- Insider is reminiscing about the past 10 years of musical greats with a series of opinion essays dedicated to the artists who inspired fans around the world. Here, writer Taylor Bryant explains why she believes Beyoncé is the greatest artist of the decade.
- Beyoncé proved this decade that she's a living icon through her culturally relevant music and her awe-inspiring live performances.
- She's one of the few artists that doesn't need to care about sales or album promotion, because whatever she drops will undoubtedly have a lasting effect on its listeners and the music industry at large.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Insider is looking back on the last decade of musical greats with a series of opinion essays. Next up: Beyoncé.
The past 10 years have been the most dynamic for Beyoncé in her two-decade-long career.
Not in terms of sales necessarily or even awards, but personal growth. Through her albums (plus the visuals to go along with them) and live performances, she shoved the needle forward for the industry and for her career, proving that numbers don't always dictate what music is the most impactful.
The decade started quietly with Beyoncé taking a hiatus from her career; something that would become a norm for her in the years to follow. She had just come off her 2009 world tour, sang during Barack Obama's first inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, and won six Grammys in 2010, including song of the year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."
"I've always worked hard, but I feel like I worked harder this past year than I have since I was just starting out … It's definitely time to take a break, to recharge my batteries," the singer told USA Today. "I'd like to take about six months and not go into the studio. I need to just live life, to be inspired by things again."
She then went on to release "4" in 2011, which some fans, years later, would go on to argue is one of Beyoncé's most underrated albums, giving us some of her greatest ballads like "Rather Die Young" and "1+1" along with the ever-popular "Love on Top."
It found the singer in the throes of being in love and also on the brink of reinvention. A time when she started to shed her Sasha Fierce alter ego and slowly drop the guard she held up for so long.
That same year, Beyoncé revealed she was pregnant during her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards and gave birth to Blue Ivy at the top of 2012. She stepped away from the public once again, finally showing up during the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show where she reunited Destiny's Child, "caused" a blackout, and announced a world tour without having put out a new record.
She then ended the year by turning the entire music industry on its head.
Beyoncé didn't invent the surprise drop, but she perfected it
With zero promotion or rollout (and the securest NDAs in the industry), her self-titled visual album was released into the world on a random Thursday evening — and the ripple effects are still being felt six years later.
Not every artist can pull off a surprise release, though many have tried. A less established singer requires a single or two to stir up anticipation in order to chart. Beyoncé doesn't. The 2013 record went on to become her fifth consecutive No. 1 album and earned her a Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling album on iTunes.
If I were to point out a moment in Beyoncé's musical career when she shifted from mere artist to tour de force, this would be it. The album explored themes of capitalism, black pride, and embracing your sexuality while also providing an intimate look into her relationships as a mother and a wife.
"***Flawless," one of the most memorable songs from the album, is an anthem about independence and feminism, but it's also Beyoncé realizing her own power and harnessing it.
But things really shifted with the release of 'Lemonade'
Not only did Beyoncé reveal personal information about her life on "Lemonade," something she rarely does anymore since she stopped doing interviews, but she was not afraid to be political, raw, and blatantly black. We saw a typically private woman sharing parts of herself, her beliefs, and her life that fans had only dreamt about.
She cycled through telling a story of infidelity and reconciliation — emphasizing the hurt and pain that comes with it — while effortlessly merging genres in songs like "Daddy Lessons" and "Don't Hurt Yourself," which featured Jack White of the rock duo The White Stripes.
The release of "Formation" two months before acted as something of a preface for the album. With lines in the song about loving her afro and "negro nose," the video was equally pointed, showing Beyoncé sitting on a police car while it sinks underwater and displaying graffiti that reads "Stop Shooting Us." Beyoncé was making it clear who this album dedicated to: black people and, more specifically, black women.
She further emphasized this with the visuals for "Lemonade," which included the mothers of young black men who have been killed by police and a Malcolm X quote about black women being the most disrespected and unprotected people in America.
When Beyoncé was snubbed for album of the year at the 2017 Grammys, winner Adele drilled in just how monumental the album really was, saying in her acceptance speech: "You are our light, and the way that you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel, is empowering. And you make them stand up for themselves and I love you."
One can't make the argument in favor of Beyoncé being the artist of the decade without bringing up her live performances
The singer is at her best when on stage. Though "Formation" became her highest-selling tour yet, no concert was more memorable than Beychella.
She made history by becoming the first African American woman to headline the festival and she made a point to turn her performance into a celebration of black culture as well as her own career.
For nearly two hours, she cycled through songs emphasized by flawless choreography and stunning vocals. In case you weren't convinced of her work ethic, a year later, she showed the world what went on behind the scenes in a Netflix special.
Jon Caramanica over at The New York Times put it the best: "There's not likely to be a more meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical performance by an American musician this year, or any year soon."
Beyoncé is one of the very few artists who doesn't need to care about sales
While Beyoncé's had fewer top 10 hits this decade than last — she's had six No. 1 singles in her career, but only one of them was released in the past 10 years (and it included Ed Sheeran) — part of that has to do with the fact that she stopped caring about sales.
She made this clear when she rapped on "Nice" from "Everything Is Love," her and husband Jay-Z's collaborative album: "If I gave two f----, two f---- about streaming numbers/ Would have put Lemonade up on Spotify/ F--- you, f--- you, you're cool, f--- you, I'm out (ah!)"
But the other part is that she stopped being her usual palatable, humble self, and leaned into her earned cockiness — unapologetically so.
Beyoncé has always been a talented artist, but over the past decade, she's become an entity, a living icon. Someone who people and other artists have come to both respect and envy. So in terms of accolades and chart-topping, she might not be No. 1, but when it comes to changing the culture and challenging others to catch up to what she's doing rather than keeping pace with everyone else, she reigns supreme.
Over the past couple of weeks, people on social media have noticed that Beyoncé's been unusually quiet. She released the "Lion King" soundtrack in July and has attended events here and there, but other than that she's been MIA. Judging from her past breaks, that usually means something is in the works.
And whether it's in the next month or the next year, one thing is for sure: The whole world will be listening when she's ready to make some noise again.
Taylor Bryant is a freelance writer and editor. She's been published in Nylon, Glamour, and Billboard, among other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @tay11090 though she's much more interesting on Instagram @taylahgram.