Cbreezy

Lol. They are definitely going for Grammys. Reading that read like the type of clipping to accompany submissions. Hoping "this" isn't the "stay tuned" ish Pharrell was teasing before. Ps. Signed someone who actually likes the remix (a bit)

While I'm not for the jokes and the jabs thrown her way, I think I'm quite worried about the flavor of her responses. It all skews rather...defensive IMO. I understand the "be kind, you never know what is going on with anyone" rhetoric and requests for privacy. But from the weird line in the publicist statement about "an athletic show that she is finishing healthily and happily" to posting a bunch of equally questionable photos from the Petal video AFTER the hiatus announcement to this...something reads a lil too defiant for my liking. Worrying because it is crystal clear something is up. Aspects of it are no one's business, but it is so glaring and people aren't making up reasons to be concerned. It's clear to see in 4k. I'm no one's Dr, but I have a hunch that she's probably in a better place...in specific relation to whatever issues she was struggling with before this (mentally? emotionally?). Hence, her constant declarations of being her best self...now. The problem, however, is that it's been replaced/superceeded by whatever is going on in regard to what we can clearly see. And those optics do not scream healthy. They scream the opposite. It's as if there is a scary cognitive dissonance. I just hope this break yields whatever will get her back in a genuinely healthy space.

I feel it's coming, but in true Bey style, it will be relatively last min and not maximizing the lengthy lead-in window (not sure I'll forgive her for doing that with CC). At the same time, there is a small part of me that hopes this is more of a digital execution, as I feel it will mean we'd be closer to Act III (which would get the all-out treatment) than currently feels to be the case right now. We'll see.

What a wild, unfortunate situation. Especially for his children, whose custody I imagine will for sure now be up in the air. While I'm not going to act like I don't "get" people's deep dislike for him and his cultural footprint (which is warranted), I will never get the "jubilation" at ish like this. It's weird and fundamentally not human IMO. I can't quite wrap my head around anyone thinking they are authentically a "good" person in "real life" if they have a part of themselves they can access that actively celebrates another human's self-mutilation (being on display at that). Note the "actively celebrates" part I don't even think anyone owes him sympathy per se. I actually get total indifference or "what's for dinner" energy. But celebration is objectively weird. Online is such a weird space. Because I legit feel like people throw out words and sentiments that I don't believe they would comfotably be able to stand by in "real life". Also, as someone else said, for as problematic as Perez was/is, it is wildly hypocritical to pretend a) your fave didn't benefit from him or some similar shock-jock type and b) more importantly, it's weird to CHOOSE to not acknowledge that he was one part of a much bigger, much more toxic Pop culture landscape that EVERYONE participated in. From fans to stans to media types. Remember, he was only as big and as rich as he was/is because people in their millions and of their own volition visited his site every day. Including many people in this thread. It doesn't make any of it acceptable per se (especially the lengths he went to), but it's always so odd to me how willingly people compartmentalize. Like, for those so aggrieved by his actions, are you 200% sure that if your entire online stan antics were pulled up in 4K (from Twitter to posts on here) that you could stand ten toes on it all morally speaking and come out as squeaky clean as you demand others to be? Again, let me be clear, he is undeniably problematic af and is not a sympathetic figure at all. But I actually see ample irony in the lack of basic humanity here being extremely mirroring of the lack of humanity he's critiqued for by... the same people.

Love my girl, but the lack of spotlight on her sales lets me know times have truly changed. The collective pop culture salivation for the "first week numbers" seems to now only be reserved for either a) the established MPG and male equivalents or b) artists stan culture unfairly likes to clown just because (e.g., Katy, etc). For most of the acts meandering in the middle, it's like no one cares one way or the other. IMO, it's a result of this "streaming/playlist artist" era we live in. "Fans" and even haters aren't emotionally invested enough one way or the other to run up the numbers or clown for the lack thereof. On another level, I think there's a collective feeling with newbies like Tyla that they're always just one viral hit away from another moment. Plus, they have brands/visibility that aren't as dependent on chart success. Don't know whether I think that's a good thing (e.g. a much more democratised, less harsh marketplace) or bad thing (no new authentic stars, in the big MPG sense, get created). But as someone who lived the rise of the Bey's Rih's, Ci's, etc, not to mention stan wars of Hive vs Navy, Monsters vs KatyCats, etc, nowadays just feels...different.

Lol. It's cute IMO, but I agree it's rough around the edges. It legit feels like it's loads of ideas crammed into one (sonically and lyrically). It's a 3.50-minute song that plays like a 5-minute album track. That said, I really think "new" Bey/jay arriving for this B'Day side-project is, IMO, more indicative of Act III **not** being The Carters. Like, why would they come in before the beat? Assuming this does nothing (which will probably be the case), how do they engineer excitement for... more. Mark my words, it's simply a filling time play and moreso because they're gonna submit for "Best Melodic Collab" or similar at the Grammys (and will probably win). Let's just hope it brings her out of the house for the Grammys and maybe just maybe it can be used as an overdue springboard for Act III. In my "logic-informed-but-delu-because-Bey-does-whatever-she-wants" view, things will loosely go: Now - Sept/Oct: B'Day Anniversary (release, remixes, pop up at Jay show. She will have a presence but not be overtly present). Rest of Year: Quiet Jan/Feb: Rumblings, Grammy appearance if nominated, Single Launch Q1: Act III Release, Tour Announcement April: tour launch, and...visuals lol. Gratifying "end" of this crazy ass saga

Very confused about what is going on (Donk is not a B'Day song lol), but alas I'm along for the ride. Have a hunch the Jay remix (which is cute btw) is: For Grammy submissions (bookmark: they will for sure submit) To give them something "new" to perform at his upcoming London shows To elongate Donk ahead of whatever meatier ish is on the anniversary edition We're probably extremely close to a proper reveal about what said anniversary edition will show up as (cover, tracklist, variants etc). The "buzz" around helps anchor that. Wouldn't be surprised if it was even later today. Somehow living between acute excitement and frustration that all of this just means we legit are not as close to Act III as we hoped. Unless there's some crazy/unlikely bait-and-switch surprise with the rollout.

Clocked this, too! Can we talk...

FINALLY! It's crystal clear that NDAs, industry etiquette, and setting up a firm landing elsewhere are what have kept them quiet, but this is the exact degree of candidness that helps her personal PR. Being honest like this positively massages her perception with the GP. I get that outright JoJo honesty may not have been in Mani's best interest if still angling to exist in the major label system post-RCA. But she reclaims her power from the haters and educates the confused by giving some semblance of context. The radio silence allowed others to make her a punchbag and a punchline. The apparent Brandon tea is my kind of reveal, because it's extremely nuanced in a way that makes the extent of her awkward position make so much more sense. Piecing together things, I get the vibe... IMO, the present feels like: * She is off RCA (this much I feel I even had confirmed offline) * Not convinced she's had a new label this whole time; they were probably shopping a deal. As of now, they're talking like something is in place. Very interested in who it could be. Another major? Jive recently relaunched. Uptown Records relaunched. Could she do a Raye and go the premium indie route? * They are lining up the right endorsement partnerships to properly fund the vision. Not sure I buy that she has the kind of leverage needed to yield a huge deal at a new label. What feels more plausible is a "decent" deal, which, if they're on it, will be more of a label services partnership and gives her lots of flexibility re what she records, who she works with, and when it's allowed to drop. It'll likely be a light investment with flexibility to plug in brands for video placement to fund the type of visuals she's trying to create. * The 5H reunion is clearly happening and she will use it as the springboard for her solo return. I think we need to manage expectations about what that means for the "when". It's August and there's no 5H announcement of yet. So, realistically, any kind of tour is looking like next year. Earliest end of this year. With that, if Mani is using it to her benefit, her ish will be after. Most we may get is a new label announcement. * More performances for visibility and coin $.

What's this looking to do chart-wise?

Love her, but seems this flopped in a major way. Everywhere. I'm puzzled by what's at play. All at once, she feels like a label priority (as evidenced by the all-out promo post-release), but the pre-release silence and fan calls for her to even share the pre-save link were telling. Have a hunch that something is up (label-side?) There's also a baffling disconnect between her profile and her success. The latter lags majorly, while her name feels like it has growing stock to it. Will be interesting to see if it's a case of keep swinging the bat and something will stick OR a case of another MPG hopeful whose full potential we will never see.

Re-reading the rep statement was hella concerning, Topline, the "taking a break because of scrutiny" part is totally understandable. It's both direct enough and vague enough to both explain and protect her/whatever is going on. That part is good PR. However, the overt coating of "healthily" and "athletic show" is BS gaslighting at its finest. And, IMO, is the exact type of spiel that fuels that terrible trolling she receives. As others have said, maybe it was the agreed-upon medium needed to all at once explain her imminent hiatus while not fessing to what so obviously is going on (assuming, for instance, she's in denial or just doesn't want to give the haters their "gotcha" moment). At the same time, telling us she is healthy when that is so clearly not the case is not helpful at all. A sky is green, while it's clearly blue, tea.

Wishing her the best. I'm a casual fan at most (she is immensely talented and easily the top of the crop of the 2010 newbies), but I admittedly don't follow-follow her ish beyond surface engagement in her eras. So, I've been nonethewiser about the growing talk about ED etc within her fandom. Like most, it became glaringly obvious something was up just before Wicked (iirc, 2022/2023). In a post Chadwick Boseman-situation, my initial thinking was that it's important to be extremely careful about commenting on ish without full context. HOWEVER... It is beyond clear that something very serious is up. And that it's unlikely to be terminal illness. At a topline level, there is no conceivable way she'd have passed insurance for the projects and tours she's embarking on if she were ill, Chadwick-style. Not to mention, no one looks that kind of terminal fragile for years on end. So, it's almost certainly not...that. Logically speaking. Beyond one's own logic, seeing the floods of people with ED themselves (past and present) referencing how mirroring her appearance, antics, and the overall situation is to theirs, not to mention how triggering it is to see it on such a mainstage, has been validating to what most of us can see to be the case. While I think it is important to be delicate with how we discuss this publicly, it is extremely dangerous to pretend nothing is going on. Some of the idol worship existent in stan culture is scary af. Either zombified, brainwashed hot takes that she just lost baby fat and is healthier than ever or over-the-top demands for folk to stay silent on something so glaring and worrying. Yet, let anything happen to her and it will be "why did no one step in?' Like, WTF. I also find the politics around weight contradictory. Because should any of our faves blow up in weight like a house, I'm not sure the discourse will be so demanding of the "be kind" rhetoric. I would like to think this break will yield her the rest and intervention recovery needed. I also legit feel like someone finally stepped in. The various forces that power her career were probably fine letting her press on so long as the $$$ rolled in. But the optics atm are horrendous and heads will roll should anything happen to her. As an MJ fan, those "post-worst-thing-happening" lawsuits are no joke. Everything and everyone would come under immense scrutiny. E.g., how did she pass the insurance physical for the tour? Why was she allowed to do XYZ movie when her medical records confirm extreme ED in that exact timeframe? Etc. It won't be pretty. So, both at a literal level for her and, dare I say at a corporate level for everyone else, this hiatus is honestly in everyone's best interest. I still cannot believe that Petal video was ok'd for release. Shocking.

412k US streams on Spotify. Good or bad? I know she + Hip Hop in general does better on Apple (which has higher chart weighting0.

A BOP! She's going for it with the CD singles. Slightly worried about the debut given the Ariana avalanche. Still, the physical sales may give this a leg up. Optimistic: #9 or #10 on the dot (if a quiet week) Realistic: Top 20/30 because of the Ariana tracks. The great part here is that the song is great, so radio, remixes, etc may help this become an actual summer hit.

I kind of wondered the same and alluded to this possibly being the case above. That said, this was interesting... I do remember reading about LVMH's broader moves. So, that tracks. At the same time, and not to lean in on the negative, if the brand was this barnstorming success, do we really think they would offload? And that's not even to make it a leading question. Because there is a scenario where it could be showing earlier promise, but if the broader business need is to have a leaner, trimmer operation, it may have made for them to wilfully sell it back to her. Also, while I'm not doom-and-gloom Hive, I'm always cautious not to immediately buy into "ah, it was her master plan all along" Hive mentality either. The scenario of using a huge corporate giant to launch a brand to then take it on solo doesn't stand up to even the most basic scrutiny. LVMH isn't just a bag or visibility; it's a huge infrastructure of expertise in beverages and beyond. It's extremely rare (arguably unheard of) for someone to start with that and then wilfully take on the burden of that solo. If keeping it indie is Bey's motif, she is now tasked with overseeing production, marketing, innovation, retail strategy, etc ...in house...with a team she now has to put in place. Are the sales margins / forecasted profits that big to warrant this? Again, not a leading question, but moreso a curious one. Equally, there's a world where maybe they've crunched the numbers and have a strategy that will see the brand manage to sell (maybe d2c like Cecred and her perfumes). One thing that is equally encouraging and frustrating (because Bey's yet to master it) is: she literally could cut through way more via better use of social media. Not even her channels but just savvier use of SirDavis' social presence. Like, as a billionaire, how hard is it to hire an iconic, proven social media company to make SirDavis a viral, almost-self-promoting enterprise with regular and well-aligned experiential activations? It's above my pay grade, but even permanent installations at arenas, airports etc all help offline visibility and bring the brand into the real world. Thus far, while the efforts have been encouraging, it still kind of felt tethered to whatever Bey had going on e.g. CCT. It's like she wants in on the extracurricular stuff, doesn't go all in for whatever reason, gets the blowback of "another underperforming Beyonce venture" (rumblings of which I've seen today on Twitter and IG, just not loudly) and then re-ups with something else (arguably as a means of proving people wrong or just trying again afresh), only to kind of do the same thing again. Rinse and repeat lol. It's so odd. I'll just leave this at: thank goodness for Cecred and I hope they find a successful landing for SirDavis.

Hmmm. I have thoughts, but will save them. I like/appreciate the spin, though. Totally random (or maybe not) ,I am thankful she's in her stride with Cecred.

Yes and no, no and yes. Bey is s a vocal beast and has a voice that is up there as the best of today. But she also lips a lot. Almost certainly for preservation and perfectionism when it comes to showmanship, but let's also be actual and factual.

Love ya, but you tried it. I don't need to be a dancer to understand the concept of showmanship, pacing, aging gracefully, and what could be tweaked. All I'm saying, and maybe I could land it better, is: I stan dancers. Many legacy dancers at that. MJ, Janet, Bey, etc. Janet absolutely is doing what Fatima said. She lets the spectacle happen around her. And increasingly so. But, trust and believe, when that 'If' dance break hits, she punches tf in. Even now at 60. Same with the 'All for You' choreo. if we're keeping it a buck, and every body/dancer is different, one could actually argue Janet's dance style is more intricate/full-out to Bey's mix of seductive, accessible, and equally technical. So, by that yardstick, I'm not really able to give her passes. MJ, while not the best example given what ultimately happened. But he too adapted his style as time went on. So, while he leaned heavily into the spectacle more than the all-out choreo for every single beat (especially with what was about to be This Is It), it was a given that woud absolutely body Billie Jean every time, he'd hit the Beat It crescendo, etc. I'm not saying Bey is doing none of that, And again, I absolutely believe she would be wise to scale back in places/pockets, but there is still a show to give and an expectation of the "Beyonce' experience. So, if that knee is healed, I frankly don't want to see her sitting down for Virgo's Groove, walking up and down for BMS, or doing the bare minimum shimmy shake (at most) for her most upbeat hit in a long while: Cuff It. Like, can we be serious? There is a world where several things (aging gracefully, scaling back, keeping up the illusion of high energy in places, and aiming for longevity) can all exist at the same time!

I'm with you and we're actually on the same page. For me, I'm more than happy with her scaling back for longevity purposes. But it's more about what she chooses to "punch in" for. Why bother with a Thique routine (or the song at all) on CCT and make fan fave Bodyguard such a non-event? Similarly on RWT, there were songs that got more only for her to make main attractions like BMS and Cuff It so nothingy by contrast. There no issue with her scaling back (it's actually smart), it's the how, when, and where she does it in the show that needs tweaking,

I love Fatima, but have always been mad at her for this lol. In reality, I literally get it and may even agree with a bit of it, but I come from the school of more is more. Granted, we know Bey had some ish going on with her leg; there is a magic that makes Bey who she is. I'm all for dialing back to preserve her long-term ability, but diluting too much takes away from Beyonce being "Beyonce". RWT found its stride and was amazing by its climax, but we're in collective agreement that something felt different (in general and with her) and took time to get into. CCT (which Fatima's team did not do, btw) felt like the ever-so-slight incline of this same Fatima ethos (even in her absence). I agree the rigors of performing all-out (and the pressure to keep up with that standard) are what have left us without MJ, Prince, Whitney, and more. But, the reality is, if MJ were still with us, the expectation would be for him to dance down, Moonwalk, and be MJ with understood acceptance of him scaling back a lil with age. With some artists, like MJ, Bey, and similar, it just is what it is. I can make peace with Bey pulling back a lil, but on two conditions: 1) she continues to GO FOR IT in her visuals. There are no excuses when having the benefit of cuts and edits. 2) On stage, there needs to be a better dispersal between her laid-back and all-out moments. There will continue to be no excuse for her doing so little during key UPTEMPO songs (like BMS, Cuff It, Bodyguard). I'd prefer she shorten the show for a tighter all-out experience than sitting on sofas (that Levi's Jeans setup was wild in the worst way) in order to pace out a stretched-out runtime.

Mathew's stronghold over DC is so jarring. Sidebar: I actually like Matty and respect everything he did for the group and Bey solo. He's one of the all-time great managers, and I will never ever get how some of the Hive think they get to the Bey we have today without him. The industry is not a meritocracy where she is guaranteed to have thrived off being talented alone. Matty is one of the nuclei for what we have and enjoy today. But I digress.... In owning the DC brand, it's clear he's holding onto it for dear life and is embarking on a bunch of below-par ventures to maximize the little power he has left. The other girls appear to grin and bear it, likely in the name of their loyalty to Bey and historical respect for what he did for them as a group. But you can equally see there's minimal social interaction. Similarly, Bey does not interact at all. It's annoying because DC really feels like a huge card to play in her arsenal. She could easily generate "Beyonce-like-buzz" for anything she does with them, be that a reunion tour, a special, music etc. But the fact it's tied to Mathew atm makes it feels like a no-go for them all. I also get the sense she doesn't want to go down the commercial showdown route with him. Because it's crystal clear that she/they would have to buy him out, and it's safe to say it wouldn't be cheap. That's if he wants to sell at all. Not to mention his clear desire to remain attached to the brand in one capacity or the other. Which, when it's your own dad, makes it so damn awkward. Would love to be surprised and see a "something" with DC in the future, but I just don't see it happening as it is now, with Matty in the mix. Which is hella sad as someone who wants it real bad and sees it as a much stronger card to play than anything else with Jay.

Imagine if she used this B'Day remix album as a massive streaming play? Stay with me... Bey is notoriously curated when it comes to her collaborations these days: easy streaming wins would come from collabs with Rihanna, Ari, Taylor, Adele, Bruno, Drake (pre-NLU), Cardi, and similar. Instead, we get Tems, Grace Jones, Shaboozey (pre-breakout), rising Country girls, and a sprinkle of the commercial with Miley and Post. IMO, it's deliberate and is a branding statement. Very much a "I could play the popularity game by collabing with y'all and net the benefits, but I'm an artiste, and that takes precedence. Art n tings." At the same time, it's not lost on me, as Chart Hive, how much she/her team still play the game to keep her numbers where they need to be. We need not get into the specifics, but they do (vinyls, playlisting, social seeding etc). With that, it would be epic if she covertly used the B'Day re-issue to give us some of these dream collabs while simultaneously driving up her streaming momentum ahead of Act III. Factually, big streaming collabs help her profile, live on the collab artist's page too (thus huge exposure), and feed her monthly listeners going into what could be Act III anywhere from late Q4 into early Q1. Much like Rennie acted as a primer for CC and helped the latter's performance out of the gate from a momentum perspective. Our girl likes to give "artiste", so using what will be packaged as a "fan-service" reissue to covertly help her streams feels like a smart play optically. She could go all out on the collabs (literally a whole collab disc) with as many heavy hitters as necessary, reap the rewards, and drop a totally solo, or characteristically "against the grain" high-art collabs for Act III and no one would flinch nor even really notice what she pulled off.

Lol. No, not that at all. With Morning Dew, her team announced the B'Day reissue, but we have no actual tea? Is it an all-out venture? Is it a few bonus tracks added to streaming as a "gift to the fans." If it's the latter, there is a world where Act III could easily arrive this year even within the same-ish window.

While I love Victoria Monet's new video, it annoys me a lil when it comes to Bey because THIS is exactly the type of aesthetic, choreo, and overall creative elevation that I want/am anticipating from Bey with these elusive trilogy visuals. I've often struggled to put it into words, but with Bey taking as long as she has been with the visuals, they NEED to slay and not just in the "great Beyonce video" way like some of her recent ish (Water, My Power, etc); there's a freshness needed to a) be worth the wait and b) authentically feel like new terrain in the world that is Bey's visual output. I sense Bey gets this too. Hence her taking on Nadia Lee Cohen, whose aesthetic is the polar opposite of anything she's previously done. Though it looks like the end result may not have been what she wanted. She has her tried-and-true directors and has been experimenting of late with culturally aligned creatives. But interestingly, she has largely avoided some of the obvious titans of the field like Dave Meyers (who is still active and did Victoria's video) and Joseph Kahn (though his recent shade has ruled him out). Sometimes I wish she'd embrace the enormity of her star and go all out with an OTT Pop star video. Let's just hope the visuals/film or whatever are worth it.