Three Things Beyoncé Taught Us In 2014

Following the spontaneous release of her fifth solo album in 2013, Beyoncé Knowles was destined to have an epic 2014. No doubt her most explosive year yet, EmptyIceCreamTub looks back at what Queen Bey has taught us over the last 12 months...

1. How To Throw A Party

Ringing in the new year with an uber stylish bang, the Carter-Knowles clan threw a New Years Eve party to shut down all others. Hiring the Versace mansion, the dance floor at the soirée was filled with some of the world’s hottest supermodels, musicians and fashion designers. Beyoncé and husband Jay Z then made a sleek exit from their bash on a scooter where they headed to P Diddy’s extravaganza.

2. Composure

In May sensational footage surfaced which saw Solange Knowles launch a vicious attack on her brother-in-law Jay Z as they departed a Met Gala afterparty via a lift. Standing in the middle of the fight, the 33-year-old kept her cool and did nothing as her younger sister turned violent. Upholding her royal standards, Queen Bey merely pulled her dress aside while her bouncer played the role of Olivia Pope. Months after the ordeal Beyoncé addressed the fight in the remix of her single Flawless, where she asserted: ‘Of course sometimes s**t go down, when it’s a billion dollars on an elevator!’

3. Dancing In A T-shirt & Knickers Is Cool

Rounding up the year on a high, Beyoncé proved she wasn’t done yet with the release of 7/11, which made dancing in knickers and oversized jumpers and T-shirts officially cool. Not only that but the visuals also taught us that hotels make for great music videos and we never ever have to worry about tidying our rooms again but most importantly to never drop that alcohol!

*Bonus* Fringes Don't Always Work
Even as the Queen the crown may sometimes slip and one may fall short of perfection. This was certainly the case in October when Beyoncé touched down in London for Frieze Week. Accompanied by hubby Jay Z and their daughter Blu Ivy, there was a collective sigh from hairstylists throughout the globe as the Flawless singer showed off her new barnet. A couple inches too short and in serious need of John Frieda's Frizz Control, Beyoncé's bangs sent the Twittersphere into frenzy as fans and critics alike tried to get their heads around the short fringe. But regaining control it didn't take long for Beyoncé to realise her hair no-no and she quickly returned to her sleek long locks.

Talking For Talking Sake

As the phrase goes 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all' but then where's the fun in that?

Like alot of you, I just wasted 12 minutes of my life watching Beyonce's short film and honestly I don't get why she keeps doing this.

If you're going to make a short film/documentary then please make it worthwhile and let the viewers leave with feeling they learnt something new.

I am, although I don't like to admit it, a big Beyoncé fan but I for one am so tired of her vanity projects, like we know you're beautiful, especially when shot in greyscale, we know you have found a new level of happiness and confidence and yes we are happy for you but would you for once just actually be real.

I almost feel embarrassed for her as she's trying so hard to build a whole new "more intimate" connection with her fans but it's coming across very scripted and way too thought out.

Obviously she can't be a Rihanna or Kim Kardashian, who tweet and Instagram every moment of their lives, but at least if you wanna give us a bit of the personal do it in an authentic way and she can start by actually uploading snaps taken on her iPhone instead of those images from her crystal clear Canon - you ain't fooling nobody!

I feel for Beyoncé as she's that MJ level of celebrity where anything extra beside the music that ends up in the public domain is very calculated and we're now in a generation of spontaneity which is something she clearly hasn't quite grasped the concept of.

Like she's said time and time again she's a perfectionist meaning she has no business teasing us by jumping on IG and Twitter as it's not something she knows how to work well.

Also it's a thing where if she's not gonna let us all the way in then please don't open the front door, heck don't even peep through the curtain and tease us.

I know I'm going on a bit here but it's so frustrating that she keeps alluding to things but then only touches on the surface which now has me thinking she's lying about something because she goes on about all the things she has been through but gives no specifics.

Additionally I was not here for Beyoncé: The Feminist, who then went ahead and called her tour Mrs Carter *sips tea* and I'm definitely not here for Beyoncé: The Humanist - stop trying to sound all conscious and act like you're truly affected by issues, like just sing and use sex appeal to make money.

All in all Beyoncé needs to stop talking and sharing her thoughts and feelings if she isn't game for saying something I actually want to hear, and just to be clear the elevator incident between Solange and Jay Z should be top of the list on her talking points next time she wants to bring out something that isn't a music video!

2012 So Far...

Whitney Houston

The music world stood still again last Saturday when it was announced that Whitney Houston had passed away. The I Will Always Love You singer was found submerged in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by a member of her entourage and pronounced dead on the scene, she was only 48-years-old.

Whitney leaves behind her 18-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina and a stack of hits for us music lovers who will be mourning the loss of a music great. With her death comes much negativity regarding the role a painful drug addiction had to play in her life, and until we know for certain the cause of her untimely death let's remember Ms. Houston for the music she blessed us with - R.I.P. Whitney Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012).


Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay

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Blue Ivy Carter

At just over one month old Blue Ivy Carter has to be the world's most famous baby, kicking her rival Harper Seven to the curb the princess of music icons Beyonce and Jay Z has arrived.

First time parents welcomed their bundle into the world on January 7th but kept the world on our toes as we waited for a glimpse of the heir to throne, but then on February 10th the power couple released five very intimate snaps of their pride and joy.

Opting out of the traditional million dollar magazine spread they posted the pictures of their daughter on Tumblr site dedicated to her - helloblueivycarter.tumblr.com

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Just as she finally got rid of that horrid red thing and went to seek refuge with a brown weave, Rihanna has let me down again by deciding to get involved in a blonde mess...



Which just reminds me of...

Wait! Do you see it now...

 No?

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Not a massive Madonna fan myself but I did really enjoy watching this performance, although as she's 53-years-old I don't appreciate seeing so much of her skin.

Other than the fact she lip synced during the entire performance I do feel she gave it her all, I thoroughly enjoyed the way the tracks were mixed during the 13 minute show and the fact she brought my home boys LMFAO on stage to party rock with her put a massive smile on my face *shuffles*

For the halftime spectacular she also "sang" her new single 'Give Me All Your Luvin'' alongside Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. which overall was pretty awful, nothing can save that song but M.I.A. managed to amped up the lacklustre performance by flipping the bird to millions of viewers - good times.

Finally Madonna wrapped up the showing with Ceelo Green who in my opinion saved the entire thing because his vocals on 'Like A Prayer' were so on point.

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Nicki Minaj - Stupid Hoe

It's official Nicki Minaj has lost the plot! However you have to admire the hype she continues to generate as she managed to make history on Vevo with her latest video which gained over 4.8 million viewers in 24 hours but all I have to say on this is ... NEXT!!

Really Ouick

Baby BJ

Beyonce's done it again! No - not made an album full of monster hits, from which every single is destined for the top spot (that's the norm for this lady). What she done last night was even bigger...

She's announced that her and her husband (Jay Z - for those of you who might not have heard of him) are expecting their first child. Now we all know that bigger than two mega-celebrities getting hitched is two mega-celebrities breeding mini-mega-celebs...Shear madness!!

This is really exciting because Beyonce seemed like one of those women who really wasn't trying to get involved in all the baby-making. In fact, I recall her once saying she wasn't going to have children after witnessing the birth of her nephew. However, I guess it was one of those things you say when you don't see it happening, but boy is it all unfolding now.

More exciting than that is it seems that with the release of her current album, Beyonce's been keen to show us that she is actually a human (not the robot diva I once thought she was). Since the release of '4' we've seen her cry on stage, speak openly about her relationshipb with Jay Z, and she even said "I love me some Jay Z". Also we've seen alot more skin and less of those granny type skin colour tights that she loves. But yes, in proving that she's human having a baby pretty much tops the list.

In closing, I can't wait to see who's features the baby adopts, and more nail biting what are they gonna have? A boy? A girl? Twins...I'm thinking twins, one boy and one girl...On a serious note, I do wish the couple all the best at this glorious time.

Peep her latest video, which I have to say is probably my favourite Beyonce video yet, because I love the visuals:



Beyonce - 1+1

(I guess 1+1 = Baby - sorry I had to *covers face*)

B E Y O N C E ! !

***UPDATED!***

She's officially back...

Beyonce - Run The World (Girls)

So I'll be the first one to admit that when the snippet of this track first surfaced I didn't like it. Then the full version was "leaked" and I still didn't like it, and finally a re-worked version of it was released and it was a unanimous no from me. But being a true love to hate Beyonce fan, I waited for the video to surface before I finalised my decision. The video's here and she's done it again - she's won me over. I've been singing and dancing to this song nonstop, as if to say I wrote the single.

However (puts my I hate Beyonce hat on) I'm not feeling some of the outfits in this video. In fact I only like the black ensemble she wears in the first dance sequence with the two dudes. Other than that it's clear to see she's let her Mum start styling her again - not cool. Also I'm not feeling how she's catted both Gaga and Shakira, and I'm definitely not feeling the very Nicki Minaj face she pulls before the hook comes in.

Nonetheless (puts my I love Beyonce hat on) I like that the video's a bit out there for Beyonce and the dancing is fabulous. I'm also liking that we're seeing a deliberately sexy side of her, which adds a whole lot more human characteristics to her.

All in all, I'm impressed but I'm yet to be blown away. Saying that - check out the video below of her performance from the Billboard Awards (I'm semi-blown away):

Be sure to leave comments and let me know what you think of this song, laters xx

Video Of The Week

I'm a day away from completing my university degree and I really needed something to push me to the finish line, and I think I may have found it. 'Move Your Body' by Beyonce is a revised version of 'Get Me Bodied', which featured on her second album 'B'Day'. This video and song are part of a campaign called 'Let's Move' which is backed by Michelle Obama to get young people active. Although I found some of her vocals on this track a bit jarring, I really enjoyed watching the video and once these assignments are out of the way, I'm going to attempt to learn all the steps. Check it out:

Really Quick

I'm gonna just say it...Beyonce is the ultimate SWAGGERJACKER!!

 

Like my relationship with Rihanna, the relationship I have with Beyonce is definitely a love hate one. Beyonce has been in the industry for too long, for her not to know that she's meant to be a trendsetter not a follower of fashion. Sure Beyonce can sing and dance, at the same time, but one thing she isn't is original. Unlike "Queen Bey", Ri-Ri (although she's been accused of swaggerjacking too) is in some right a trendsetter.

Hand on my heart when I first saw the pictures of Beyonce shooting one of the scenes for her new single, 'Run The World (Girls)', her outfit immediately reminded me of what Rihanna wore in her video for 'Hard'. If you fail to see the similarity in the pictures above and below then you definitely have your "Bey-shades" on.

 

But let's be real, does the title of her new single not make you think, "Hold up...wasn't Rihanna on Jay Z's track? What's it called again?" It's called 'Run This Town', and we can even say the title somewhat swaggerjacks Rihanna's song 'Only Girl In The World'. C'mon Beyonce - and if you haven't seen the next picture then boy.

It's obvious Beyonce has an issue with Rihanna but instead of competing with the girl (which she shouldn't have to as Beyonce's talent speaks for itself) she needs to stay one step ahead and show us why she's been on the scene for over a decade. However, I guess Jay Z likes the idea of his Mrs and Mistress in matching outfits.

If you're anything like me, you'd already know of the buzz that Beyonce has created over her return to the spotlight and like me, you're already bored. We all know that apart from the music, Beyonce is dry! She never does anything shocking in her interviews, she always lets us know how blessed she is and never gives us anything juicy - so long live Rihanna (& Chris Brown *cheeky laugh*)