Beyonce singing in "French" at the 2005 Oscars

Well, she does have an accented "e" in her name. Doesn't that count for something?!

the rough "french" aside, this is actually a surprisingly dignified performance from Bey. no way she'd do it today -- too many whites in the background.

Her handlers have tried so hard to give her some kind of gravitas, a persona, a singular sound, SOMEthing. But she'll always just be a Vegas back-up dancer who knew how to work the Media.

Same for Rihanna (quick- name 3 Rihanna songs).

Just. Pretty. Vacant.

Her pronouncing the word "vie" as "we-yey" was especially horrific.

Umbrella , Please Don’t Stop the Music and Live Your Life.

I remember how Julie Delpy (who was a nominee that year) said that listening to that performance made her feel like she was being stabbed in the heart. Her comment may sound a bit over-the-top but I totally understand her. I'd be offended too if I were French.

Even foreigners who are fluent in it are rarely able to pull off a good French accent so having someone who obviously didn't know the langauge perform that song was a dumb and vain move on the producers' behalf (and they actually had Beyonce perform three of the five nominated songs that night. Luckily the other two were in English).

Elle est tres incroyble. Il est qua il est..

Ou est Sylvie?

I like the green eye shadow. Sadly she probably worked really hard on it.

Well, for dumb fucks like me who don't know a bad French accent, I liked it. The combination with the boys voices was lovely.

R10 Are you deaf? I can't speak French either but it's obvious that her French didn't sound French at all.

But her vocals were pretty good, I'll give you that.

[Quote] Same for Rihanna (quick- name 3 Rihanna songs).

Only Girl In The World, SOS, Te Amo

I am being completely serious: this was my all time favorite Beyoncé performance. I remember that night well, because it was then I realized that Beyoncé was now way, way bigger than a pretty pop singer. She was a cultural thing, and we would all be bowing down to Her Highness for many years to come.

It was a lesser version of the night that Aretha Franklin sang the aria at the Grammys.

I'm French and yes her accent is thick af but her performance is not so bad as to deserve an insta-cult status.

It's hard to understand what she says but even French singer such as Mylène Farmer are super hard to understand and we often have to rely on the written lyrics to get the gist.

Also the vocal performance is good, so there's that.

Is there anything this woman can't do? I'm breathless watching her.

[quote] Is there anything this woman can't do? I'm breathless watching her.

And the 2018 MARY! Award goes to..... R15!

[quote] Is there anything this woman can't do?

How about a believable French accent?

Great voice, but I don’t know what she was singing about. Something about a baguette and Jeanette.

What was with the winsome schoolgirl act? Ugh.

I’m sure Beyonce channeled her glamorous Creole ancestors to get the French just right.

That year's Oscars had a lot of awful moments: Beyonce singing three songs, Antonio Banderas subbing in to sing the song from Motorcycle Diaries, presenting in the aisles, all the nominees in some of the smaller categories on stage.

R19 You're black right?

Do you remeber that guy who pretended he was translating the pope's discourse in sign-language and it was just whatever gesticulation, but we couldn't tell until it was pointed out to us ? This exactly what is happening here. She goes : " Wah wah wah ! Wah wah ! " and the audience thoguht it was French.

If I remember correctly, the French boys choir wanted to go and sing, but the producers wanted Beyonce instead. They didn't even cared that it was not compentently done. There was a strong anti-French sentiment and Beyoncé was their star.

Also, the man who had composed the song that actually won (for Motorcycle Diaries), Jorge Drexler, was insulted that they had prevented him singing his own song. It had been given to Antonio Banderas who was embarrassed by the whole situation. So when he won, instead of a thank you speech, he sang one or two lines of his victorious song and left.

"Abscessed"

R22 I have your ISP and I am reporting you to The Beygency immediately!

Do not clown the Queen.

R20, I am not black. Why do you think that?

I was being sarcastic about her glamorous Creole roots.

R3 Umbrella, Only Girl, Diamonds ! I could keep going with Please Don't Stop the Music, This is What you Came For ! umm that's it .

Franch is so romantic sounding.

Sorry R25. The only people I have heard clown Beyoncé for calling herself Creole have been envious women of color.

Glad you set me straight.

R24, there are prisons for people who disrespect royalty, I suppose. That said, I have nothing against Beyoncé. She had a nice voice in this, but her French was absolutely "alternative", except for the words "chemin" and "la nuit". But then again, I think it was supposed to be "la vie". So yeah, one word.

To my ears, it sounds Portuguish. Can a Portuguish speaking person confirm ?

“Portuguish”? As in Italianish and Frenchish?

It’s Franch, y’all!

“Portuguish??!?” Really? Holy fuck.

What’sh wrong with Portuguish?

Yes, Portuguish !!!

See what it feels like to have your language butchered ?

y'alls haters of Queen Bey. She great.

[quote]Do you remeber that guy who pretended he was translating the pope's discourse in sign-language and it was just whatever gesticulation, but we couldn't tell until it was pointed out to us ?

Didn't that happen during Nelson Mandela's memorial service? Or was there another incident involving the Pope?

R36 It happened at both occasions.