- Former Billboard editor, alleged customer of underaged rentboys, and alleged advocate for lowering album prices to help Lady Gaga chart, Bill Werde is very outspoken for his support for pop artists and giving his take on how the music industry is changing.
- Beyonce garnered a lot of praise for her headlining performance at Coachella last weekend, bringing up the subject of how she is one of few pop artists today who has an expertise in showmanship and a career of longevity.
- Like those people, Werde made comparisons between Beyonce and Michael Jackson, suggesting out of current acts that are thriving, she has reached Michael Jackson levels of relevancy and impact in the industry.
Also, while I'm on controversial topics: I think Beyonce has pretty clearly reached or even arguably exceeded Michael Jackson levels of clout & relevancy. I lived through & worshipped Jackson--had the jacket with the zippers & moonwalked in my bedroom for years. But consider:
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 16, 2018
Read the rest of his tweets:
Michael's solo peak lasted from around 1979 to maybe mid-92 when "Remember the Time" started to fade. Please don't make a case for his last no 1, "You Are Not Alone." By then, accusations were swirling. So that's 12+ years. Beyonce is at 14+ and only getting stronger.
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 16, 2018
Meanwhile, and most importantly: both sell stadiums at a whim. Both don't just make/made international headlines with their appearances, but actually cut through global news to own parts of the news cycle beyond music. And both deliver the goods to justify the attention.
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 16, 2018
Michael's roots give him an edge in the pre-solo department: The Jacksons were bigger, for longer, with more of a chart history and more iconic classics than Destiny's Child.
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 16, 2018
And she's not just on top, but also: reinventing how we think about albums & their release; putting on arguably the most critically/commercially acclaimed tours; creating unprecedented brand relationships; & doing it all while leading certain social/racial justice conversations.
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 16, 2018
I love the folks whose counter argument is "Beyonce works with an army of people to make her music." Like Michael didn't work with the all-time greatest producer Quincy Jones for his best work, or like Rod Temperton didn't write "Thriller" AND "Off the Wall." Come at me, bro.
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 17, 2018
People are like "Where is Beyonce's 'Beat It'?" But 1. Dont even lie and say that you want to hear that today and 2. Where is Michael's "Run the world" or "Formation" or "Partition"?
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) April 17, 2018
- TL;DR: He explains parallels and different points to suggest why Beyonce should be regarded as such a status as MJ has. Stan bases came for him.
ONTD, do you agree the fact that she's Queen B, and that if U ain't on the team u playin for team D?
Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7
