REAL Fans Should Be Loyal But Critical

Photo via Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

I want to preface this post by saying that I have been a fan of Beyonce' since the beginning and I respect her as a consummate artist and performer.

I do NOT, however, attend the "Church of Beyonce'" nor do I "worship" her in order to call myself a fan.

My initial reaction to the whole thing was that I was not surprised if she was lip-synching. I even gave her props initially on Facebook and Twitter because I thought the performance was subtle and she could have gone MANY different ways with that performance for that Inauguration moment with the whole world watching. There is no doubt that what we heard was Beyonce's voice nor am I questioning if she can really sing.

I guess that my issue was that the performance was widely thought to be the HIGHLIGHT of the entire Inauguration, not the second swearing-in of the first black President. All of the entertainment blogs, shows and even the talk shows led with Beyonce's performance being the best part of the day.

Beyonce' is a PERFORMER so she knew every cadence of the pre-recorded track and faked it to PERFECTION. She looked AMAZING, flailed her arms and even took out the earpiece during the performance as if she were really singing. However, singing for the President should be done LIVE out of respect especially when you are close to him like she and Jay-Z are to Barack and Michelle.

Beyonce' has some of the most devoted and unwavering fans in the music industry but sometimes I think that they make excuses for her as if she can do NO wrong. If I were Beyonce', I would want to be transparent and be open if and when my REAL "fans" tell me when they didn't like a performance.

I understand that Beyonce' is in the middle of a whirlwind comeback, with the Superbowl coming up and the GQ photo shoot. Honestly, I am glad to see her back but I just wanted it to be more authentic. As fans of Beyonce' or any other artist or athlete, we should be able to make comments about their performances because they are public figures and that is what they're paid to do (and chose to do).

The biggest excuse that was made was that the cold weather made her decide to use the pre-recorded track. However, if it was so cold, then why didn't she perform in the fur coat that she walking out wearing? Yes it was around 45 degrees and any artist would be worried about their voice in that weather, but if she would have sang live and not sounded perfect, I would have given her the benefit of the doubt because of it.

It's not that I'm upset that she lip-synced because it's supposedly a "standard industry practice" and because the "Star Spangled Banner" is not the easiest song to sing...I would have just rather have had a more authentic performance for that moment.

It was also brought up that Whitney Houston lip-synched her iconic Superbowl performance back in 1991. I didn't want to bring up Whitney because she died BUT Whitney also did drugs...would it be okay for Beyonce' to do drugs too because Whitney did it? NO!

I even had a falling-out yesterday with a friend over this situation which is absurd because I really didn't take it that seriously. I just wasn't surprised that she did it.

Olivia Pope is a "Side Chick"...In Name ONLY

I recently came across a funny picture on Instagram about my favorite TV show, Scandal:

Chicks be like "I can't stand infidelity" but on Thursdays be like "Awwwww"

I am 100% guilty of this!!!!! There's NO denying that President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III is married and that his affair with Olivia Pope technically makes her the "side chick". However, if you watch the show faithfully (like me) then you KNOW that's just a technicality.

Fitz does not love his wife, Mellie, and is only with her because he didn't meet Olivia first. He is the President which means that he has been in the middle of a successful political career for some time so he knows what political moves play...and having a black girlfriend does not (let's be frank).

A lot of people say that Olivia Pope does nothing but give side chicks everywhere some hope. However, TRUE "Gladiators" like myself know that there is WAY more to the story than Olivia just being a "side chick". Fitz does not confide in the First Lady the way that he does with Olivia, he doesn't talk to her, have fun with her...NOTHING!

I came up with 5 reasons and included 5 scenes that show Olivia is more than just "the other woman" and I purposefully didn't include any of their steamy love scenes because it's more to it than that. You can't hear my argument by just watching one episode and jumping to conclusions...I need you to see BEYOND the obvious & look deeper.

5) Olivia was pursued by Fitz
Olivia hit Fitz and he NEVER saw it coming. In this scene, you see his immediate and undeniable attraction to her, and it's not just on the surface. She basically told him about himself in front of his entire staff, which prompted him to fire her, only to try to get close to her.



4) They can't deny it, no matter how hard they try...OR move on 
They know it's wrong for them to be together (for now) but it's UNDENIABLE. She tried to move on with Edison but he still calls her late at night from the Oval Office. He even used his Presidential power to spy on her and had the Secret Service kidnap her to bring her to him in the middle of nowhere for goodness sake! He wouldn't have gone through all that trouble for a side chick.




3) Fitz does NOT love his wife
If you've been watching the show since day 1, you know that Fitz and Mellie don't like each other...they don't get along...they rarely speak or talk to each other. Everything between them is a political move. Mellie is so caught up in her own agenda that she doesn't really care that Fitz is having an affair. She is playing her own game and is more worried about being First Lady that being Fitz's wife. He even ponders this in front of Olivia (what man NOT in love would put himself down or insult himself for a "side piece):

"Why didn't I meet you sooner? What kind of a coward was I to marry her and not wait for you to show up?" 

2) They really know each other
Fitz knows that Olivia paces in circles when something is wrong...Olivia knows that Fitz loves the outdoors...These little details in the relationship are how I know that it's more than a fling. In this scene, Fitz asks for "one minute" because he knows that's all they have but it's just what they both need. They can't be together right now so they take what they can get.



1) They belong to each other!!!!! 
They have REAL LOVE and PASSION for each other...If you don't believe me then just watch the clip below:

The "Reality" of Religion: The Sisterhood vs. Mary Mary

First of all...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! I wish all of my ~Elle Shanice~ readers the BEST in 2013...This is a rare Sunday post but I thought that it would be appropriate to post this today...

On New Year's Day, I watched the new show on TLC called The Sisterhood, which gives us an inside look into the lives of Atlanta's preachers' wives. The concept seemed somewhat interesting until I saw the first episode.

As a spiritual, Christian woman who attends church a decent amount of the time, I thought that I would like to see a different side of the people who run these churches nowadays, but I guess I got that...and then some. This was a little too much for me. In fact, it was a HOT MESS...

I don't think that it was a good idea to portray themselves as servants of God in such a negative light because they do represent their church as well. I'm all for pastors and first ladies being real people because the Bible itself says that "all have sinned" but this was TOO real for me.

Never mind them talking about their sex lives or explaining STD's & how to properly put a condom to their teenage daughters (instead of abstinence), but there was too much DRAMA!!!!! Gossiping, arguing and everything else that people dislike about other shows like Real Housewives of Atlanta or Basketball Wives. This show was so ridiculous to me that I don't even know if I believe that these are even real pastors' wives, pastors OR churches. 

I'm disappointed because The Sisterhood did not shine a good light on the Christian community, especially the black church after just one episode. They could have done this show so much better and I think that you can show a different side of reputation and tradition without going overboard.

Mary Mary's self-titled show is a great example of that. As successful gospel artists, they are able to show a balance between their personal, professional and spiritual lives without being too raunchy or bringing too much drama into it. Yes, they had a bachelorette party for their sister's wedding and they argue at times but I still think that they don't overdo it. They handle their business, take care of their husbands and children, make great music that praises God as well as gets people dancing, and show a real sister relationship that is authentic while looking fly.

The Sisterhood went down the wrong road in regards to displaying spirituality and the church on television. They could have shown relationships, sexuality and other "secular" topics in a way that could be used as outreach and bring people to the church. This could have really helped people with their spiritual lives but this show does not help anyone...it just hurts the perception of these pastors, their wives and their churches and puts it all in a negative light.

You can watch the entire first episode of The Sisterhood (which will be the last one that I will be watching) below: