15 Pictures Of Beyonce You Were Never Meant To See
Okay, let's just be honest for a second - pretty much every woman acknowledges that Beyoncé is nothing short of a queen. She's transformed herself from a member of a girl group (albeit the one who always got center stage and the best solos) into a cultural icon with a killer solo career, a happy family, and the ability to do whatever the hell she wants. If she wants to put together an insane, complex visual album, with songs that are half spoken word, rather than just plain old club bangers? She can do that. If she wants to get on stage at the Grammys and do a performance based on motherhood and fertility and female empowerment rather than just shaking her booty on stage? She can do that. Beyoncé can do just about anything she wants, because she's become such a superstar. There is one thing she can't do, though - erase pictures once they're already circulating on the internet.
Everyone remembers the incident after her Superbowl performance where her team was desperately trying to get any unflattering pictures of her from the performance to disappear, to which the internet basically shrugged. There are certain things that even the power of Beyoncé can't solve.
Now, we'll just acknowledge that Queen Bey is basically flawless 24/7 - but here are 15 particular photos that Beyoncé probably wishes you would never have seen.
15 Falling
Honestly, we're a little bit surprised that pop stars don't fall flat on their faces more often - they're usually performing absolutely insane, complicated choreography while rocking intricate outfits and sky high heels. It only makes sense that they would fall every now and then - but that doesn't mean Beyoncé would want everyone to see her totally toppling on stage during this performance. There have been many, many performances that blur together where Bey absolutely nailed every second of her choreography and managed to pull of complex routines with ease - in heels, no less - but people will always remember the one performance where she totally fell in the middle of a song. The next time you stumble over a crack in the sidewalk or slip on a patch of ice, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and remember the important fact that this photograph immortalizes - sometimes, even Beyoncé falls. Even Beyoncé.
14 Foxxy
Okay, Beyoncé is multi-talented, as her visual album for Lemonade proves. And if she set her sights on a career in the movie industry, we have no doubt that she'd find meaty roles that many actresses would kill to audition for. However, let's not forget that back in the day, Beyoncé wasn't exactly starring in Oscar-worthy fare - she was appearing alongside Austin Powers in Austin Powers: Goldmember. 2002 was an entirely different time for Beyoncé, y'all. Her body is rocking and her face is gorgeous, but let's just be honest and say that Beyoncé looks way, way better nowadays than she did in this cheesy movie. We're betting Bey would prefer if fans never watched this, and certainly that they not circulate photos of her performance as the afro-wearing Foxxy Cleopatra. I mean, it's just a whole lot of look, and not a particularly good one - even when compared to Austin Powers.
13 Super Bowl Stank Face
Ah, the picture that started it all. Listen, when you're doing the kind of crazy choreography that Bey does, and performing with the level of passion that Bey does, you're going to end up making some strange faces during the course of your performance - that's a given. However, back in the day, those faces were only captured by the audience's eyes for a moment - nowadays, with cameras everywhere, every facial expression can be frozen in time if a photographer manages to snap at precisely the right (or wrong, if you're looking at it from Bey's perspective) time. She's serving up some killer hair and an insane outfit in this shot, but it's all kind of ruined by her weird facial expression. Let this picture be a comfort to you, and remind you that even if you're as flawless as Beyoncé, it is, in fact, possible to take a bad picture.
12 Super Bowl, Part Two
In her Super Bowl performance (the one she did solo, not the one where she was forced to dim her shine for Chris Martin and Bruno Mars to perform alongside her), Beyoncé was flawless. She hit all her choreography, her vocals were insane, and she basically just served up an incredible performance. It was not, however, the best for her in terms of pictures. Beyoncé was serving up major face throughout her performance, which totally worked and made her seem fierce when you saw it on video - but, when they're frozen in a picture, those expressions look a little less fierce and a little more weird. We're betting this photo just joined the ranks of all the others from that Super Bowl performance that Beyoncé tried to get her team to remove from the internet forever. Unfortunately, when something is on the internet, it's on the internet - photos of Bey in this particular leather bodysuit will probably circulate forever.
11 Bad Bangs
It's easy to assume that Beyoncé has never had a bad hair day in her life. I mean, just think of all the hairstyles she's had over the years. She totally rocks long, long braids. She totally rocks a sleek look. She looks amazing when her hair is curly and natural. She even looks fantastic when it's styled in an up do for a special occasion. There is one hairstyle that even Bey has a hard time pulling off, though - these bangs. Listen - she obviously still looks totally gorgeous. I mean, look at that face. However, most people would agree that her stylist got a little chop happy with those bangs - they're just a bit too short. Sure, some women rock the short retro bang, but it just seems strange for her. We're betting she wishes she could erase photos of this haircut and replace them with shots where she's pulling off flawless bangs.
10 Grammy Whoops
Beyoncé has won many, many awards over the course of her career, and has presented many, many of her fellow musicians with awards, so at this point she probably doesn't exactly get nervous when she gets on stage in front of a huge audience. However, we're betting at this moment during the Grammys, she wished that she would have been nervous enough to do one final outfit check. Beyoncé is rocking a risky fashion choice here - a lace gown with a conservative high neck yet tons of incredibly risqué panels. When she bent over to give Bruno a kiss on the cheek, one of those panels moved just enough to reveal a glimpse of something she would probably rather not reveal. Honestly - if even Beyoncé is vulnerable to wardrobe malfunctions, what chance do the rest of us mere mortals stand? Although most people probably wouldn't be able to pull off a dress like that to begin with.
9 Neon Nightmare
While she's certainly come into her own since becoming a solo artist, let's not forget where Beyoncé got her start - as a part of girl group Destiny's Child. Alongside Kelly and Michelle, she helped get hit after hit on the charts, earning fans with songs like “Say My Name,” “Bootylicious,” “Survivor” and many, many more. However, let's be honest - some of those Destiny's Child outfits were a little bit questionable. I mean, you can blame the fashion of the time to a certain degree, but we're not sure there was ever an excuse for this neon green floral print blouse, complete with a blue bikini top underneath it and bright, neon blue and green printed pants. Bey looks phenomenal when she opts to rock colour, but this may be a bit too much colour and pattern, even for her. It's the type of outfit that makes you want to put sunglasses on, just to tame all that neon.
8 Shapewear Misstep
It's no secret that many, many celebrities and performs put less than sexy underwear or shapewear on underneath their gorgeous, sexy red carpet gowns or stage outfits. After all, you want a solid, smooth canvas in order to showcase your look. Well, while Beyoncé looks totally gorgeous in this gown, a little bit of wind blowing at her lightweight skirt has caused it to fly right up - revealing her plain old nude boy shorts underneath. Bey probably wishes this was a picture not a single one of her fans would ever see, but in all honesty, it just makes us like her a little bit more. I mean, what woman hasn't rocked some truly heinous shapewear underneath a sexy dress? Sometimes, you just have to get that silhouette, and that means wearing the unsexy, full coverage, plain Jane, nude underwear rather than your cute, colourful, lacy pairs. Even Beyoncé does it.
7 Super Bowl, Part Three
Listen, we told you - the year where she performed at the Super Bowl, Beyoncé put on an absolutely incredible performance, but the faces were… well, not so good. She's probably in the middle of absolutely nailing a bit of choreography in this picture, and her outfit and hair are totally fierce, but in this simple capture, she looks less than glamorous. The weird positioning of her body, somewhat contorted, the hands up, the muscular legs, the mouth caught mid-note - it's just all not working. Sometimes, when you're performing and trying to give it your all, you pull weird faces, as Beyoncé now knows - but that doesn't mean she doesn't wish that these pictures could be hidden forever. While she probably has overall positive memories of this performance, the post-performance pictures popping up online probably weren't the best memory. Beyoncé may be always on beat, but that doesn't mean she's always serving up the perfect, sexy facial expressions.
6 Prom-yoncé
Nowadays, Beyoncé is an absolute titan in the entertainment industry - she can basically do whatever she wants, take on whatever projects she wants, collaborate with whatever she wants, and no one will really say anything because, well, she's Beyoncé. However, back in the day, even though she was already a member of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé was also just a regular teen going through regular teen experiences like posing for awkward prom photos. We're not sure who came up with the backdrop here, or where she found this oh-so-90s formal dress with the cutouts and spiral print, but one thing is for sure - Beyoncé probably wishes fans would stick to flattering photos of her current self, and this guy probably looks back at his prom photos and congratulates himself on taking Queen Bey to the high school milestone event. She may be with Jay Z now, but back then, she was with him.
5 Ripped Fishnets
On stage, Beyoncé is an absolute dynamo. She hits her choreography so, so hard, and just brings 110% energy to every performance. It's no wonder that fans are so eager to see her live - she doesn't just bring live music to the auditorium, she brings a Show, with a capital S. However, when you're moving around so aggressively and busting out those crazy moves, sometimes, things happen - and in this particular instance, someone documented the moment where she was hitting a particular move and her fishnet stockings ripped. It happens to the best of us. The only difference is that most of us discover the rip in our tights when we're trying to wiggle into them before heading out the door, and not when we're slaying our choreography in front of thousands of screaming fans. Ah, to be Beyoncé. The fortunate thing is that the rest of her looks so flawless you almost don't even notice the stocking conundrum.
4 Windswept
There's a lot that goes into a Beyoncé production on the stage, from costumes to lighting to choreography to vocals. Many of her performances incorporating stage features like fans because, well, who wouldn't want to look powerful with their hair blowing in the wind like a total girl boss? The problem is, sometimes those features can cause problems - as Beyoncé found out during a Montreal concert. She was slaying “Halo” in front of a packed auditorium when she got a bit too close to a fan on stage and it sucked her hair in. You need to check out a video of this happening, because Bey literally just continues singing as if nothing were happening, the consummate performer. We're still betting she would rather people not remember that time she got sucked into a fan, though - it's not exactly one of her finest moments in comparison with some of her flawless performances.
3 Button Trouble
Every woman has had that moment where she looks down and suddenly realizes that one of the buttons on her shirt, dress, or sweater has come undone, revealing a bit more than she would have liked - even Beyoncé. In this shot snapped by the paparazzi while she was hanging out with hubby Jay Z, Beyoncé is pictured buttoning up a button that came undone on her glamorous jump suit. She's laughing and obviously not too bothered by it, but it's a small step from a button popping to a disaster where you're flashing the paparazzi and later seeing your body parts on display in the tabloids and on gossip sites, so Beyoncé probably would rather this not have happened at all - and certainly not that someone be standing there ready to take the shot almost immediately. Still - she probably comforts herself with the knowledge that few people could pull off that jump suit the way she did.
2 Destiny's Child, Part Two
Again - while some of Beyoncé's outfits from her Destiny's Child days were almost kind of cute, in a late 90s/early 00s kind of way, some were just straight up puzzling, like this ensemble. Sure, she looks absolutely gorgeous if you take a look at her face - this is a woman who basically hasn't aged in 20 years. However, the outfit? Not so gorgeous. The pencil skirt cuts her off at a weird place, making her calves look way worse than they need to, and that ruffly top is just strange. Top it off with a white beret and you have an outfit that not even Queen Bey can fully pull off. Luckily, her fashion has changed a lot over the years, and definitely for the better - nowadays, she basically slays every single time she steps on the red carpet. I mean, how could she not - she's Beyoncé. It's practically a given at this point.
1 Destiny's Child, Part Three
Over the years, Destiny's Child wore a lot of crazy outfits, from over the top colours to crop tops with fringe to gowns with crazy cut outs. Anything you can think of, they probably wore it at some point during their career, and in coordinating colours, no less. However, this outfit is puzzling, even for Destiny's Child. We're not really sure what the reasoning behind dressing up in a Boy Scout uniform is when you're a grown pop star, yet for some reason, they've done exactly that. We're willing to bet that Beyoncé would rather you check out literally any photo of her from the past ten years rather than remembering that she once wore this to an event. I mean, she can still comfort herself with the fact that her body was absolutely insane back in the day, though - that's a plus, even if this outfit should never have seen the light of day.