Artistic and Social Accomplishments of Beyonce and Lady Gaga and Their Influence on Pop Music - Case Study Example

This is an eight page Harvard citation style essay with twenty works cited. The question to be addressed is the following: How do Beyonce and Lady Gaga influence girls and teenagers? This essay will briefly review the respective artistic and social accomplishments of Beyonce and Lady Gaga and their influence on pop music. Beyonce Giselle Knowles is thirty years of age. Beyonces birthday is September 4th , 1981. Beyonce is world renowned for her extraordinary talent as an American singer, songwriter, music producer and movie actress. Beyonces place of birth is Houston, Texas. Beyonces parents encouraged her to develop her musical capability in a variety of performing art schools. Beyonces proficiency in the performing arts enabled her to compete in singing and dancing contests. Beyonce became world renowned as the lead singer in the group Destinys Child. Beyonces cinematic acting credits include: Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Dreamgirls (2006) and Cadillac Records (2008). Beyonce earned two Golden Globe awards for her artistic interpretation of Dreamgirls in 2006. Beyonce is also involved in fashion design. In 2010, Beyonce and her mother Tina Knowles launched a joint venture clothing line which was named House of Dereon. Beyonce attained the status of being designated as the number one musical performer on the Forbes list of the top 100 most influential and powerful musical performers in the world. Beyonce was also able to attain the one of the top positions in Forbes list of 100 most influential celebrities in the world. Beyonce is one of the best selling musical performers of all time. Beyonces artistic endeavors in music and cinema have earned her sixteen Grammy awards and eleven MTV Music Video awards (en.wikipedia.org). Lady Gaga was born in New York City. She is twenty five years of age. Lady Gagas given name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Lady Gaga is an American songwriter and musical performer. She began performing on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As Lady Gaga gained recognition for her musical talent, she was contracted by Streamline records in 2007. Lady Gagas musical recognition required diligent endeavors from an early age. She began playing the piano as a toddler and became a songwriter at the age of thirteen. Lady Gagas musical credits include the following hits: Just Dance, Poker Face, Telephone (featuring Beyonce), Alejandro and Bad Romance. Lady Gagas 2011 album which is titled: Born This Way, went straight to the top of the charts. In addition to her musical endeavors, Lady Gaga is involved with humanitarian efforts and well recognized for her endeavors toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transvestite causes (en.wikipedia.org). Many of Lady Gagas attention attracting innovations (i.e. , meat based clothing and being adorned with blood) are not behaviors which parents would wish their children to emulate. Many of the themes employed by Lady Gagas artistic interpretations depict images of raunchiness and casual sexual encounters. Many of the parents of teenage children wish that Lady Gaga and her artistic expressions would disappear. Lady Gagas musical influence is undeniable. The artistic presence manifested by Lady Gaga and Beyonce are attributable to the fact that both artists have endeavored relentlessly since an early age. Lady Gaga is an alumni of the Tisch School of Arts in NYC. Lady Gaga and Beyonce are among the select few musical artists who write and perform their own work. Both Lady Gaga and Beyonce have chosen to abstain from premarital sexual relations. Both Lady Gaga and Beyonce exercise sexual abstinence in order to provide an example to their fans of feminine strength and individuality. Lady Gaga is renowned as a sexual activist. At her concert, Lady Gaga distributes condoms to the audience in order to promote safe sexual behavior. Lady Gaga is also known as a philanthropist. Lady Gaga assisted in the relief efforts in the Haitian earthquake. All parents would like to see their children work diligently and attain the merits of recognition in the society in which they live (M 2011). Beyonce announced that Madame President Obama stated that she was a role model for her young daughters. Madame President Obama is the proud parent of two young daughters, Sasha aged seven and Malia aged ten. Beyonce has proven to be a viable role model for young girls. Beyonce endeavors to demonstrate how to become successful applying diligence and tenacity to teenagers. Beyonces behavior as a celebrity has been exemplary (James 2009). The careers of celebrities such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga are wholly dependent upon the public perceptions and the marketing endeavors of their managers (Barber 2011). Beyonce and Lady Gaga have demonstrated dominance in the global pop music scene. Both Beyonce and Lady Gaga have star quality (Empire 2011). The Chinese government has determined that the artistic and musical expressions of Beyonce and Lady Gaga are detrimental to the emotional development of young girls and teenagers in China. Consequently, the musical and artistic expressions of Beyonce and Lady Gaga have been banned in China (BBC 2011). The ease with which the mass media has demonstrated its ability to influence the youth of today has changed by means of a variety of venues. Lady Gaga and Beyonce have been developed into role models who are emulated globally by girls and teenagers. A variety of industries are represented by the artistic and musical expressions of Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Beyonce and Lady Gaga serve as role models, who enable girls and teenagers to be content with normal eating habits and appearance (Sanders 2009). The connotations of the musical endeavors of Lady Gaga and Beyonce becomes a definition in of a feminine ideology. This is what is the causal attribution of the effect of the artistic and musical rendition of Beyonce and Lady Gaga on the perceptions of girls and teenagers. The ideology of sexuality as portrayed in the artistic and musical renditions of Lady Gaga and Beyonce is minimized When emphasis is placed on this ideology of feminine sexuality, it is able to transform itself in the psyches of girls and teenagers into a quest for a natural identity. This ideology of sexuality enables Beyonce and Lady Gaga with the ability to express their individuality and strength. This ideology of feminine sexuality also enables Lady Gaga and Beyonce to gain public attention through voyeurism (Kaplan 2000). A seventeen year old girl calls her mother in order to share what she is viewing online. The teenager is observing the artistic and musical expression expression of the video titled: Telephone, starring Beyonce and Lady Gaga. This artistic and musical expression became one of the top ten videos on Billboard. The seventeen year old teenager is so shocked by the dramatic content that she needed to discuss the dramatic content with her parent. The teenagers mother is relieved by the fact that her daughter need to discuss the dramatic content of the artistic and musical expression with her (Mintle 2010). In the artistic and musical expression titled: I am Sasha Fierce, Beyonce is garbed with an eye mask and a perspex basque. Both Beyonce and Lady Gaga are wearing corsets and high heel shoes in this artistic and musical expression. They both seek identification as the female genre of the hustler which is the diva. Many girls and teenagers identify with Beyonce and Lady Gaga due to the freedom and opulence which Lady Gaga and Beyonce convey. This is done masterfully by Beyonce in her hit artistic and Musical expression titled: Upgrade You (featuring Jay- Z). The concept of freedom and opulence is conveyed by Lady Gaga in her artistic and musical expression titled: Bad Romance (Daily Mail 2009). Can Lady Gaga be perceived to be a bad influence for girls and teenagers? Many members of the artistic and musical audience perceive Lady Gaga to be a bad influence. In reality, Lady gaga is not a bad influence on girls and teenagers at all (answers.yahoo.com). Can all of the celebrities perceived as bad girls be a bad influence on girls and teenagers? Parents seem to be more upset that their child is going to emulate the celebrity who is displayed all over the walls of the childs bedroom (abcnewsgo.com). In the Video Music Awards (VMA), Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears were presented together onstage. Lady Gaga performed her hit titled: You and I. Lady Gaga was nominated as the Best Female Video of the year while Beyonce proudly presented her baby bump at the 2011 VMAs (Downey 2011). Beyonce and Lady Gaga are also perceived as being part of the avant garde in feminine fashion. This is another venue by which girls and teenagers are influenced by Beyonce and Lady Gaga. In Los Angeles, CA, many of the lingerie and fashion models who are on the runway have a sexy curvy physique, similar to the physiques of Beyonce and Lady Gaga (fashionmarketingvogue.blogspot.com). The self esteem of adolescent girls are influenced by the media and the popular culture. The celebrity culture which is representative of celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce is intended to convey a body image which is in accordance with adequate nutrition and physical voluptuousness. This is intended to enable girls and teenagers to perceive themselves as beautiful and being in fashion (Irving 2008). Research has demonstrated that 77% of all Americans perceive that celebrities have too much impact on girls and teenagers (teenink.com). Research has also demonstrated that 50% of girls and teenagers in the United States are engaged in behaviors which cause self injury. These behaviors include self mutilation and unhealthy eating habits. The lack of female self esteem among girls and teens has evolved into a public health crisis. Girls and teenagers with low self esteem are causal attributes to other health problems (i.e., anorexia, bulimia, self mutilation, depression). Research has also demonstrated that 62% of girls and adolescents do not feel at ease with their physical appearance (cleancutmedia.com). Conclusion Lady Gaga and Beyonce have a tremendous influence on the development of girls and teenagers expectations of who they would like to become in the future. The behavior exhibited by Beyonce and Lady Gaga have promoted a positive influence on girls and teenage behavior. The sexual content of the artistic and musical expressions of Beyonce and Lady Gaga are designed to exploit the voyeuristic nature of the audience (Gauna 2011). Role models such as Beyonce or Lady Gaga may have an beneficial or detrimental effect on the girls and teenagers who are their fans. It is the parents responsibility to place emphasis on the reality of the celebrity role models behavior as conveyed through the media . Parents should look at the more positive aspects of the behaviors of the celebrity role models (i.e., Beyonce and Lady Gaga) and emphasize the perceived positive aspects of the role models behavior, not the perceived negative behaviors (online-family-help.com). Works Cited ABCnews.go.com (2006) Are Hollywoods Bad Girls a bad Influence on Teens? December 12, 2006. Available at: BBC News (2011) Lady Gaga and Beyonce on China song Blacklist BBC News Asia- Pacific. Web, 2011. Available at: Clean Cut Media (2009) Girl Self Esteem & Image Issues & Parents. Clean Cut Media, March 25, 2009. Available at: Daily Mail Reporter (2009) Is Lady Gaga a bad influence...? Beyonce wears mask and perspex basque as they team up for new video. Daily Mail, 2009. Available at: Downey, Ryan (2011). Beyonces Baby Bump Lady Gagas Jo Calderon Rule 2011 VMAs . Web, 2011. Available at: Empire, Kitty (2011) Beyonce, Gaga and Adele: Why these three girls rule the world of pop. The Observer, June 26, 2011. Available at: Frederick, Brittany (2011) Interview: Dr. Carole Lieberman on “Bad Girls” Starpulse, April 15, 2011. Available at: Gauna, Allysa (2011) Negative Influences of celebrities on Teens Divine Caroline, 2011. Available at: Read More