Kelly & Beyonce: Destiny’s Thieves
October 17, 2011 by Zamani Khethelo
Not a year or an album goes by that Queen Beyonce is not accused for plagiarism/ thievery etc. For those who’ve been with me through my JC journey will remember that my first ever JC article was an expose on Queen Bey and a certain South African Queen of Gospel stealing song lyrics.
Now fast-forward to 2011 and Beyonce is surrounded yet again by allegations of thievery, copying other people’s work and then waiting to be caught, before she claims she was; “PAYING TRIBUTE”/ “INSPIRED” etc. by the original artist’s work.
In 2011 the Plagiarism allegations have hit Beyonce twice.
Firstly with her phenomenal Billboard 2011 performance, which everyone thought was an original concept, only to find that it had originally been done by Italian pop star Lorella Cuccarrini.
Yeah I know you are asking; who the hell is she? Believe me, I also have no idea.
But I believe that’s what Beyonce was banking on, but unfortunately for her she forgot that we live in 2011 and all have global access to the internet.
.
And now Queen Thief’s latest allegation stem from her latest video for the dance number “Countdown”.
Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has blasted Beyonce for stealing her dance and even costume designs.
This was her statement on the matter:
Keersmaeker on Beyonce.
“I’m not mad, but this is plagiarism. This is stealing. It’s a bit rude. What’s rude about it is that they don’t even bother about hiding it.”
“Beyonce is not the worst copycat; she sings and dances very well, and she has a good taste! On the other hand, there are protocols and consequences to such actions, and I can’t imagine she and her team are not aware of it.
“In the 1980s, this was seen as a statement of girl power, based on assuming a feminine stance on sexual expression. I was often asked then if it was feminist. Now that I see Beyoncé dancing it, I find it pleasant but I don’t see any edge to it. It’s seductive in an entertaining consumerist way.”
Queen Thievery later replied;
Beyonce on Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker claims.
“Clearly, the ballet ‘Rosas danst Rosas’ was one of many references for my video ‘Countdown’. It was one of the inspirations used to bring the feel and look of the song to life.”
“I was also paying tribute to the film, ‘Funny Face’ with the legendary Audrey Hepburn. My biggest inspirations were the ’60s, the ’70s, Brigitte Bardot, Andy Warhol, Twiggy and Diana Ross. I’ve always been fascinated by the way contemporary art uses different elements and references to produce something unique.”
(Update: Anne Teresa has not accepted Beyonce’s statement that she was paying tribute to her and has now officially fowarded the matter to her lawyers and a lawsuit might follow soon.)
I am a huge Beyonce fan and love her work and do believe that she is one of the greatest performers of our times, but can her Stans just fall back and accept that Beyonce will never measure to the standards of legendary pop royalty such as Madonna and Michael Jackson etc.
It takes certain originality and creativeness to achieve that and I believe that is why when people say POP ROYALTY, they say Michael Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears. Say what you may about Britney Spears but all her handlers will tell you that she has been the master-mind behind most if not all her iconic videos that earned her an MTV Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year. Her video for “Baby One More Time” which has become and iconic landmark in pop culture was initially supposed to feature her animated and running around as a super-hero.
Sixteen year old Britney detested the idea, stood up to her record label and gave them a new treatment for the video, her record company didn’t even know she could dance at this point but her stubbornness and vision gave way and so the piggy-tailed, school uniformed femme fatale was born, and as they say, there rest is story. She went on to conceptualize a whole lot more videos in her catalogue.
The point I’m trying to make is that; real icons are ground breaking, change the game and bring in fresh ideas to the industry. Something Beyonce has dismally failed in. I am not in anyway questioning her talent and star power, but it is what it is.
These days I hear she’s even faking pregnancies but that’s another story for another day *sigh*
Off course just under Beyonce’s shadow you will always find Kelly Rowland. It seems Ms Rowland has picked up one too many traits from her sister, as she has now joined the parade of thievery.
Ms Rowland’s latest offering; “Lay It On ME” looks inconspicuously identical to Barbados singer Livvi Francc’s 2009 video.
I am sure Rihanna was the one who rang the alarm on Kelly.
How dare she steal from Barbados Native. SMH!
And so there they are the sisters in crime, now all I am waiting is for fellow band member Michelle Williams to claim that she wrote the hymn; “Amazing Grace”.
_______________________________________________________
More video evidence on Youtube:
Link HERE
Laaaz on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 12:43 am
Blah blah blah O_o
LesDaChef on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 12:57 am
As much as her Stans try claim otherwise Beyonce has nothing on Michael Jackson and other icons of pop. She’s talented and successful but you don’t get that same “I’m in charge of it all” feel you’d get with MJ, Janet, Madonna etc.
What’s funny is with their well-oiled hype machine in a year people will have forgotten all this and be lauding their “brilliance and originality”.
mspuncu on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 1:40 am
BOOOOOM wabanjwa doti
Makgotso on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:07 am
Eish our artists recycling stuff as their own, creativity is gone
noma_G on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:17 am
Haai man, bana ba ke mashodu! Its so painfully obvious, its scary how its allowed to happen.
Patiently waits for the stans try defend this!
Luyah on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:53 am
Dis is disappointing but none the less I still believe Beyonce nd Kelly r both very talented in their own rights.
Tebatjo on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 4:15 am
Hai Bey is just worst shame!! The video ya Countdown yona, she even got the same hair!! SMH!!
Ag but Kelly, I love Livvi Franc, but Kelly yena akere ba re its the video director!!
Nthoentle on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 7:55 am
Tjo! I think Beyonce needs to take a break nyana
Lady gaga on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 8:07 am
huuuuuuuuuuuuu QueenB bathong?!?! tjo!
Mthatha on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 8:35 am
Beyonce’s middle name is thief but Kelly.
I’m sure there’s been a mistake somewhere
Majesa TheUntouchable on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 8:55 am
This is just shameful & hypocritical because if you sample any of Beyonce & Kellys song without there permission you will get sued.
With all the resources they have Kelly & Beyonce did not need to do a Hlokoloza on us.
Regards,
Majesa Haaiwaane
“The dude who is going to change the world”
Majesa TheUntouchable on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 8:59 am
Sadly I dont think Beyonce & Kelly will be punished because America has some of the ebst spin doctors in the world, even JayZ was exposed for stealing a lot of his rhymes from BIG & countless underground artists, but 3 years later he was #1 on Forbes with people calling him a role model.
Regards,
Majesa Haaiwaane
“The dude who is going to change the world”
muntuza on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 9:09 am
But Kelly’s video guys?! Aowa this is the worst kind of thieving!! So obvious!! Its almost identical.. Least Bey tried to camouflage her crimes! This is sooooo sad! So very sad
DTutu on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 9:09 am
Bluh Blah Bluh Blah Bitchyonce *rme* The way I don’t like her mxm but her I am sasha fierce Album Made me like her a lil then she flopped with the latest album.The thing is she’s overrated and her Fans are Delusional madafuckas.I love kelly thou I don’t care about the copy cat tendencies. #TeamRihanna Baby!!!
TheSushiQueen on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 9:17 am
Sad thing is that this thievery will never be exposed on mainstream media for everyone to see.. poeple will still praise her unoriginality not knowing that she just steals…
and her stans will continue to defend her.. ah well..
Noance on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 9:21 am
Zamani I think you owe Kelly an apology. The person who directed Livvi’s video is the same person who directed Kelly’s video. You can google it, if you dont trust me. So the only crime here is…..LACK OF CREATIVITY from the directors point of view.
Monei on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 10:20 am
hayi mara Noance, do u think kelly didnt know abt the other video? for all we know she saw it, liked it and wanted it and probably thort it wud be better on her, so sought after the director.
Gwenzito on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 10:25 am
Much better than Hlokoloza, Authur and Cleo.. atleast Beyonce edit other than copy and past the way it —Hlokoloza
Noance on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 10:37 am
@Monei so even if she wanted it, the artistic rights belong to the director so Kelly is still not @ fault. Therefore she cannot be called a thief.
If you see Bonang with a dress and you go to gert and ask him to desighn the same dress for you……Are U a thief?!?
Monei on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 10:59 am
@noance, ok u have a point.
Monei on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 11:03 am
Sies!! on the director ya ga Kelly.
Majesa TheUntouchable on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 11:03 am
@Noance there is no way a director will present the same idea twice, it is clear that the director was contacted for the purpose of duplicating the same video wis the undestating the both artists markets dont correlate, this trich is common with songs, where a song from a different genre will be resang by a different artist in a different genre. You cant blame the song writer for lack of creativity when he was approached by the recording company for a copy of the lyrics.
Kelly followed common protocol & cant be blamed for identical video, but Beyonce just copied without permission & did not compensate the director for his/her ideas.
Regards,
Majesa Haaiwaane
“The dude who is going to change the world”
Cinnabon on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 11:13 am
((BOOM))
Magsiwe on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 12:42 pm
SO WHAT!! Zamani you also said “I am a huge Beyonce fan and love her work and do believe that she is one of the greatest performers of our times, but can her Stans just fall back and accept that Beyonce will never measure to the standards of legendary pop royalty such as Madonna and Michael Jackson etc.” why didn’t you quote the writer of the Youtube clip? Nothing is original in our days.. so ppl must juuust relax and let us enjoy her music qha!!
DexterSUPERIOR on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 12:54 pm
Thievery is such a strong word. I’m sure these girls were driven by INSPIRATION
Mrs_Marv on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 12:59 pm
Beyonce did work with the people that worked on Lorella’s video. She said she saw the video on You Tube and was inspired by it and she wanted to capture same creativity on LIVE television. Same thing she did with the Pantsula guys, she spotted them on You tube and she worked with them. Beyonce is signed with one of the biggest record labels and I’m sure they did do legal check on it? NOTHING IS NEW IN THIS WORLD. even in fashion they bringing back old clothing styles just with a now appeal. In creative we all inspired by things we see, read and sometimes wanna capture same idea just on different platform. Look at how novels can be turned into a movie? what would you call that? Next time before you critizise its best to do thorough research on subject and look both sides of the story.
Nerlee on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 1:01 pm
Disappointing_____
phlydivaZee on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 1:09 pm
Artists copy each other all the time.. Don’t know what the big deal is.
Lustagp on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 1:25 pm
Madonna is a pop icon legend?? why? sex dance moves with no voice can put you up-there, hayi knamandi ubamhlophe moss!
What’s new? even here in Mznatsi our singers copy evry little damn thing americans do, they will even copy how they sit in the toilet these days!
Majesa TheUntouchable on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 1:37 pm
Mrs_Marv yes nothing is new in this world, but there rules at how the copying is suppose to be done, buttom line is she should have asked for permission because Beyonce did not like copy the concept, she copied even the theme of each segment.
She delibaratly let the world to believe the concept belonged to her production team.
Kanyewest had a picture Chaka Khan at the end of the through the wire video, he also made it clear before the POWER video was released that Marco Brambilla owns the original idea & he just adopted it to Hip Hop.
When a concept is this brilliant you owe it to the artist to make sure credit is due.
Wasnt this the same Beyonce who was against Ciara remixing DIVA.
Samkha on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 1:59 pm
Where is Nonhle Thema when you need her?? *SIT DOWN B*
Kmab on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:05 pm
Not acknowledging/referencing someone else’s original work is pure plagiarism. Theft!
MissAN on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:07 pm
LOL @ the biggest stan writing this article…
There is nothing new under the sun…
Mrs_Marv on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:09 pm
@Majesa maybe the problem is not that she cpoied the idea but didnt give credit where its due. If you did understand wat I wrote you will see that I said ” she worked with same production company” that produced for the other lady. Did in any way say she came up with the concept? how did she make us belive she did it?
You can only as permission for something that is copy right protected but if not and you inspired by it then you must give credit. As for Kanye West it was a video and for B it was a live perfomance so lets not compare.
Mrs_Marv yes nothing is new in this world, but there rules at how the copying is suppose to be done—->>> Please tell us the rules
Buhlebonga on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:29 pm
For a second I thought I had stumbled on ThatGrapeJuice accidentally.
lynx on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 2:32 pm
kwaaa!ubusela obungaka
shera on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 3:09 pm
When ur an artist ur bound to copy other ppl’s work and tweek it here and there…Im not surprised mina and I dnt know y abantu bethuka…*YAWN*
Majesa TheUntouchable on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 4:39 pm
Mrs_Marv
“You can only ask permission for something that is copy right protected”
“As for Kanye West it was a video and for B it was a live perfomance so lets not compare.”
from these statements I can see you and I are only arguing for the sake of being right, so I will go back to focusing on my life outside of JC as I will gain nothing from your quality of thinking…Ayoooh!
Regards,
Majesa Haaiwaane
“The dude who is going to change the world”
Majesa TheUntouchable on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 5:01 pm
I beg a lot of ignorant people commenting here to watch “Flash of Genius” Directed by Marc Abraham.
The Movie is about Robert Kearns an Engineer who invented the car wiper system which was stolen by FORD. The Engineer felt so angry that after he ran out of money to pay legal fees he took himself to law school, represented himself in court & won.
In the Movie you will get a detailed breakdown about theft of ideas.
Regards,
Majesa Haaiwaane
“The dude who is going to change the world”
lolington kwaaa on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 5:21 pm
@Majesa……on point!
prettylicious on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 6:52 pm
Hay shem plagiarism qha ke if u dnt aknowledge the person. There’s nothing wrong with accepting and aknowledging the person that u goin to use his or her copncepts or whatsoeva bfore the other person find out by her or hisself
impartial on Mon, 17th Oct 2011 11:44 pm
Majesa u are the man.Marry me *goes down on 2 knees* you talk like this ‘cos u can back it up.I love intelligent smart ass men.tjeses!
Lady Zee on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 8:55 am
Abeg Abeg Abeg AbegO……me i dont understand why Beyonce has to release an album so often…she needs to grab a chair and sit down!we know she can scream,errh,sing so really ders no need to ‘prove a point’….now shes exhausted al her creative juices and copying is the only way she can maintain her ‘in-thing’ status!!!!
Off topic,who has seen the Nigerian movie: ‘Beyonce is dead’,bathong???maNigeria mara??ai
missCebo on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 9:15 am
Facts:
1. Beyonce Makes Their Originals Better
2. She Makes Them Famous, If She Hadn’t Touched Their Work They Wouldnt Be Known At All, So Let Them Sit Down Please.
3. They Mad, They Jealous Coz She Does It Better Than Them.
4. She Makin Moola And They Not.
Yawn These People Who Love Shining On B’s Shine, Heh Banna!!
If She’s Faking The Pregnancy, Then Good For Her, It’s Makin Her Moola!! #SoWhat
Mapakisha on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 10:46 am
*YAWWWWNN*
amyoli on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 10:58 am
ignorance yabanye abantu *claps hands*…this is plagiarism qha ke
missCebo on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 11:32 am
As foe Kelly Rowland Ai she totally jerked The video
I know That Livvi Frank video and its very similar shem
Soweto23 on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 12:48 pm
If you claim to be that “inspired” the least you could do is give credit to the people that inspired you! If people didn’t pick it she would have just kept quite and made it like it’s her thing. This women that she claims to have inspired her fought hard to be recognised and broke boundaries to make it easy for people like her to get into the industry and this is how she thanks them – thieving! This is pure disrepect!!! Osele Beyonce!!! And her fans can defend her all they want – that is thieving!
And uKelly naye nge cut and paste! Gees! Considering that she needs to really make hits the least she could do is be creative. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Like hebathong who does that? Ijoo! Haaikhona
Dahlia on Wed, 19th Oct 2011 3:57 pm
Its funny cos the writer of this article could simply be accused of being a copycat too because this topic on Bey and her “inspiration” has been blogged about over and over again. Its a tired topic by a tired artist who never had creative talent to begin with and is slowly being exposed for the fake manufactured talent she is.
So where exactly do you draw the line? Nothing is 100% original these days.Someone will have said it, written about it or done it before you do. Its just the matter of who does it best gets more attention for it. Black people have been using the term AYOBA for years and now you can’t use it for commercial gains because MTN owns it.
Biskiti on Thu, 20th Oct 2011 8:58 am
Kwaaaaa MissCebo, i like your points! I’ve got a post for you….Divisional Executive Spokesperson for BEYONCESA!
Biskiti on Thu, 20th Oct 2011 9:01 am
Talking of Beyonce….i almost died 2 years back in a taxi. I was sitting next to a mama with a 3 year-old baby girl, full of mafinyela (mamina/mucus). The girl started crying and the mother said “Beyonce, stop it, ngizokushaya maan, yekela ku khala”. Imagine Beyonce, ka mamina! I burst out laughing!