Costco Connection - December 2008

No boundaries

Beyoncé steps out

of her comfort zone

PETER LINDBERGH

By Dave Mendonca

IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE it was 1998—just to put myself in a box.”

10 years ago—that Beyoncé Knowles’ popular The first single, “If I Were a Boy,” is a good female group, Destiny’s Child, released its first example. “It’s definitely a lot riskier, because I major studio album. think it’s a heartfelt song, but it’s not the typi-

That part of her life may seem a lifetime cal R&B song. It’s almost like folk music. I ago to her fans. Since launching a highly suc- think it’s just different and it’s emotional.” cessful solo career in 2002, she has been an The two-disc release also displays a dis-unstoppable force in the entertainment tinctive split, with one disc containing per-industry, selling millions of albums and gar- sonal ballads and the second disc allowing nering multiple Grammy Awards along the Beyoncé’s hip-hop alter ego, Sasha Fierce, to way. Beyoncé has also been well received as an express herself. actress, appearing in several movies, includ- “Half the record, I Am ..., is about who I ing the 2006 award-winning Dreamgirls, for am underneath all the makeup, underneath which she received a the lights and underneath Golden Globe nomination “I am a woman [who] is all the exciting star drama,” for Best Actress. extremely happy. I’m says Beyoncé. “And Sasha

At this point in her Fierce is the fun, more sen-career, it would be easy to ^just ^very ^fortunate, ^and sual, more aggressive, more coast. But she continues I’m extremely grateful outspoken side and more ^to ^pushbeyond ^the ^bound-^that ^I’m ^able ^to ^continue ^glamorous ^side ^that ^comesaries, in her portrayal of out when I’m working and legendary blues singer to do what I love and when I’m onstage. The Etta James in the soon-to- I’m passionate about.” double album allows me to be-released movie Cadillac take more risks and really Records, in a co-starring role in the drama/ step out of myself, or, shall I say, step more thriller Obsessed and in her current, and most into myself, and reveal a side of me that only personal, record to date, I Am ... Sasha Fierce. people who know me see.”

“I definitely stepped out of my comfort A self-described “overachiever and work-zone,” the 27-year-old tells The Connection in aholic,” Beyoncé says she recorded more than regard to this latest musical effort. “I was 70 songs to find the right sound for this new hearing Aretha Franklin say, ‘A great singer album. “It is insane,” admits the Houston sings all different types of music.’ I didn’t want native. But, she adds, “I am in love with my job. I’m so happy I can wake up every morning and do what I love. It’s my passion. When I go into the studio, I don’t feel like it’s work.”

Of course, it is work. And as she rises to higher levels of success, so do the expectations—her fans’ and hers. “Every single album,

Beyoncé Knowles shows amazing range— and her gentle and risky sides—on her new release, I Am ... Sasha Fierce.

everything I do, I have the pressure,” admits the 10-time Grammy Award winner. “These weeks have been ‘Am I making the right decision?’ ‘Did I pick the right singles?’ ‘Are people going to understand what I’m trying to say?’ ”

Still, she says, the efforts are worth it. “I give all. I think that’s one of the things that people can identify with and respect, because you know if I’m going to put an album out, I’m going to give everything I can and everything I have.”

Even with her incredible success in the last 10 years, Beyoncé, who recently married popular rapper and producer Jay-Z, remains humble.

“I am a woman [who] is extremely happy. I’m just very fortunate, and I’m extremely grateful that I’m able to continue to do what I love and I’m passionate about,” she says. “If I didn’t love what I did, I wouldn’t do it. Thank God, I’m at that place in my life that I can do it strictly for my love and passion.” C

The Costco Connection Beyonce’s latest release, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, is available in most Costco warehouses and online at costco.com.

Dave Mendonca is a freelance entertainment writer based in Toronto. His work appears in various publications worldwide, including FILMINK (Australia), Famous magazine (Canada) and The Dallas Morning News.