Salon.com > Beyonce http://www.salon.com Sun, 19 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Beyoncé reportedly pregnant with second baby http://www.salon.com/2013/05/17/beyonce_reportedly_pregnant_with_second_baby/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/17/beyonce_reportedly_pregnant_with_second_baby/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 20:14:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13301847 Rumors that Beyoncé is pregnant are becoming more reputable as E! reports that "multiple sources exclusively confirm" a second child is on its way for the singer and her husband, Jay-Z.

The couple gave birth to their first child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, in January of 2012. The singer recently told ABC News that she "would like more children," and rumors of her pregnancy hit the Internet when bloggers identified a small bulge around her waist on Monday. On Tuesday, the singer raised suspicions further by canceling a concert in Belgium due to "heat and exhaustion."

Of course, Jay-Z's rep had no comment and Beyoncé's rep could not be reached for comment by E!, so the speculation on whether or not a baby bump will soon protrude from Beyoncé's belly will continue until the appearance of said baby bump makes the speculation pointless.

Perhaps Kate Middleton can hold us over until then.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/17/beyonce_reportedly_pregnant_with_second_baby/feed/ 8 Listen to the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/listen_to_the_soundtrack_of_baz_luhrmanns_great_gatsby/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/listen_to_the_soundtrack_of_baz_luhrmanns_great_gatsby/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 15:16:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287674 NPR First Listen has made the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann's glitzy 3-D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" available for streaming via Playlist.

For music fans, the soundtrack, which features new music by top artists like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Gotye and Lana del Rey, arrives with as much anticipation as the movie set to open May 10. NPR on the jazz-infused rap and pop soundtack:

Whether Lurhmann's film does justice to Fitzgerald's essential work will become widely evident when the film opens on May 10. First, we have the film's soundtrack, which like Lurmann's [sic] previous ones both arises from within the film and stands separately from it. Some have wondered why, after Lurhmann enlisted Jay-Z's help and announced that his movie's music would recast hip-hop as the jazz of our boom-and-bust era, only a few rappers show up on the album. But just as Fitzgerald peppered his text with references to jazz-influenced pop songs to show how that music became a lingua franca, so this soundtrack aims to show how hip-hop now deeply informs rock, dance music and the Top 40.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/listen_to_the_soundtrack_of_baz_luhrmanns_great_gatsby/feed/ 1 The week in 10 pics http://www.salon.com/2013/04/13/the_week_in_10_pics_9/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/13/the_week_in_10_pics_9/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13269493 http://www.salon.com/2013/04/13/the_week_in_10_pics_9/feed/ 8 Jay-Z writes “Open Letter” in response to haters http://www.salon.com/2013/04/11/jay_z_writes_open_letter_in_response_to_haters/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/11/jay_z_writes_open_letter_in_response_to_haters/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:42:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13268003 Addressing controversy in the epic fashion that only Jay-Z can, the rap icon has released a track called "Open Letter," responding to those who criticized his recent trip to Cuba with wife Beyoncé and his decision to sell his share in the Brooklyn Nets.

On Cuba:

Politicians never did shit for me/ Except lie to me, distort history/ They wanna give me jail time and a fine-- Fine, let me commit a real crime/ Obama said, "Chill, you're going to get me impeached"/ You don't need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach

On the Nets:

I woulda moved the Nets to Brooklyn for free/ Except I made millions off you fucking dweebs/ I still own the building, I'm keeping my seats/ You buy that bullshit, you better keep your receipts

"Open Letter" is produced by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. Listen to it below:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/11/jay_z_writes_open_letter_in_response_to_haters/feed/ 4 Beyoncé and Jay-Z trip to Cuba reportedly licensed by U.S. Treasury http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/beyonce_and_jay_z_trip_to_cuba_reportedly_licensed_by_u_s_treasury/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/beyonce_and_jay_z_trip_to_cuba_reportedly_licensed_by_u_s_treasury/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13265650 The GOP continues to question how celebrity couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z were allowed to visit Cuba, a country that the US has restricted tourism to for over 50 years. Although Obama loosened American travel restrictions to allow educational and cultural visits in recent years, media reports indicate that the celebrity couple went on vacation to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.

Prompted by inquiries into the trip from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, sources have come forward to say that the US Treasury sanctioned the visit. From the Guardian:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/beyonce_and_jay_z_trip_to_cuba_reportedly_licensed_by_u_s_treasury/feed/ 5 GOP congressmen challenge Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s visit to Cuba http://www.salon.com/2013/04/08/gop_congressmen_challenge_beyonce_and_jay_zs_visit_to_cuba/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/08/gop_congressmen_challenge_beyonce_and_jay_zs_visit_to_cuba/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:22:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13264728 Jay-Z and Beyoncé were recently spotted in Cuba to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary, and, like all things Jay-and-Beyoncé, it made headlines around the world. But in the U.S., it's sparking controversy, as it conflicts with America's 53-year-long trade embargo that limits tourism.

Two congressmen from Florida, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, have raised this point in a letter to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, demanding to know the exact purpose of the celebrities' trip and how it was approved. The letter notes that under U.S. law "the licensing of financial transactions for 'tourist activities' in Cuba" are prohibited by law." According to OFAC, notes the letter, only Americans with a "full-time schedule of educational exchange activities that will result in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba" are allowed to visit. "These restrictions are in place because the Cuban dictatorship is one of four U.S.-designated state sponsors of terrorism with one of the world’s most egregious human rights records," write Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/08/gop_congressmen_challenge_beyonce_and_jay_zs_visit_to_cuba/feed/ 3 Newest “Great Gatsby” trailer teases with plot, music http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/newest_great_gatsby_trailer_teases_with_plot_music/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/newest_great_gatsby_trailer_teases_with_plot_music/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:32:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13261733 Though by now you may have already seen trailers for "The Great Gatsby," the adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic, Warner Bros. on Thursday released the first trailer to reveal some of the plot of the film. The trailer also features new music from Beyoncé, Florence and the Machine, Lana del Rey and André 3000.

The film, starring Leonardi DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, hits movie theaters May 10.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/newest_great_gatsby_trailer_teases_with_plot_music/feed/ 1 Beyoncé’s reluctant feminism http://www.salon.com/2013/04/03/beyonces_reluctant_feminism/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/03/beyonces_reluctant_feminism/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:20:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13259925 It should come as no surprise that Beyoncé calls herself a feminist. She's self-made, successful and possesses a song catalog that reads like a lady empowerment playlist. What's unusual is the lengths to which Ms. Sasha Fierce herself will go to walk back that simple statement.

In a new interview with British Vogue, the 31-year-old hedged when asked if she considers herself a feminist. "That word can be very extreme," she said, before acknowledging, "I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality." Unlike those old-school feminists who are totally opposed to equality, that's what I guess. Beyoncé went on to explain, "I do believe in equality and that we have a way to go and it's something that's pushed aside and something that we have been conditioned to accept. But I'm happily married. I love my husband. I feel like Mrs. Carter is who I am, but more bold and more fearless than I've ever been."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/03/beyonces_reluctant_feminism/feed/ 12 Gwyneth Paltrow talks about the baby she’s “missing” http://www.salon.com/2013/03/19/gwyneth_paltrow_talks_about_baby_shes_missing/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/19/gwyneth_paltrow_talks_about_baby_shes_missing/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:11:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13245966 Even a woman who looks like she has it all knows what it is to lose something. In a revealing interview for the Daily Mail's You magazine, actress, cookbook author and effortlessly perfect human Gwyneth Paltrow revealed this week the miscarriage that made her rethink her family plans.

Paltrow is circumspect about when the pregnancy occurred and exactly how it ended. Just a year ago, she casually brushed off questions about whether she wanted more children, saying, "I don’t know if I can go back to diapers and things like that. I’m so past that, I think I may have missed the window. I think maybe when Moses was 3 I would have done it." Now, however, she says, "My children ask me to have a baby all the time. And you never know, I could squeeze one more in. I am missing my third. I’m thinking about it. But I had a really bad experience when I was pregnant with my third. It didn't work out and I nearly died. So I am like, 'Are we good here or should we go back and try again?'" Paltrow's cryptic reference to the child she says she's "missing" comes within the context of a conversation about her healthy new "It’s All Good" cookbook, which she claims sprang out of a health crisis in which "I was vitamin-D deficient, I had anemia, I had thyroid issues, my liver was congested, I had hormonal imbalances and a benign tumor on my ovary that had to be removed."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/19/gwyneth_paltrow_talks_about_baby_shes_missing/feed/ 15 Russian hackers release sensitive information on stars including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Biden and Clinton http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/russian_hackers_release_sensitive_information_on_stars_including_beyonce_jay_z_biden_and_clinton/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/russian_hackers_release_sensitive_information_on_stars_including_beyonce_jay_z_biden_and_clinton/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:46:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13226642 A growing list of celebrities have been hacked (TMZ first reported 12, then 14, but the recent count is 17), including Michelle Obama, Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Unlike many other high-profile celebrity hacking incidents in recent memory, which include the release of George W. Bush's emails and photos of paintings, the Russian hackers doxxed the stars, meaning that they outed the stars by publishing personally identifiable information available on public record. But the hackers also published sensitive information, including social security numbers, bank statements and more.

The full list of victims, according to the hacker's Web site:

 Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian, Joe Biden, Robert Mueller (FBI Director), Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder (U.S. Attorney General), Charlie Beck (LAPD Chief), Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Jay Z, Beyonce, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears,Sarah Palin, Hulk Hogan, Donald Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/russian_hackers_release_sensitive_information_on_stars_including_beyonce_jay_z_biden_and_clinton/feed/ 0 Beyoncé and Jay-Z are not going to buy Neverland Ranch http://www.salon.com/2013/02/17/beyonce_and_jay_z_are_not_going_to_buy_neverland_ranch/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/17/beyonce_and_jay_z_are_not_going_to_buy_neverland_ranch/#comments Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:18:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13204482 According to a probably very reliable Jackson family source, Jay-Z and Beyoncé may be considering buying Michael Jackson’s shuttered, 2,700-acre Southern California estate.

Except that they're not, according to a very reliable source. Namely, Jay-Z.

While Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's more famous best friends did admit to touring the abandoned Neverland Ranch with Colony Capital owner Thomas Barrack Jr., who manages the estate, Jay-Z responded to rumors of a pending purchase by saying bluntly: “I’ve got no interest in Neverland.”

But still, Jackson family members are letting everyone know that they don't want Jay-Z and Beyoncé to buy the thing that Jay-Z and Beyoncé don't want to buy.

“It is something that we want to keep in the family,” Randy Jackson told the New York Post. “If Barrack took them to the ranch himself... there has got to be something to it,” another family member added.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/17/beyonce_and_jay_z_are_not_going_to_buy_neverland_ranch/feed/ 0 What we liked this week http://www.salon.com/2013/02/16/what_we_liked_this_week/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/16/what_we_liked_this_week/#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2013 15:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13203168 Every week, our critics tell us about the books, TV shows, and films that set their minds racing. As you settle into your weekend, in pursuit of good stories, here's a recap of their most essential picks for what to watch and read:


Laura Miller can not put down James Lasdun's haunting memoir, "Give Me Everything You Have," which recounts being stalked by a former protégé:

"In his remarkable 2002 novel, 'The Horned Man,' an academic estranged from his wife goes quietly mad while serving on his college’s sexual harassment committee, imagining that the department’s most legendary womanizer is secretly living in his office and sabotaging his life. Take a writer like this, one who specializes in the surreal, inward spiraling of paranoia, and make him the target of a clever stalker: It sounds like the premise of a James Lasdun novel, right? However, 'Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked,' Lasdun’s new book, is not a novel, but a memoir."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/16/what_we_liked_this_week/feed/ 0 Beyoncé reveals all — or nothing? http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/beyonce_reveals_all%e2%80%94or_nothing/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/beyonce_reveals_all%e2%80%94or_nothing/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13200314 Beyoncé’s self-directed, self-produced documentary all about herself, “Life Is But a Dream,” premieres on HBO this Saturday, following weeks of high-profile Beyoncé-ing, at the inauguration and the Super Bowl, and with much more Beyoncé-ing soon to come. Beyoncé’s persona has always been an exercise in extreme control, control so complete and perfect it’s sometimes indistinguishable from omnipotence. The woman — or, as some would put it, the robot, which is exactly the point — does not mess up, part of why the recent lip-syncing at the inauguration incident became such a melée, the rare human misstep, ultimately resolved with an overpowering show of vocal force.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/beyonce_reveals_all%e2%80%94or_nothing/feed/ 7 Bryan Ferry: “I love Beyoncé!” http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/bryan_ferry_i_love_beyonce/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/bryan_ferry_i_love_beyonce/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:13:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13198630 Bryan Ferry's long been an elegant stylist with one foot in the past and one in the present. As the leader of Roxy Music in the 1970s, he conducted a tempestuous and sexy art-rock swirl that still sounds otherworldly and modern to this day. And as the debonair singer with the romantic post-party croon, he's created the come-down classics "Avalon," "Boys and Girls" and several albums of reinvented torch songs and classics.

Ferry's had an eye for the remake/remodel from the very beginning, dating back to his 1973 solo album "These Foolish Things," then running through his swoon-worthy cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" and later solo efforts like "As Time Goes By." His latest album, "The Jazz Age" (credited to the Bryan Ferry Orchestra), puts another new spin on the past -- it's a collection of Roxy Music and Ferry solo songs rerecorded in the style of the 1920s. Oh, and they're all instrumentals. As familiar as many of these songs might be, these versions manage to be fresh and sometimes unrecognizable; Ferry has a way of making even a backward-looking exercise like this seem effortlessly cool and completely irresistible.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/bryan_ferry_i_love_beyonce/feed/ 5 The Grammys’ most surprising moments http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_grammys_most_surprising_moments/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_grammys_most_surprising_moments/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 04:50:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13197123 Most Staggering Display of Self-Regard: Host LL Cool J hectored the audience at length after the show began, delivering a rambling monologue that he seemed annoyed had been postponed last year due to the death of Whitney Houston. It was mainly about his own career, and how his two Grammys inspire him to pursue excellence. And he kept talking about Twitter, though it seemed he had just found out what it was. "You're gonna see hashtag Carrie Underwood, hashtag Jack White, hashtag Kelly Clarkson," he announced before a show-closing performance. It was alternately narcissistic, and so 2009.

Most Improved Live Singer: Rihanna gave a surprisingly compelling take on her ballad "Stay" and was creditable in the Bob Marley tribute. That said, her disaffected pre-show red carpet interview -- and her walking off-camera after losing an award to mentor Jay-Z -- indicated that 2013 may be the year she opts out of releasing her annual album.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_grammys_most_surprising_moments/feed/ 13 Beyoncé announces world tour http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/beyonce_announces_world_tour/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/beyonce_announces_world_tour/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:36:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13190263 Beyoncé is bringing her spirited dancing and her taste for dramatic excess to an arena near you. The pop singer, who ran through her catalog last night at the Super Bowl, has announced her "Mrs. Carter" tour, taking its name from the star's marriage to Jay-Z, né Shawn Carter.

She'll be visiting his stomping grounds as well, with the tour concluding at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, home to the Brooklyn Nets. (Jay-Z's an investor in the team.) The tour is to entirely bypass Madison Square Garden in New York, signaling that the Garden's primacy for top-flight acts may be fading. The tour, whose U.S. leg begins in June, is also going to stop in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Beyoncé's hometown of Houston. No word on whether her all-female backing band, including the guitarist whose instrument shoots fire, will be joining her, but it seems likely.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/beyonce_announces_world_tour/feed/ 0 The best and worst of Super Bowl 47 http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/the_best_and_worst_of_the_super_bowl_47/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/the_best_and_worst_of_the_super_bowl_47/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:22:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13189895 It had moments for the record books. Memorable ads. A scorching halftime show. An unexpected time out. And a wardrobe malfunction very different – yet infinitely more horrifying – than Janet Jackson's ever was. It was the 47th Super Bowl, and we put down our nachos long enough to rack up the best and worst of it.

The Bad

The Blackout

It was so strange, so unexpected, you could feel the audience and announcers not quite registering what was happening at first. When a surge knocked out half the power at the Superdome minutes into the second half of the game – and moments after Jacoby Jones' crazy spectacular return -- it set off a frenzy of frantic ad-libbing from the booth, busywork stretching on the field, and jokey speculation on Twitter. Best response? Dave Weigel's post halftime show theorizing that the stadium was not, in fact, ready for this jelly. 

Jim Nantz's tie

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/the_best_and_worst_of_the_super_bowl_47/feed/ 57 Twitter suspects Beyoncé fierceness caused Super Bowl blackout http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/twitter_suspects_beyonce_fierceness_caused_super_bowl_blackout/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/twitter_suspects_beyonce_fierceness_caused_super_bowl_blackout/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:56:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13189802 Beyoncé says, "Give me all your power, Superdome!!"

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/twitter_suspects_beyonce_fierceness_caused_super_bowl_blackout/feed/ 9 Super Bowl liveblog http://www.salon.com/2013/02/03/super_bowl_liveblog/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/03/super_bowl_liveblog/#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13188403 [liveblog id=56]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/03/super_bowl_liveblog/feed/ 0 Beyoncé sings National Anthem live in New Orleans http://www.salon.com/2013/01/31/beyonce_sings_national_anthem_live_in_new_orleans/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/31/beyonce_sings_national_anthem_live_in_new_orleans/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:47:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13187361 Beyoncé's had a busy year -- the singer, performing at Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, delivered a memorable, and memorably less-than-live, rendition of the National Anthem at Barack Obama's inauguration last week. For the first time since the lip-syncing scandal, the singer opened the floor to questions at a pre-Super Bowl press conference in New Orleans -- but not before belting a live rendition of the National Anthem to assembled reporters.

 

The a cappella anthem didn't stop the questions from a generally reverent press. "Did any sound come out of your vocal chords during the inauguration?" asked the most aggressive of the group.

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