Beyoncé’s Coachella performance had folks declaring her the “goat.”. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Beyoncé’s show-stopping Coachella performance Saturday, April 14 had Twitter abuzz. Featuring an homage to historically Black colleges and appearances by Destiny’s Child, sister Solange and husband Jay-Z, the two-hour set was a celebration of Black culture. As such, Twitter users began declaring her the greatest performer of all time, but others debated if she deserved the title.
“I saw it with my own two eyes,” tweeted Chance the Rapper of his play auntie on Saturday. “Beyoncé is the greatest entertainer to ever live and the Queen of Music.”
“Beyoncé is the greatest of all time 🙌🏾,” Ty Dolla Sign tweeted.
“What a comeback,” someone else said. “BEYONCĖ. THE GREATEST PERFORMER OF ALL TIME. THE BEST TO EVER DO IT. THANK YOU 😭”
Soon, the praise turned to comparisons to Michael Jackson and not everyone was pleased with the idea that Bey could take over from the King of Pop.
“BEYONCÉ IS THE GREATEST PERFORMER OF ALL TIME,” someone said. “FACT. ARGUE THIS [WITH] YOUR ASHY UNCLES. AND YES, THIS INCLUDES MICHAEL. KISS MY F—ING BLACK ASS.”
“Michael Jackson’s fans can camp out in my mentions all f—ing day, I said what I said,” another user tweeted. “BEYONCÉ IS THE GREATEST PERFORMER OF ALL TIME.”
“No one can compare to Michael Jackson,” another user tweeted in part. “When you get over Beyoncé’s extraordinary performance from #Coachella, you’d return to this realization after your hangover. Michael Jackson would have been landing the stage from space by now.”
“You trippin’ lol,” a user said in response to another saying young people weren’t alive to compare Bey’s performance to the likes of Jackson or Prince. “Being young is no excuse, go watch Michael Jackson perform and u will see there’s is nobody in his league. The goat 🐐.”
Another person offered, “Michael Jackson is a legend and was the greatest in his time. Beyoncé is a legend and is the greatest in THIS time. This thing is not that complex.”
Similarly, someone else said, “Beyoncé is not the Michael Jackson of this generation. Beyoncé is not better than Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson, Beyoncé is Beyoncé. They both are legends. You don’t compare legends to each other.”
Journalist Roland Martin also shared his thoughts, tweeting in response to Chance’s declaration, “Ummmm….EVER?”
Then, a user hit reply claiming Martin wanted to “diminish a Black female artist” because some think she’s the greatest. But Martin wasn’t here for it and the conversation settled on another fact: this debate is all a matter of opinion.
Beyoncé is from Houston. You should be proud of her. But you’re too busy wanting to diminish a black female artist because she’s thought as the greatest by some. You didn’t have to quote the tweet. @ChanceTheRapper said what he said and meant it. I agree with him.
— Constance Fuller (@KissesandHugs1) April 15, 2018
This is SO silly. When someone says so and so is the greatest ever, it ALWAYS leads to a debate. Same with MJ and Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson. And you come with this nonsense. Bye. https://t.co/YmHnYRQGgI
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) April 15, 2018
“I mean, it’s all opinion,” someone tweeted. “I’m not a big Beyonce fan, so none of this matters to me. There will never be a consensus ‘greatest entertainer’ and if people get angry about that, they are too stupid to comment on the subject.”
“Since opinions are primarily subjective and there is no true measurement for greatness, the point is moot,” someone else said. “No debate needed. Chance believes what he believes at this point in time. As do you. Whomever that may be.”
“Of course it’s all opinion,” Martin tweeted. “That’s what makes it great.”
