Watch Beyonce Talk About Her Feminist Heroes And That Time She Was On Star Search
Her performance as a nine-year-old in the "hip-hop, rappin, Girls Tyme" was apparently a big influence on her new album.
With 828,773 copies sold and counting, details continue to emerge behind Beyonce’s surprise self-titled fifth album. The other day, Beyo posted some of the album’s accompanying videos on YouTube for all the world’s tight arses (ahem, guilty) to see, and now she’s continued her reverse marketing campaign by unveiling a new behind-the-scenes video that sheds further light on her inspirations behind the release.
Those inspirations extend from feminist icons (“I was scrolling through videos about feminism on YouTube, and I ran across this incredible Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie. Everything she said is exactly how I feel…”) to her own childhood, particularly a dramatic performance as a nine-year-old on Star Search with her gang of brightly-hoodied misfits, Girls Tyme.
“When I was in the studio, I was threading songs together and I thought of this performance that was a really defining moment in my life as a child,” says Beyonce in the clip, while a piano plinks sadly in the background. “In my mind, we would perform on Star Search, we would win, we would get a record deal, and that was my dream at the time. There’s no way in the world I would’ve ever imagined losing as a possibility.”
Unfortunately, life doesn’t always follow the plans of nine-year-old overachievers, and Girls Tyme lost. To these guys:
Is that Soul Asylum? There’s no shame in losing to Soul Asylum. Oh, they’re called the ‘Skeleton Crew’? Nevermind then.
“I was only nine years old, so at that time you don’t realise that you could actually work super hard and give everything you have and lose. It was the best message for me,” explains B. “The reality is, sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose, you’re never too big to lose, you’re never too smart to lose. It happens, and it happens when it needs to happen, and you have to embrace those things.”
Chin up, losers, there’s hope for you all.
You can also check out the first video in Beyonce’s explanatory series here, and hold on for the upcoming third installment. Beyonce, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.