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Celeb News: Becoming Beyoncé Biographer: "She's So Lucky to have Me"
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 2,018
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Becoming Beyoncé Biographer: "She's So Lucky to have Me"
http://review.gawker.com/becoming-be...-so-1739410072
This is such a mess (  ) of an interview i'm just gonna point out key quotes:
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As much as you respect Beyoncé, the fact that this book exists at all is a violation of her ethos which is, as you write, separating the business and the personal. “It’s a clever way of guaranteeing that her public focuses on her artistry and is not unduly distracted by any details of her personal life,” you say. How do you negotiate your respect with your violation?
I decided a long time ago that it was my responsibility as a biographer to invade a person’s privacy. [Laughs] Once you cross that threshold, your’e good to go. But I also know that she—I have to say, stroking my own ego—she’s so lucky to have me as a biographer. I’m sorry, it’s just the case. I know what I put into my work. I know what my standards are, and I know what the options are in terms of other people who might have written about her. I’m the first guy to do this, to really unpack her life. And I’m doing for her what I did with Michael Jackson. Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Beyoncé were completely new terrain prior to my tackling those subjects. It sounds terrible for me to say that she’s lucky that I’m her biographer, but what I’m trying to say to you is that she could do a lot worse. I really care.
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Anything negative about Beyoncé that a reader could glean from this book still has the fundamental justification of, “Well, of course she did that—it was for her career.” There aren’t any vindictive moments—there’s not even a whole lot of ego on display. I wonder if she’s that hard of a nut to crack, or if she’s just a perfect person.
I love the comment that she’s quoted as saying in the book: “I don’t need to be bitchy; I have my talent.” I think that’s fundamentally what this is about. It was Mathew who wanted to push her forward as the lead singer of the group. It wasn’t Beyoncé. When she finally had the opportunity to have a final say in how this was going play out, what did she do? She wrote and produced songs that featured the other two [Destiny’s Child] girls on all the songs. I think when you live that kind of life and you’re actually true—it’s not ********, it’s not saying, “Oh I don’t want to be the star, but yet you manipulate in the backgrounds to be the star”—that’s one thing, but when you actually believe that you’re just one of three and you put that into motion by making sure the other girls are featured, that’s rare
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And yet, there are minor factual errors that made their way into the book: You call Ginuwine a “rapper,” you describe Xscape as a trio, and you call Nelly’s second album, Nellyville, Nelly Dilemma.
Here’s the thing: I’m just a guy writing a book. At the end of the day, I’m not a computer. I make mistakes, and man, I’ve made some great ones. We have fact-checking like you would not believe. Do you know how many people fact-check my books, from the publisher to the people I personally hire to the people the publisher hires outsides of the publishing house? There are so many people fact-checking these books, but at the end of the day, it’s my responsibility. My name’s on it. I take full responsibility for the fact that I often don’t know some of the smallest details. There are probably close to half a million facts in a book, and if I can only have three of them wrong, I feel like I’m in good shape. And then we go back and correct them in the paperback edition and hope for the best.[I] I think people need to understand that I’m not an expert on Beyoncé. She’s a great subject of mine, but I’m not part of the Beyhive. I cannot claim to be an expert on her or anything else. I just do the best I can.[[/]
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Member Since: 8/31/2013
Posts: 6,634
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Quote:
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. When she finally had the opportunity to have a final say in how this was going play out, what did she do? She wrote and produced songs that featured the other two [Destiny’s Child] girls on all the songs.
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 Queen
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 20,010
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Quote:
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I love the comment that she’s quoted as saying in the book: “I don’t need to be bitchy; I have my talent.” I think that’s fundamentally what this is about. It was Mathew who wanted to push her forward as the lead singer of the group. It wasn’t Beyoncé. When she finally had the opportunity to have a final say in how this was going play out, what did she do? She wrote and produced songs that featured the other two [Destiny’s Child] girls on all the songs.
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Wow. I never realized this. That's so nice of her. 
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Member Since: 7/7/2011
Posts: 6,937
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Wasps who were itching for filthy dirt would be so disappointed 
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Member Since: 3/31/2012
Posts: 11,016
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As I said in the another thread...
The fact that there's a unauthorized book about Beyonce just shows how iconic and legendary she is. The most iconic star of this generation.
Legend/Iconic stars. These are all culture iconic figures, and Bey fits right in.
Diana: A Celebration of the Life and Career of Diana Ross (1985)
Cher – A Biography (1986; updated in 1992)
Laughing Till It Hurts – The Complete Life and Career of Carol Burnett (1988)
Call Her Miss Ross (1989; updated in 2007 as Diana Ross – A Biography)
Michael Jackson – The Magic and the Madness (1991; updated in 2003 and 2004. In 2009, the book was updated as Michael Jackson – The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story)
Sinatra – Behind the Legend (1997; updated in 1998)
Jackie, Ethel and Joan: Women of Camelot (2000)
Madonna – An Intimate Biography (2001; updated in 2002 & 2007)
Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairytale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier (2003)
Elizabeth (2006)
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2009)
After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family - 1968 to Present (2012)
The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty (2014)
Becoming Beyoncé (2015)
She is ICONIC. Her impact will always remain. There is NO if (s) or and (s) about it! Culture icon.
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 20,010
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He should've just had one of us do the fact checking. 
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Member Since: 5/7/2009
Posts: 53,753
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The book basically being praise and showing how driven and how little Mathew had to do with her career.
Poor Atrl.
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Member Since: 3/31/2012
Posts: 11,016
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bey'Knight
Wasps who were itching for filthy dirt would be so disappointed |
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 5,580
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Queen of equality and future Nobel peace prize winner.
She fought for the other 2 to have a voice.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 1,886
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The Haters must be fuming. Legend
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Member Since: 4/17/2011
Posts: 9,162
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Originally posted by OhRly?
Queen |
Love that he included that. The reason Michelle and Kelly were able to sing lead parts on the last two albums is because Columbia told her if she wanted the other girls to have leads then she would have to write the songs and do the vocal production for the girls. I remember DC's first vocal coach doing an interview and said the reason Beyonce sang everything is because it was cost effective. She was able to cut songs in 30 minutes, whereas with the other girls they made a lot of mistakes.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
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The book also gets into detail about her songwriting and her contributions. Rob Fusari wanted to basically recreate the Stevie Nicks sample in Bootylicious so that she wouldn't get 50% of the royalties but Beyonce insisted that they use the original.
Yet everyone still insists she's a "thief" 
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Member Since: 5/7/2009
Posts: 53,753
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Quote:
Originally posted by ShouldersSideways
The book also gets into detail about her songwriting and her contributions. Rob Fusari wanted to basically recreate the Stevie Nicks sample in Bootylicious so that she wouldn't get 50% of the royalties but Beyonce insisted that they use the original.
Yet everyone still insists she's a "thief" |
Not the EXPOSE book ending some of the late Atrl drags 
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Member Since: 8/13/2012
Posts: 32,832
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Quote:
Originally posted by Beyond Say
Love that he included that. The reason Michelle and Kelly were able to sing lead parts on the last two albums is because Columbia told her if she wanted the other girls to have leads then she would have to write the songs and do the vocal production for the girls. I remember DC's first vocal coach doing an interview and said the reason Beyonce sang everything is because it was cost effective. She was able to cut songs in 30 minutes, whereas with the other girls they made a lot of mistakes. |
What kind of legend she never even mentioned that 
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 20,010
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Quote:
Originally posted by ShouldersSideways
The book also gets into detail about her songwriting and her contributions. Rob Fusari wanted to basically recreate the Stevie Nicks sample in Bootylicious so that she wouldn't get 50% of the royalties but Beyonce insisted that they use the original.
Yet everyone still insists she's a "thief" |
Wow. Now this is a good example of "music not the bling."
(did I get that quote right? doesn't sound right)
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 1,977
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Quote:
Originally posted by PULSE.
As I said in the another thread...
The fact that there's a unauthorized book about Beyonce just shows how iconic and legendary she is. The most iconic star of this generation.
Legend/Iconic stars. These are all culture iconic figures, and Bey fits right in.
Diana: A Celebration of the Life and Career of Diana Ross (1985)
Cher – A Biography (1986; updated in 1992)
Laughing Till It Hurts – The Complete Life and Career of Carol Burnett (1988)
Call Her Miss Ross (1989; updated in 2007 as Diana Ross – A Biography)
Michael Jackson – The Magic and the Madness (1991; updated in 2003 and 2004. In 2009, the book was updated as Michael Jackson – The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story)
Sinatra – Behind the Legend (1997; updated in 1998)
Jackie, Ethel and Joan: Women of Camelot (2000)
Madonna – An Intimate Biography (2001; updated in 2002 & 2007)
Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairytale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier (2003)
Elizabeth (2006)
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2009)
After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family - 1968 to Present (2012)
The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty (2014)
Becoming Beyoncé (2015)
She is ICONIC. Her impact will always remain. There is NO if (s) or and (s) about it! Culture icon.
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Don't forget this one from 2010. 
Very good book.
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Member Since: 4/27/2012
Posts: 9,977
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Quote:
Originally posted by itsnickcray
Don't forget this one from 2010.
Very good book. |
Taraborrelli
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 10,527
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Quote:
Originally posted by itsnickcray
Don't forget this one from 2010.
Very good book. |
Totally different author.
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