Beyonce shocked the world last month when she announced her pregnancy at the 2011 MTV VMA. Following her galvanizing performance of ‘Love on Top’, where she revealed her growing stomach, both her fans and her peers welcomed the news with excitement. However, motherhood brings change.

As several female artists have experienced in the past, there are unjust yet ubiquitous pressures that plague women in the industry to revamp their music and performances to suit the more conservative standards associated with motherhood. These ideologies will undoubtedly impact Beyonce.

The rising icon has built her empire on the fundamentals of female empowerment while balancing her sex appeal with catchy hooks and timely dance routines. However, it could be difficult to continue the trend of rump-shaking and gyrating when she becomes a mother. Indeed, her close friend Mariah Carey has already begun to encounter the pressure to dress more conservatively, despite the fact that she has worn revealing outfits for over 14 years.

Yet, Beyonce has proven that her talent goes far beyond gimmickry. Unlike many of her contemporaries, such as Rihanna, she actually has talent behind the glamour and can belt a ballad with the same proficiency as her thrilling choreography. On the other hand, as proven with her ’4′ album, her fanbase may not be ready to completely embrace such a mature sound.

’4′ is her slowest-selling album to date and although it was panegyrized by critics for it’s musical depth, many of Beyonce’s fans were disappointed that it did not include more of her signature uptempo tracks. Surely, after years of catering to a market that craves shallow material, Beyonce has now found herself at a crossroads that will have a major impact on her career regardless of her decision.

Hence, the question arises: should Beyonce continue to expand on the sound of her ’4′ album by crafting more mature material to satisfy her critics or should she attempt the defy the odds and return to the catchy formula of songs like ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)’?

I would like for her to go away for a good loooooooooooooong while.

4 really was something new for her. I really enjoyed that album.

smoothcriminal12 said:

4 really was something new for her. I really enjoyed that album.

Me 2.

I don't get how people are saying it is a flop. It is still selling well and Bey is promoting it and she is getting exposure everywhere. I think the big difference this time around is that she is not popping up every week on a different program trying to sell albums and doing a ton of extensive dance numbers.

I hope she continues to try to grow as an artist. Maybe after she becomes a mother, she will grow even more.

daPrettyman said:

Maybe after she becomes a mother, she will grow even more.

http://instantrimshot.com/

daPrettyman said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

4 really was something new for her. I really enjoyed that album.

Me 2.

I don't get how people are saying it is a flop. It is still selling well and Bey is promoting it and she is getting exposure everywhere. I think the big difference this time around is that she is not popping up every week on a different program trying to sell albums and doing a ton of extensive dance numbers.

I hope she continues to try to grow as an artist. Maybe after she becomes a mother, she will grow even more.

Artists such as Madonna and Brittany Spears continued to dress sexy after having kids so motherhood for some doesnt necessarily change their perspective on their music and entertainment but we will see for Beyonce since she holds family so high.

On her 4 album, I honestly didnt hear that BIG of a difference from her other albums and still wasnt impressed. She still had high up tempo songs that discusses the same thing, cliche lyrics etc. One thing that was different though was their were more ballads but the same boring themes were still there. It still was the usual straining and oversinging...

I dunno..

Its hard to say what she will or will not do. I would like to think since she is going to be a mother that she will mature her material, get involved more with the production, COVER UP more and stop selling sex and chasing hits but who knows.

Critics claim that the reason why this album hasnt sold well is because she change the direction of the album but that isnt true. One major reason why it hasnt done so well is because the girl is OVERexposed to the max and has been for over a decade now. She really needs to take a break, people are tired of her. I think if she had taken a break, this album would have been more well received. The excitement and anticipation is not there with her because she does the SAME things, lacks creativity and seems to care more about accolades than being creative

[Edited 9/19/11 10:05am]

mjscarousal said:

Artists such as Madonna and Brittany Spears continued to dress sexy after having kids so motherhood for some doesnt necessarily change their perspective on their music and entertainment but we will see for Beyonce since she holds family so high.

On her 4 album, I honestly didnt hear that BIG of a difference from her other albums and still wasnt impressed. She still had high up tempo songs that discusses the same thing, cliche lyrics etc. One thing that was different though was their were more ballads but the same boring themes were still there. It still was the usual straining and oversinging...

I dunno..

Its hard to say what she will or will not do. I would like to think since she is going to be a mother that she will mature her material, get involved more with the production, COVER UP more and stop selling sex and chasing hits but who knows.

Critics claim that the reason why this album hasnt sold well is because she change the direction of the album but that isnt true. One major reason why it hasnt done so well is because the girl is OVERexposed to the max and has been for over a decade now. She really needs to take a break, people are tired of her. I think if she had taken a break, this album would have been more well received. The excitement and anticipation is not there with her because she does the SAME things, lacks creativity and seems to care more about accolades than being creative

[Edited 9/19/11 10:05am]

I think Madonna's musical perspective changed even more after she had her daughter. To me, it was a drastic difference between "Bedtime Stories" and "Ray of Light." Many say "ROL" is her best album and I think that has a lot to do with her perspective on life and music.

I'm not going to say that about Brit, because I don't really classify her as an "artist." She is a manufactured pop act. I'm not dissing her, just stating a fact.

As for Bey's 4, I don't think her change was drastic by any means, but this is the first album since B-Day that I could actually listen to 90 percent of the way without being sick of it. It was just refreshing to hear songs like "Love On Top" and "Party" without a lot of excess radio hip-hop stuff in between.

daPrettyman said:

mjscarousal said:

Artists such as Madonna and Brittany Spears continued to dress sexy after having kids so motherhood for some doesnt necessarily change their perspective on their music and entertainment but we will see for Beyonce since she holds family so high.

On her 4 album, I honestly didnt hear that BIG of a difference from her other albums and still wasnt impressed. She still had high up tempo songs that discusses the same thing, cliche lyrics etc. One thing that was different though was their were more ballads but the same boring themes were still there. It still was the usual straining and oversinging...

I dunno..

Its hard to say what she will or will not do. I would like to think since she is going to be a mother that she will mature her material, get involved more with the production, COVER UP more and stop selling sex and chasing hits but who knows.

Critics claim that the reason why this album hasnt sold well is because she change the direction of the album but that isnt true. One major reason why it hasnt done so well is because the girl is OVERexposed to the max and has been for over a decade now. She really needs to take a break, people are tired of her. I think if she had taken a break, this album would have been more well received. The excitement and anticipation is not there with her because she does the SAME things, lacks creativity and seems to care more about accolades than being creative

[Edited 9/19/11 10:05am]

I think Madonna's musical perspective changed even more after she had her daughter. To me, it was a drastic difference between "Bedtime Stories" and "Ray of Light." Many say "ROL" is her best album and I think that has a lot to do with her perspective on life and music.

I'm not going to say that about Brit, because I don't really classify her as an "artist." She is a manufactured pop act. I'm not dissing her, just stating a fact.

As for Bey's 4, I don't think her change was drastic by any means, but this is the first album since B-Day that I could actually listen to 90 percent of the way without being sick of it. It was just refreshing to hear songs like "Love On Top" and "Party" without a lot of excess radio hip-hop stuff in between.

Beyonce isnt an artist either the only difference is she has an above average voice and is able to sing ballads unlike Brittany Spears but ruins them with her over the top singing. She did have some radio friendly songs on that album... Love On Top is the only old school feel song on the album... Party is overrated.

I was mostly refering to the clothing aspect and wardrobe when speaking on Madonna.

[Edited 9/19/11 10:34am]

[Edited 9/19/11 10:35am]

mjscarousal said:

Artists such as Madonna and Brittany Spears continued to dress sexy after having kids so motherhood for some doesnt necessarily change their perspective on their music and entertainment but we will see for Beyonce since she holds family so high.

On her 4 album, I honestly didnt hear that BIG of a difference from her other albums and still wasnt impressed. She still had high up tempo songs that discusses the same thing, cliche lyrics etc. One thing that was different though was their were more ballads but the same boring themes were still there. It still was the usual straining and oversinging...

I dunno..

Its hard to say what she will or will not do. I would like to think since she is going to be a mother that she will mature her material, get involved more with the production, COVER UP more and stop selling sex and chasing hits but who knows.

Critics claim that the reason why this album hasnt sold well is because she change the direction of the album but that isnt true. One major reason why it hasnt done so well is because the girl is OVERexposed to the max and has been for over a decade now. She really needs to take a break, people are tired of her. I think if she had taken a break, this album would have been more well received. The excitement and anticipation is not there with her because she does the SAME things, lacks creativity and seems to care more about accolades than being creative

[Edited 9/19/11 10:05am]

I agree with a lot of your points here. But I would also include as a major factor is that "Girls" song It was annoying as hell. I think it was counter-productive to what a first single is supposed to do. That song made people doubt their interest in the rest of the album

Graycap23 said:

daPrettyman said:

Me 2.

I don't get how people are saying it is a flop. It is still selling well and Bey is promoting it and she is getting exposure everywhere. I think the big difference this time around is that she is not popping up every week on a different program trying to sell albums and doing a ton of extensive dance numbers.

I hope she continues to try to grow as an artist. Maybe after she becomes a mother, she will grow even more.

You have to admit, that album had jams.

Being more conservative after parenthood? She's fine the way she is and can continue being herself, as long as the music is good.

beyonce needs to learn what taking a breaking and trying something new means. all of her cds since destinys child sound generic.i enjoy her when she dont oversing. love on top is the only song on her cd that is worth a good play again and she yells too much on that.AND dont use ya baby for publicity she didnt have 2 announce on a awards show while singing that she loaded

Jay actually leaked the pregancy on Watch The Throne track 6 New Day. No one really caught this.

cbarnes3121 said:

beyonce needs to learn what taking a breaking and trying something new means. all of her cds since destinys child sound generic.i enjoy her when she dont oversing. love on top is the only song on her cd that is worth a good play again and she yells too much on that.AND dont use ya baby for publicity she didnt have 2 announce on a awards show while singing that she loaded

I just want better uptempo jams and ballads that she can emote on that isn't about Jay's dick. She is so one dimensional musically. Otherwise as long as she doesn't go overboard on the sex like Christina did with Not Myself Tonight, she'll do alright and maintain her universal appeal. This is Bey, she's calculated to a T on being America's sweetheart and she'll be damned if she ever loses that.

daPrettyman said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

4 really was something new for her. I really enjoyed that album.

Me 2.

I don't get how people are saying it is a flop. It is still selling well and Bey is promoting it and she is getting exposure everywhere. I think the big difference this time around is that she is not popping up every week on a different program trying to sell albums and doing a ton of extensive dance numbers.

I hope she continues to try to grow as an artist. Maybe after she becomes a mother, she will grow even more.

Me 3

This is my favorite Beyonce album so far!!!

I think Dreaming (Bonus Track) is my favorite....along with Rather Die Young, Love on Top and Party