Over the course of Beyonce‘s illustrious career, she’s shared the stage with a number of talents.
And at VH1 Divas 2003, one of the gifted acts she joined forces with was Folk singer Jewel.
Together, the pair shone with a stirring rendition of Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary.’
That said, many were surprised with the pairing – given their vastly different styles. Many including Jewel herself.
In a candid account of the collaboration, she opens up about what it was like working with then freshly solo Bey.
Her words below…
Via Jewel:
“When my label told me i would be singing with Beyonce as the first act of the show Divas, I said “I don’t dance.” They know I don’t dance, right?” My label assured me, there would be no dancing.
I showed up for the first rehearsal and the producer greeted me saying “lets dance!” Folk singers don’t dance. As a child I had a recurring nightmare that was basically this exact scenario. Now here I was with the legendary and amazing Beyoncé, and I had no guitar to protect me.
That and my dyslexia and there was no way I’d remember the choreography. How did it work out? It was all due to Beyoncé. She kept simplifying choreography until I could get it. She stayed after our slotted rehearsal time to work with me.
Her and her entire crew were a class act and stayed until I was comfortable. In an era of music where too often female artists felt in competition and wanted to ‘out-do’ one another, Beyoncé was generous, kind and wanted me to look good.”
Sweet!