Whilst many have heralded Beyonce‘s Billboard Music Awards performance as being ‘epic’ and worthy of high praise, the 29 year old entertainer has come under fire for supposedly stealing the show-stopping concept from an artist named Lorella Cuccarini.
The showing, which saw the ‘Broken Hearted Girl‘ singer perform intense choreography alongside 3D imagery, has been labelled by some as a direct rip-off from a rendition put on by the Italian artist some time ago.
Breaking her usually silent stance on such topics, Beyonce has spoken out on the matter. Find out what she had to say after the jump…
*Updated w/ Sam’s 2 Pence*
Via AOL:
‘My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much’, she went onto reveal ‘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. I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards’.
Check out the side-by-side comparison which has been doing the rounds:
Sam’s side note:
Needless to say, this is a non-issue. One, no doubt, fulled by the critics of Beyonce’s talent. At the end of the day, even icons such as Michael Jackson took concepts and reconditioned them into something bigger, better, and something they ultimately call their own. It’s also imperative to point out that Beyonce’s performance wasn’t just hailed for the “screen” or 3D imagery, it was praised for the singer’s work ethic, flawless choreography, and infallible ability to steal the show. That, my friends, cannot be taken away from her. Borrowed concept or otherwise.