If Aaliyah was alive would Beyonce still be BEYONCE?
- Thread starter geechiedan
- Start date
Aaliyah>>>>>>>
Yeah but come on fam.....there was room for other artists. Alicia and Beyonce were in different lanes. Lauryn was always gonna be Lauryn.
And in regards to Bad and Thriller. I prefer Thriller but both are good albums. But there's Thriller that sold 66 million records......and there's everything else.Impact-wise......nothing compares to Thriller. I was bringing it up as that being his peak album.
Who's to say Lauryn wouldn't have two? Jay Z did with Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint. Its rare but its been done. I just think that album with all of the awards it got and all of the album sales it got...was a gift and curse for Lauryn.
Off the Wall>>>
You are making Aaliyah bigger than she actually was. To my knowledge Aaliyah didn't do headlining tours (domestic or internationally).
Rihanna has also put out more albums than Beyounce.
Damn good question. They very well could be more prominent, if that had been the case.
As it stands now, Nicki Minaj is the most successful female emcee in history by far. She's pop for the most part, though.
He had Jay-Z, Beyonce and Justin
Does anyone else need his beats
Dude can pick and choose when and who he wants to work with at this point.
and he's been trying to get Tink out the past couple of years
Timbaland has never been good at setting up and launching an artist.
I think people forget how big Jay was from '98 to '01.
I know this is gonna sound crazy, but here it go:
Tamar Braxton was supposed to be Beyonce right now. Toni little sister, had a big budget, as a matter of fact a lot of Beyounce's early solo stuff was a rip off of Tamar Braxton.
Wasn't nobody betting on Beyonce over Ashanti. As a matter of fact I think there is an article out there titled, "Beyonce is no Ashanti"
Aliyah was dead in the water until Timbo and Missy saved her. She was just at the right place at the right time two times in a row. R Kelly produced her debut album and Timbo and Missy produced the follow up, that's called hitting the lottery twice. She was incredibly limited talentwise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/arts/music-the-solo-beyonce-she-s-no-ashanti.html
Yeah, she immediately got attention for her looks. But I think peterlongshort is just saying that the musical buzz wasn't necessarily behind her like that. At least not as a solo artist.
like thats a good thing....who the hell wanna pay to see nas perform then wait 4 hours for lauryn to show up..
Excellent synopsis, I cannot say I disagree... R.I.P Aaliyah...
When people say things like that, that's when you know never to listen to anything that they ever say in life.
If they say it's water, it's probably bleach.
did she get the rights back to perform her songs? because up until a couple year ago, she was legally unable to perform any of her old hits.
I agree Beyonce can sing but you gotta post something live pimpin
She did her thing here
If Aaliyah were alive today, the artists whose careers would have looked the most different aren’t the pop-crossover titans like Beyoncé or Rihanna. Instead, her presence would have directly impacted the artists who were signed, styled, and produced to fill the specific "cool-girl, streetwear-chic, whisper-vocal" void she left behind in the early 2000s.
Several artists' trajectories likely would have shifted significantly:
@playahaitian @Complex @THREAD_CRITIC @A to Dah K
Several artists' trajectories likely would have shifted significantly:
1. Ciara
Ciara is perhaps the most direct musical and aesthetic descendant of Aaliyah. When she debuted in 2004 with Goodies, even Missy Elliott (Aaliyah’s close friend and frequent collaborator) publicly noted that Ciara was the closest thing the industry had seen to Aaliyah.- The Shift: Ciara mastered the "tomboy sexy" blueprint—baggy pants, crop tops, effortless cool, and incredible dancing paired with a softer, breathier vocal style. If Aaliyah were still active, the industry’s hunger for a "new Aaliyah" wouldn’t have existed because the original would still be in her prime. While Ciara’s incredible dancing ability would have still made her a star, she would have had to fight much harder to carve out a distinct identity rather than being labeled an Aaliyah successor.
2. Ashanti
Ashanti’s debut album dropped in the spring of 2002, less than a year after Aaliyah’s passing, and she completely dominated that summer.- The Shift: Murder Inc. records was looking for a definitive "Princess of Hip-Hop and R&B" to sing sweet, melodic hooks over gritty rap beats (think her massive tracks with Ja Rule). Aaliyah was already the undisputed queen of that exact sound (Back & Forth, Hot Like Fire). Had Aaliyah been around, many of those premier rap-feature slots and mid-tempo R&B tracks likely would have gone to her first, potentially capping the meteoric rise Ashanti experienced between 2002 and 2004.
3. Tinashe and Jhené Aiko (The Modern Alt-R&B Wave)
Aaliyah’s final 2001 self-titled album was incredibly avant-garde. It laid the foundation for what we now call "Alternative R&B"—dark, atmospheric production, glitchy beats, and moody, delicate vocals.- The Shift: Modern artists like Jhené Aiko, Tinashe, and even FKA Twigs operate heavily in the sonic landscape Aaliyah was building with Timbaland. Had Aaliyah lived, she likely would have been the veteran matriarch of this genre throughout the 2010s. These younger artists would have been viewed through the lens of Aaliyah's ongoing influence, rather than being seen as pioneers of a new, moody R&B wave.
The Hollywood Factor: Actresses of the 2000s
It’s also crucial to remember that Aaliyah was pivoting heavily into acting. Her tragic passing drastically altered the casting landscape of several massive film franchises:- The Matrix Sequels: Aaliyah had already filmed scenes as the character Zee for The Matrix Reloaded (2003). After her death, her scenes had to be completely cut and the role was recast with Nona Gaye.
- Honey (2003): The lead role in the dance movie Honey was explicitly written for Aaliyah. After her passing, the role went to a young Jessica Alba, serving as a massive launchpad for Alba's mainstream Hollywood career.
@playahaitian @Complex @THREAD_CRITIC @A to Dah K
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