Tourists should always be on their best behavior when they are visiting a foreign country. This applies to even the biggest rock bands, the glitziest models and the vocally powerful divas when they tour to unfamiliar countries to market themselves as international superstars. It is customary to respect the visiting country’s social ways and differences and it would only seem undignified if the country is put down for its less than ordinary habits.When superstar diva Beyoncé Knowles came to Singapore to headline the F1 Rocks Concert that would take place on the Singapore F1 Grand Prix weekend, the pop star was welcomed with tremendous embrace from local fans that have grown to love the many hits churned out by the former Destiny Child lead singer. It was to no surprise the event was sold out as early as three weeks before the concert in anticipation for Beyoncé. It would be her first time performing in Singapore.
Crowds thronged the event and fans spent hours queuing to enter the event and while the superstar serenaded the audience with her worldwide hits, fans sang along to the songs, knowing each and every word by heart. The performance, that spanned over eighty minutes (it was lengthy considering it was not a solo concert) would have ended perfectly for local fans if she had thanked the fans and left the stage accordingly but local radio station Class 95 sparked off an intense debate when DJs Flying Dutchman and Glenn Ong from the show Morning Express mentioned Beyoncé as saying “although Singaporeans don’t speak good English, I am glad they sang along with me,” during her post F1 Rocks interview with the press. It was also said the superstar diva mentioned something along the same lines to the audience right after her performance.
It is not known whether Beyoncé words was meant as an offhanded statement or if she was indeed mocking the locals but for a country that uses English during daily conversations and is one of the official national languages, the pop superstar could have indeed gone too far by mentioning the low standard of the country’s English language. The aftermath of the Morning Express show has seen a Beyoncé backlash in the local media and on the internet in regards to her statement. Blogs and internet forums have seen a growing disrespect for the internationally known songstress for her statements and some have even called for her singles and albums to be taken off the shelves from local music stores. Others, however, have backed the statements made by Beyoncé, believing the local grasp of English has been relatively poor pronunciation-wise and have called for improvements in school.
So, does the vocally strong megastar have a right to point out and mention the poor level of English in a country where English is one of the official languages? No. Despite her worldwide success and fame, despite her ten Grammy awards and various other awards won by the singer/actress/model, Beyoncé is not a linguist and does not have any right to go to a country that has welcomed her warmly and completely disrespect the locals. It is indeed a well known fact, even though a fraction of Singaporeans use a colloquial form of English known as Singlish, Beyonce’s use of English is not perfect as well, thus, the star has no right to comment on the local’s grasp of English. Fans have spent their hard earned money to see a graceful and polite international megastar, not a diva that thinks and believes she can say anything she wants. So, what’s next for the popular diva, a solo concert in Singapore? Not until she can retract her statements and win back the hearts of the locals here.
