Beyoncé protests pageant perfection
Photos courtesy of AP and AFP
In her latest single, “Pretty Hurts,” Beyoncé criticises the way society, the media and beauty pageants focus on the appearances of women, rather than what women really think or feel.
This week’s Karaoke Korner takes a look at vocabulary words used in the lyrics.
ABOUT BEYONCE KNOWLES
Name: Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
Nationality: American
Style: Pop, R&B
Label: Parkwood, Columbia
Album: Beyonce (2013), 4 (2011), I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008), B'Day (2006), Dangerously in Love (2003)
In brief: This talented singer, actress and dancer became famous as a member of the popular girl group Destiny’s Child. In 2003, Beyoncé released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, which featured the No.1 hit single “Crazy in Love.” Throughout the following decade, Beyoncé continued to release top-selling albums and smash hits, including “Irreplaceable,” “Single Ladies,” “Listen,” “Run the World (Girls)” and “Love on Top.” Beyoncé has so far sold more than 118 million albums worldwide. Her latest self-titled album was released last December and reached No. 1 on many music charts around the world. The album features the smash hit “XO,” “Partition” and “Pretty Hurts.”
If you like Beyoncé, check out: Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys and Jessie J
Website: www.beyonceonline.com
“Pretty Hurts”
By Beyoncé Knowles
Mama said you’re a pretty girl
What’s in your head
It doesn’t matter
Brush your hair
Fix your teeth
What you wear is all that matters
Just another stage
Pageant the pain away
This time I’m gonna take the crown
Without falling down, down, down
Chorus
Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worst
Perfection is a disease of a nation
We try to fix something
But you can’t fix what you can’t see
It’s the soul that needs the surgery
Blonder hair, flat chest
TV says bigger is better
South beach, sugar free
Vogue says thinner is better
(Chorus)
Ain’t got no doctor or pill
That can take the pain away
The pain’s inside
And nobody frees you from your body
It’s my soul that needs surgery
Plastic smiles and denial
Can only take you so far
Then you break
When the fake
Façade leaves you in the dark
You left with shattered mirrors
And the shards of a beautiful past
(Chorus)
When you’re alone all by yourself
And you’re lying in your bed
Reflection stares right into you
Are you happy with yourself
You stripped away the masquerade
The illusion has been shed
Are you happy with yourself
Exercises
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the vocabulary words used in the lyrics.
1. Will it ______ if I am a little late?
2. The crowd wondered if the tennis champion could retain her Wimbledon ______?
3. Luckily, John was able to quickly _______ the problem.
4. She required _______ on her left knee.
Vocabulary
- pageant (n): a competition for young women in which their beauty, personal qualities and skills are judged
denial (n): a refusal to accept that something unpleasant or painful is true
façade (n): the way that something appears to be, which is different from how it really is
shards (n): a piece of broken glass, metal, etc.
