Beyonce and Her Many Influences

Sometimes I wonder what makes this woman so amazing. There are so many elements that come together to make Beyonce the icon she is. One aspect that intrigues me is her varied musical idols. From the King of Pop Michael Jackson to the Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J Blige, Beyonce has idols in between and all around. This article will focus on the idols she has paid homage to.
















Tina Turner could be seen as a strong influence of Beyonce. When I think of Beyonce and Tina what comes to my mind is fiery, energetic performances as Tina says in Proud Mary "We never ever do nothing nice and easy". The above might just be phrase but it say a lot about the type of performer Tina is and in turn what Beyonce emulates.














Beyonce's idolization of Josephine is not exactly the pinnacle of her career. However the story behind what made her adorn the century old pencil skirt attire is interesting and peculiar to the feminist and revolutionary Beyonce is. During the production of her album B'day Beyonce wanted a strong, free and "possessed" female figure for inspiration. Who else to choose but Josephine. The word possessed in this context means total absorption into one's self in order to remove one's self from the confines of society and be totally free (Francis, 2008).
That's exactly how Josephine performed "possessed" and that was Beyonce persona on the B'day album. Which I felt was a notch amplified than her first album.

When I think of Bettie Page, the first word that pops into my head is SEX SYMBOL !!!! Then revolutionary, y'all know about that fringe hair do that never gets old. Well it is only natural that sex ass Beyonce would also have a sex symbol influence of hers.














I am not a mighty big fan of Etta James although I do respect her artistry. What I find similar between Beyonce and Etta is their vulnerable yet strong and beautiful interpretation of heartbreak and love songs.