Beyonce Says Billboard Music Awards Performance Inspired By Italian Singer

Beyoncé was accused of stealing the idea for her show-stopping Billboard Music Awards performance Sunday night after a video surfaced online the next day, comparing her routine to a February 2010 performance by Italian pop star Lorella Cuccarini..

But Beyoncé clarified speculation about the motivation for her cutting-edge show Monday when she explained that seeing Lorella's interactive video performance made her want to make her own version. "My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much," Beyonce told AOL Music. "I then met with the talented people who worked on it. The technology and concept were so genius. Thank God for YouTube or I would have never been exposed to something so inspiring. I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards.".

Kenzo Digital, who spent a month creating Beyoncé's Billboard Awards show video, said Lorella concert footage is only part of the inspiration for Beyoncé's number. "[The Cuccarini artists] are awesome and do incredible work as well, but there are a lot of different inspirations for where our piece came from," he told our Amplifier blog..

Lorella's influence can be seen when watching the shows side-by-side. It feels as though Beyoncé's team used Lorella's show as a template and personalized it by changing out some of the details. Not only does Beyoncé use some of the same scenes Lorella used, but they fall in the same sequence..
Beyoncé's set opens with the roaring head of a tiger. Then like Lorella's, an entry way appears. Next, both ladies receive a set of flapping wings. Beyoncé dances in front of an array of random, abstract images before a sea of birds descend from the top of the frame. As she continues to dance, she is eventually joined by background dancers made in her likeness. She catches a set of virtual drumsticks and plays the snares that materialize onto the projection in the same spiral fashion as in Lorella's video..

While it is clear that Beyoncé used the same visual concept as Lorella, both performances contained numerous unique qualities..


Lorella's four-minute routine was a tribute of sorts to American pop music that included pieces of Gwen Stefani's "Holla Back Girl," Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel," Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," and Peggy Lee's "Fever.".

Beyoncé also brought two live male background dancers on stage with her, and followed the electronic set with 100+ live female dancers..

Reaction online has been mixed. "This is why I will always value her as a great performer, but never as an artist," rocknox wrote on YouTube. "Why are you going to perform a sampled song, and sample a performance too?".

But ShortStuff528 came to Beyoncés defense. "Has Beyoncé claimed this performance as her idea? Who's to say it was Beyoncé who sought out the people responsible for the original? Maybe they wanted to work with her. Every artist constantly copies. Michael Jackson copied James Brown, Jackie Wilson, breakdancers, Marcel Marcequ, and many magicians that he witnessed. ... Beyoncé gave credit to Fosse even before 'Single Ladies.'".

I'm glad Beyoncé cleared things up and has given Lorella her props. For Beyoncé's " Run The World (Girls)" video, she pays respect to the Tofo Tofo dancers from Mozambique who inspired the opening dance sequence. Two members of the African troupe appear in the clip..