Driving the world crazy with sold-out stadium tours and booming box office sales, 2023 was nothing but a victory lap for both Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. However, both of their shows consisted of more than just roaring crowds, fierce choreography, and stadiums filled with silver cowboy hats and friendship bracelets.
Beyoncé released her album “RENAISSANCE” on July 29, 2022. Dedicating her album to the honorary work from Black queer pioneers of the House genre, particularly LGBTQ+ ballroom culture. MBA junior Ryhan Ship said, “My favorite album has to be Renaissance, I can’t even put into words how her music makes me feel, makes me want to dance!”
In a tour teaser, Beyoncé stated she intended for the Renaissance World Tour to be a safe space for all, “The goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free, and no one is judged. You’re unique.”
Debuting the tour in Stockholm, Sweden, to then finishing the tour in Kansas City, Missouri, there were a total of 56 stops throughout the globe. According to the New York Times, the Renaissance World Tour accumulated an estimated $4.5 billion boost for the economy. The Los Angeles economy was positively impacted when she performed for a staggering three days at our very own Sofi Stadium, even sharing her Virgo’s Groove by celebrating her birthday with her fans (Sep. 4).
Long Live Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.” Swift released her album “Midnights” Oct. 21, 2022, describing the album in an Instagram post as “thirteen sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” Swift swiftly announced her respective tour only a week after “Midnights” was released, but shocked fans after revealing this tour would be a legacy showcase highlighting each and every one of her albums.
Swift began the United States leg of her tour in Glendale, Arizona. COMPASS junior Clarabella Kee traveled from Long Beach to Glendale to catch the opening weekend of the tour. “We left at 6 a.m. to drive to Glendale and left early from the hotel for the show and still didn’t have enough time to do everything,” states Kee.
Closing off the leg with an impressive six-day residency, also taking place at Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium, Swift announced “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” a re-recording of her award-winning album “1989.” Although Swift still has another year to tour internationally, Rolling Stone reports with only one year of tracking The Eras Tour has already become the highest-grossing tour of all time, becoming the first artist in history to accumulate over $1 billion in ticket revenue. “I am so lucky to live in a time of Taylor Swift,” Kee adds.
To conclude, both created a dance floor for fans all across the globe to embrace. Such a lasting mark should only leave the public with an equal love for both of these musical legends, right?
Headlines like “Jealousy! Trash Talk! Revenge! Taylor Swift & Beyoncé Blood Feud Explodes!” published by Globe Magazine have been spotted in department stores across the United States, manufacturing invalid statements with the intention of taking advantage of the two most impactful female musicians of the 20th century for clicks.
It doesn’t just end with desperate journalists craving for engagement, there is an ongoing issue with the comparison of exclusively female musicians. For instance, videos of Swift performing choreography on her Eras Tour have been circulating on social media, being judged as weak or inconsistent when in comparison to Beyoncé. Meanwhile, others on the internet argue that Swift’s ticket sales are considered to be a stronger force when compared to the sales of Beyoncé.
This same treatment is scarce when observing the public reception of male musicians. An example of this double standard is Morgan Wallen. A male country musician who went on a sold-out stadium tour similar to Swift and Beyoncé. Standing tall, with nothing but a guitar, only encountered with love and applause. Acoustically playing the guitar is an impressive feat but, when a female musician does just that, choreography, euphonious vocalizing, stage effects, special props, custom-designed couture…there is still something that someone is displeased with.
It would be ignorant to deny that female musicians are accustomed to a much more cruel standard when compared to their male counterparts. Not that the solution is to begin harshly criticizing male musicians with one another, but instead to begin celebrating the success of female musicians without having to compare her accolades with her peers.
On Oct. 11, 2023, Swift and Beyoncé diminished all rumors of a possible feud with Beyoncé making a surprise appearance at The Eras Tour film premiere in Los Angeles. Swift wrote in an Instagram post, “She’s (Beyoncé) been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact she showed up tonight was like an actual fairy tale.” Later on Nov. 30, 2023, Swift made a surprise appearance at the Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé premiere in London.
2024 is already aiming to be another year of starstruck for the two pop-phenomenons, Beyoncé has released her dip into country music with “Cowboy Carter” on Mar. 29, and Swift will be releasing her 11th album “The Tortured Poets Department” on Apr. 19.
Laurissa Avina • Apr 12, 2024 at 4:11 pm
On April 8, 2024, Ian Henriquez wrote the opinion article, “The Comparison of Female Musicians (Taylor Swift and Beyonce).” Henriquez’s article was not only informative but uplifting as well. I really enjoyed that he started off his article by celebrating and recognizing both female musicians’ records. There was never a sarcastic tone which made it really easy to follow along and agree. After recognizing both artists, Henriquez compares them in a way that is healthy and positive rather than negative. It was wise to place the negative comparison based headlines in the article as well so that multiple sides are displayed.I also enjoyed where he calls out how unfair it is for women in the music industry who are always being told they need to improve something, meanwhile men can rarely do wrong. Henriquez closes the article by informing the readers that both Swift and Beyonce are friends in order to provide a rebuttal for those who think otherwise. The last paragraph is again more celebration of the music that both females are releasing which was a great way to end the article.
Eileen Vuong • Apr 11, 2024 at 11:08 am
I found reading this article very pleasant. The writer delivers both these incredible female musicians with their accomplishments and achievements without pinning them against each other. It’s significant to realize that society tends to expect a higher and harsh standard for women compared to men, and this is evidently seen from the comparison between Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. It’s incredible how female musicians can carry and portray themselves outstandingly while men musicians are praised for the bare minimum. This can also be seen in different industries where an employer, company, or audience have a double standard for men and women. Additionally, this article does a great job describing this underlying detrimental societal expectation through its structure. The flow of this article is well-ordered where the writer provides each artists’ accomplishments then delivers the main conflict between the two: the unreasonable comparison and high standards placed on them. With the addition of the images and quotes from a few students, it’s very pleasant to read through its structure and the address the writer makes regarding the two successful female musicians.
Louella Kingman • Apr 11, 2024 at 11:07 am
I think this was a really great article, and it was nice to see someone speaking positively about female musicians. I’m not a huge fan of either of them, but I still think that they are both extremely impressive women, but basically everything I see about them online is criticism. This article was also very well written. The brief background you gave about them recently was helpful as well as your explanation of where all the criticism towards both singers is coming from. I especially liked how you talked about the disproportionate hate towards women compared to men by bringing up Morgan Wallen. It really is ridiculous when you realize the extreme difference in people’s attitudes towards male and female singers. Overall, I think this article was not only well written, but also an important recognition about peoples overly hateful attitudes towards women in the music industry.
Chloe Stevens • Apr 11, 2024 at 9:37 am
I enjoyed reading this article because it’s refreshing to see an article talk about two successful female artists in a way that doesn’t frame the artists as being against each other. The article does a nice job of highlighting the accomplishments of both artists’ touring and albums, written in a way that shows the author really knows what he is talking about while highlighting these amazing artists. Similarly, the flow of the article is nice, since it highlights one person’s accomplishments, then highlights the other’s with equal importance, and follows it up with contradicting how they are often portrayed in headlines which makes the artists appear as feuding when in actuality the two artists are friendly with each other. Likewise, I liked the part of the article that highlighted the double standard for men and women because it’s important to highlight how women celebrities are portrayed differently than men since we live in a world where people hate to see women winning. Finally, I would also like to say that I really enjoyed the images throughout the article since they are nice and helped to contribute to the professionalism and overall vibe of the article.
Zoe A Van Gessel • Apr 10, 2024 at 1:21 pm
I enjoyed this article very much. I am a big fan of both of these artist. I love the flow of the article, starting with a detailed introduction of both artists and then leading into the thesis of comparison. I agree with Henriquez on his point of double standards with women and men in the music industry. Especially with 2 die hard fan bases, I appreciate how Henriquez writes in a manner that is very respectful of both artist.
I liked the how Henriquez touched on the propaganda in celebrity articles and websites. But I would have dived deeper into that connecting it with the effects on the fanbases. This would have added more elaboration into the root of the comparison. I adored the original pictures from the author of the concerts he went to. It really showed Henriquez passion for this subject and displays no bias as he is a fan of both artist.
This article is very well written and touches on current trends in pop culture. Well done to Ian.
Phoebe Mims • Apr 10, 2024 at 11:20 am
To say this article was thorough is an understatement. You can tell by reading this article that Henriquez is both passionate and knowledgeable on the issue, providing readers with a real deep dive into the double standards of the music industry. I had no prior awareness of the issues discussed in this article, specifically regarding the pinning of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé against each other and proposing they are in a jealous feud, yet Henriquez has provided me with so much information in a concise, easy-to-understand way that I could confidently talk about this with others.
I like how he discusses the immense success that both women have experienced thus far in their recent tours, as well as with newer albums. Although this article has a lot of statistics and facts sprinkled in, it is extremely engaging and interesting. I also enjoyed how he not only expanded on their supposed “feud[s]” in the media but also gave evidence to debunk this from Swift and Beyoncé’s public displays of respect for each other.
Francesca A • Apr 10, 2024 at 11:17 am
The article gave a detailed analysis of the criticisms the internet has had for two of the most popular musicians in the pop-music industry. I also agree that people are creating issues where there are none, and it is unmannerly to undermine and invalidate the successes these musicians have accomplished. As an emerging pop-music connoisseur, I appreciate the featuring of both sides of the issue. This created a smoother flow to the article and was very engaging. With the level of achievement from these musicians, it’s easy to comment on their successes. Seemingly, the media likes to stir rumors, pitting them against each other, gossiping about nonexistent problems unrelated to their success. It’s also very interesting that this drama seems to happen to many successful female artists compared to their male counterparts. Henriquez introduced the truth behind the double-standard with the addition of the musician Morgan Wallen, who has recently also had a very successful career, but is not being compared or criticized along with other successful male artists.
I truly appreciate that Henriquez took the stance of congratulating these artists instead of criticizing them like the media has done. This allowed me a deeper insight to the gravity of this issue and has introduced me to the world of celebrity quarrels. Having quotes from students such as Kee, genuinely exhibits society’s adoration of these artists and their disapproval of these criticisms.
Memphis Nafarrate • Apr 10, 2024 at 11:06 am
Henriquez both informs and entertains the audience by providing detailed information regarding the recent career paths of both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. His article provides the reader with plenty of insight regarding both artists and even includes clickable links with more information on certain topics within the article. Henriquez also includes the opinions of Millikan students before arriving at the main point of his article- the “rivalry” the media has painted between Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
When arriving at the argument, Henriquez addresses the issue of the media’s persistence in pitting female artists against each other. He establishes his point with photographic evidence and exemplifies double standards within the music industry.
Finally, Henriquez closes off his article by providing the reader with more information regarding upcoming ventures within Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s careers for this upcoming year. Overall, the article thoroughly describes the recent careers of both artists while highlighting an issue in the media. Henriquez displays a strong ability to inform and entertain his audience through interviews, credible evidence, and intriguing information.
Natalia W Bonilla • Apr 10, 2024 at 9:30 am
I thoroughly enjoyed this article, as it highlighted one of the most common yet barely acknowledged phenomena: when two women are successful, the world tries to put them against each other in order to bring at least one of them down.
Recently, I’ve heard more and more people discussing feminism. More specifically, I’ve heard people discussing how there is no longer a need for it. Now that women have the right to vote, are starting to dominate fields that they were once not even allowed to participate in, and now have a large role in the global workforce, I’ve heard some say that being a woman and being feminine is no longer a setback. That a lot of the issues that women vocalized being concerned about, like body shaming, harsh criticisms for their visuals, and unfair wages are not unique to the gender. However even when you ignore the fact that women have only been able to vote in the US for the past 100 years (much less than men) and on average get payed 16 percent less than men, the treatment of women in pop culture is a clear sign that women still have to experience hostile work environments and harsh criticism for their looks.
I feel like this article does a magnificent job presenting that, especially when it brought up the fact that a similar male artist does not have that experience of being compared with another male artist in the way that Taylor Swift and Beyonce were. Women in pop culture are constantly picked on for their hair, body, weight, style, if they are feminine enough, if they are too feminine, their relationships with other female artists, etc. While Robert Downey Junior is asked about what his favorite suit is and what it was like playing an iconic character, Scarlet Johansson was asked how much weight she lost to play Black Widow and what type of underwear she wore to make the suit look nice. And whether it’s through direct criticism or trying to make female artists criticize each other, the entertainment industry and pop culture prove that sexism, even if it is to a lesser extent, is still alive and well.