Iconic?

Beyonce speaks on being over her pop star status in the October issue of Marie Claire:

I’m over being a pop star. I don’t wanna be a hot girl. I wanna be iconic. And I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. I feel like I’m highly respected, which is more important than any award or any amount of records. And I feel like there comes a point when being a pop star is not enough.’

B’, as she’s called at home, will also admit to being a workaholic. There’s an as-yet untitled new album due out in November; then there’s her movie career, in particular Cadillac Records, co-starring Adrien Brody, which tells the story of Chicago label Chess Records. Her character, the Grammy-winning blues legend Etta James, battled a decade-long heroin addiction. ‘I’ve been saying for a long time that I wanted to do something dark. People are going to be very shocked. It’s the complete opposite of me. It was very emotionally draining. I was exhausted.’

She researched the role by visiting a drop-in centre in Brooklyn, New York. ‘I was really afraid. I didn’t know what I would see, because I’d never seen anything like that. I didn’t want to ask questions that were inappropriate, but [the people there] were very open and I have a new understanding. I never judge, but I just didn’t understand how, if you had children and so many things
to lose, you could be so deep into your addiction that you just let all of that go.’

Does she feel she’s paved the way for more African-American women to achieve huge success? ‘I am really proud that I am one of the artists that has the opportunity to be on magazine covers and to be in the movies. And I do think that I’m opening doors for more black women, just like Halle [Berry] and Diana Ross opened doors for me.’