Dionne Warwick released her 39th studio album “She’s Back” last week and shared thoughts on Beyoncé’s icon status in an interview with Essence.
The legendary singer said that she doesn’t quite think Bey’s an ‘icon’ just yet — and that set the Beyhive off!
via NYDN:
Warwick, who said she has “great admiration” for the “Irreplaceable” performer, admitted that she’s not yet convinced that Beyoncé can share the same status as fellow legendary entertainers, past or present.
“Watching her grow has been quite refreshing,” the East Orange, N.J., native said. “It’s wonderful to see how she’s been able to create what and who she wanted to be and who she is…very proud of that, I really am.”
“Now, sustaining and becoming a big icon that a Gladys Knight, or a Patti LaBelle, or a Johnny Mathis, or a Frank Sinatra, or a Sammy Davis Jr. is? I doubt (it). I really do,” she added.
“And I love her to death and I can appreciate her talent but that iconic status that I mentioned [like] those names, (but) it’s a long road to hoe,” she said.
An icon is defined as a person or thing that is revered or idolized by Dictionary.com.
Some may argue that Beyoncé has achieved that — and then some — even before she launched her platinum-plated, solo career in 2003 with the “Dangerously In Love” opus.
One of the most awarded artists in history; the Houston native has won numerous MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards, and Soul Train Awards. With a total of 23 awards and 66 nominations from the Grammy Awards as both a solo artist and member of Destiny’s Child, she is the most nominated woman and the second-most-awarded woman in Grammy Awards history.
She also has a rabid fan base, The Beyhive, that has become a formidable presence on social media.
That could explain why Warwick took to Twitter on Thursday to clarify what she said in the earlier video interview with the longstanding black women-focused media brand.
“What I said is in quotes,” she wrote on the social media app. “What @Essence said is not. It takes a long time to reach and achieve iconic status. That’s not to say that Beyoncé isn’t well on her way. She is a gifted performer. That was a reach from Essence.”
Hm. Do you agree with Dionne or would you argue that Beyoncé has already reached “icon” status?
