didn’t already agree, Japan offered up another example of their awesomeness by blowing away the record for tweets per second over this past weekend. The previous record had been established earlier this year when legions of Beyoncé fans tweeted a deluge about Babyoncé. It’s fitting that Japan should reclaim the title since they had been the previous owners of the tweets-per-second record before Babyoncé exploded on the Twitters in August. Then, during the MTV Video Music Awards, Beyoncé fans posted 8,868 tweets in one second, besting the record 7,196 tweets submitted when Japan defeated the United States in the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.

    So how many tweets per second did Japanese tweeters post? An astounding 11,349!

    Now what, you may be asking yourself, occasioned the staggering amount of tweets from Japan? Hayao Miyazaki’s animated classic, Laputa: Castle in The Sky, which is an annual television broadcast in Japan during this time of year. The raison d’être of the tweeting fusillade came during the climax of the movie, in which the two main characters, Pazu and Sheeta, cast the one-world spell, “Balse,” in order to defeat the villain. Viewers of the movie had readied their Twitter silos to post the “Balse” tweet in unison with the two characters.

    And post they did! So what does nearly 12K tweets in one second look like? It looks a little something like this spire of data:

    You’ll notice in the graph that the “Balse” tweets peaked at 14,594. That’s actually the grand total number of tweets worldwide that contained the word “Balse;” the 11,349 figure is specific to Japan. In the United States, I imagine this being the equivalent of tweeters posting thousands of “Fuuuuudddddgggggge” at the precise scene when Ralphie swears in front of his dad in the annual broadcast of A Christmas Story. So good luck, festive Americans, trying to top that whopper of a record.

  • Did Beyonce’s Recording Breaking Announcement Help With Ratings?

    On Sunday, MTV hosted its annual Video Music Awards show, which is weird when you consider just how far removed MTV is from the music scene. Nevertheless, it’s something of a tradition, considering MTV has been doing the VMAs since 1984, a time when they really were “Music Television.”

    Now? Not so much, but that doesn’t mean people still watch the award show when it airs.

    Nevertheless, by most reports, the 2011 VMAs were a hit, as over 12 million people tuned in. They also tweeted about it–en masse, apparently–but the Twitter count hit another all-time high in regards to tweets per second when Beyonce’s pregnancy was announced, which takes place in the video leading this post. For those that haven’t seen it, the announcement comes after her performance.

    According to various reports, Beyonce’s “I’m with child” announcement broke the TPS (tweet per second) record, one that was set during the Women’s World Cup Final. The title for TPS has switched hands a few times, but now, thanks to Beyonce’s announcement, MTV is, vicariously, the proud owner of the new TPS title.

    @twitterglobalpr
    Twitter Comms    Last night at 10:35pm ET, Beyonce’s big MTV #VMA moment gave Twitter a record bump: 8,868 Tweets per second. 20 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    So yeah, more people tweeted about Beyonce’s pregnancy than any other event since the inception of Twitter. For some reason, when I think about the societal impact of such knowledge, I keep going back to this song by Trent Reznor. It’s fairly NSFW, but it definitely captures the tone of what motivates such reaction quite well.

    Digression aside, did Beyonce’s announcement improve the ratings for the VMAs? If you listen to Twitter, perhaps, but then, there’s another perspective that blows the idea out of the water.

    In a post over at Forbes, Brandon Mendelson scoffs at the idea that all these Beyonce tweets did much to impact MTV’s rating count for the VMAs, regardless of the propaganda offered to support such a claim:

    Is it possible that Twitter could lead to an increase in the ratings of a television show? Absolutely; however, since the service rolled out in 2006 this has yet to be the case…

    But when you consider Twitter is only used by 13% of Americans (according to PEW), and that of those 13%, less than a quarter of them are responsible for the majority of tweets sent, the truth disproves the fiction. Not to mention, given the number of people like me who use the service to write jokes, how many of them do you think are watching the thing they’re mocking?

    It’s a compelling argument, especially the 13 percent aspect, but when you see headlines that say stuff like “This year’s VMA ratings reach record-breaking levels,” then maybe social media as a whole should be given credit.

    Granted, that 13 percent sticks out like a sore thumb, but it’s highly doubtful Twitter was the only social media platform where the VMAs were being discussed. Facebook, I’m sure, was also a conduit for the discussion, which could very easily contribute to the ratings increase as well. Of course, then there’s the idea that nothing was on that Sunday, except for new HBO Originals episodes–True Blood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage–and Breaking Bad.

    When you consider the average age of the pop music sycophant who uses Twitter–no data here, but just from a quick glance at the various pop music trends that show up daily on Twitter–they probably weren’t allowed to watch those mature shows, and so, they resorted to living vicariously through Beyonce and Jay-Z.

    Whatever the case, Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement now holds the tweets-per-second record, and that’s kind of sad.