Beyoncé Has Been Chastised By Another Musical Act For Her New Album
Right Said Fred has spoken out against Beyoncé in a new interview, annoyed that they were included in her new album Renaissance without their permission.
When a musician is as massively popular as Beyoncé, there’s bound to be some blowback whenever they release something.
Controversy is simply a part of life for the biggest and most successful in the music industry, and Queen Bey may very well be the biggest.
The singer, songwriter, and producer is currently being chastised by a well-known musical duo, who are adding to a growing chorus of artists who weren’t happy to find out they were involved with her new set.
Right Said Fred has spoken out against Beyoncé in a new interview with British tabloid The Sun after they were — apparently involuntarily — included in her new album Renaissance.
The duo is upset that the Grammy winner interpolated their 1991 global smash “I’m Too Sexy” on her song “Alien Superstar,” which was quickly singled out as a fan favorite on the superstar’s latest effort.
The issue stems from the fact that, according to Right Said Fred, neither Beyoncé nor anyone from her team reached out to the pair for permission to use any part of their song on her album.
In the past, other artists who have wanted the same pleasure have done so, but not Bey. “She is such an arrogant person,” the brotherly duo told the publication. “She just had probably thought ‘come and get me’ so we heard about it after the fact when you did.”
While they may not have been spoken to before Renaissance dropped, both Right Said Fred members – siblings Fred and Richard Fairbrass – did receive writing credits (as did co-writer Rob Manzoli) on “Alien Superstar,” in keeping with music industry norms.
This means that they do earn some songwriting royalties, but the two musicians don’t seem thrilled with that either.
“With this Beyoncé thing there are 22 writers… It’s ridiculous so we would get about 40 [pounds],” they claimed in the interview. “The reason that is happening we think is because there is so little money now in the actual sales, people like friends, golfing partners, engineers, bookers, and the guy who brings the coke, they all want a cut.”
This isn’t the first time an artist was upset that their name appeared in the credits of Beyoncé’s album. Singer-songwriter Kelis caused a stir just a few days after Renaissance arrived for a similar reason.
In a video posted to social media, the Grammy-nominated performer was irate that “Energy” initially featured an interpolation of her biggest hit single “Milkshake,” as she wasn’t asked for permission either.
The difference between that situation and this current entanglement is that Kelis didn’t have any writing or producing credits on “Milkshake,” as it was penned and composed entirely by The Neptunes, also known as Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (though some argue there’s more to the story).
After Kelis made her unhappiness known, Beyoncé re-released “Energy” without the “Milkshake” interpolation. At the time, many fans noted how the difference was barely noticeable.
Renaissance is the latest album from Beyoncé, and unsurprisingly, it became a massive commercial and critical success from the moment it arrived.
The set produced one top 10 hit, “Break My Soul,” which eventually climbed to No. 1 on the Hot 100. Every track on the project did reach the competitive songs tally, with seven becoming top 40 wins right out of the gate.
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