Beyoncé has graciously given credit where credit is due for her spectacular, although far from original, Billboard Music Awards performance. She acknowledged being “influenced” by Italian singer Lorella Cuccarini.
Cuccarini, who is popular in Italy but not well known outside her home country, gave her performance last year and the similarities with Beyonce’s Billboard number were too numerous to be a coincidence, according to a YouTube comparison of the two shows.
The similarities touched off an Internet firestorm yesterday and a slew of videos were posted comparing the two performances. Check out Cuccarini’s performance here.
Today, (May 25) Beyoncé tipped her hat to Cuccarini.
“My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much,” the singer said in a statement to AOL Music.
“I then met with the talented people who worked on it. The technology and concept were so genius. Thank god for YouTube or I would have never been exposed to something so inspiring,” she said.
Oddly, YouTube proved to be her undoing.
There was no shout-out to Cuccarini at the awards show, although Beyoncé had plenty of air time to do it during her acceptance speech after receiving the show’s Millennium Award.
It was only after YouTube videos were posted showing the similarities in the two routines did it become evident that Beyoncé had copied her performance.
I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards,” she said.
Indeed, the performance was spectacular, but there is also the question of artistic integrity.
In this day and age, singers and rappers frequently use melodies and lyrics from other artists for mash-ups and the line has been blurred between “borrowing” and ripping-off someone else’s work.
A simple shout-out at the show would have been sufficient, but at least Beyoncé is big enough to admit the “infuence” of another, lesser-known artist, if, unfortunately, it is after-the-fact.
Check out Cuccarini’s performance here.
Keith Girard four decades of experience as an award-winning reporter, editor-in-chief, and senior media executive. Keith’s career began in Washington, D.C., where he was a reporter for The Washington Post and a contributing editor for Regardie’s and Washingtonian magazines. He also worked as a writer/producer in CNN’s Washington Bureau and has written one book on the U.S. Marines in the Gulf War.
Um, excuse me but you FAILED to mention in this article that this concept has been done for ages. To correct you, this is not an “original” piece. This concept is by Tribe inc., Kenzo Design. When Beyonce sought to work with them THEY gave her the template for the performance. This type of concept was used by many artists even before Lorella, including the likes of Kylie Minogue, Gwen Stefani. Janet used the globe thing in the feedback video years ago. So Lorella be taken to task by not thanking these artists or even Japanese artists who have used this before? No, because this is not a new artform. The only difference is that Beyonce did a more amazing, mainstream piece that people were looking to find fault with. Yet, no one checked their ressources before they accused her.
This shouldn’t seem so hard. It’s not about the concept, it’s about using nearly identical imaging and sequencing; the birds, the shattering glass, the wings, the geometric shapes, the multiple figures. In fact, a Japanese artist used almost the very same images nearly a year before Lorella. It’s like re-writing the same term paper, over and over. No original thought. The concept is like a canvas; anyone can use it. Just paint your own picture.
Also Lady Gaga was on 106th & Park wearing the same cone bra, hair Madonna wore when I was 14 yrs old. I’m waiting for that rip off story too.
You tellem Sherry!!!! Bey ROCKED it!!!
Why is she so famous? ALL of her ideas are stolen, literally. History will destroy her legacy!
Beyonce does not copy people josh whoever you are you are just a HATER!!!! beyonce is too talented to copy any one she was just inspired it gave her the idea to do something kind of similar but in her own way! im pretty sure you’ve looked up to an artist that has inspired you to do something but you made it different in your own way!