Beyonce's 'Ave Maria': Disrespectful Or Not?

I AM CATHOLIC & WE WERE TAUGHT TO BE IN REVERENCE OF ANYTHING THAT HAD TO DO WITH PRAYERS. SHE IS FLAUNTING HER FIGURE & BEING SEXY WHILE SINGING ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS EVER WROTE. IS THIS A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOUNG GIRLS TO FOLLOW? I'M HORRIFIED!

I think she should have covered up a bit more (like, maybe leggings under the bustier--black or dark-grey would've looked good).

Also, I think "Ave Maria" got swallowed up in the rest of the song.

I would first like to say R.I.P Michael Jackson. Secondly, Beyonce is one of the best entertainers, if not the best, out today. The song was song perfectly. I know of the song singing it in grade school in the choir. Im not catholic, but i do feel that they probably would have been the only ones offended. Even though she cant help she is very sexy, i felt like she was giving the vibe of an angel. Some angels are naked anyway huh?

I agree with you it was bad. I also think she sounded off key and the outfit and stage show were over the top and off topic. I also agree with one of the commenters about Lil Wayne -- two songs was two too much. AWFUL.

I am a Beyonce fan but in this case she should've consulted a trusted advisor before choosing this song, sung live on this night. I still love her though. Great entertainer.

Personally speaking I think it was not appropriate, granted Beyounce is a beautiful and talented young lady she is married. And I beleive she should have stayed in her own comfort zone. There are just somethings you just don't do. With all due respect what was she trying to prove. We all know she can sing and carry herself as if she's Diana Ross or the Queen of Hip Hop, Pop and any other Genere. This was a dedication to Michael Jackson. Just not the right time or place for that performance.

Didn't watch the award show. Listening to the YouTube video, I had a hard time even hearing the Ave Maria. As to disrespectful? I don't think so. She is an entertainer....and will do what she thinks the audience wants. For sure the outfit she had on got their attention.

BET said that they created that show in 2-3 days, so I can give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe that 'fit she wore was for another song...But if you're going to sing a religous song, dress conservatively. That's just what makes sense. Beyonce doesn't skank it up all the time, so why not let that have been one of the times that she wears one of her long gowns? She sang beautifully, it's not like she needs to go on the the stage naked to compensate for lack of talent. All in all I think she made a bad choice, but I sure loved to hear her sing better than Ciara!

I thought she did great!! I had chills when she sang that song, who cares what she was wearing, she sang from her heart, and it was beautiful. Michael would have love it!! RIP Michael.

Beyonce's performance was great! the dress attire was disgraceful, Ave Maria, not Ave Diva.

@Bey1, I never said that I wasn't offended by the rappers cursing on stage, I was actually really offended between the rappers cursing and bringing little girls on stage to dance to their expletive-filled and suggestive music. So please be clear, my priorities are straight. The reason why I wrote about Beyonce is because it would resonate with many of the readers here and because it was rather different from the rest of the show. Rappers like Lil' Wayne getting on stage and embarrassing themselves and exploiting women is nothing new but I found Beyonce's performance interesting and thought-provoking enough to write about it and gauge other people's thoughts.

I love Beyonce very much and admire everything she does, however I thinkg you missed it on this one.
Out of respect for those, especailly Catholics, her costume was in poor taste. She looked fabulous but not for that song. We most respect each other's differences and embrace our similarities.
"AVE MARIA" is a very sacred song to some and just like we want to be respected then we should do the same. I think that the arangement of the song was great, however the attire was not appropriate.

If what she sang could only bring him back .
I would watch her sing upside down and naked with 2 girls and 1 cup playing on the large screen in the background = (

I miss you MJ!!!

Dressing like a tramp or a circus performer and singing one of the most sacred and revered songs in the Catholic tradition was deeply insulting to me as a Catholic.

The juxtaposition of a woman dressed like drag queen singing to the Mother of Christ, believed by many to have been the purest woman to have lived, made me feel very sad for the world and for Beyonce in particular. She may be a huge star in her own mind but she has lost her way.

It is confusing to me as a woman and mother that young women today sell themselves like meat in an era that offers them every opportunity to advance themselves using their brains and talent alone.

She showed poor taste, lack of consideration and respect for other people's religion and really made a fool of herself.

Talent and brains don't necessarily reside in the same vessel, we see that proven every day.

As much as I like Beyonce, she didn't do a good job singing Ava Maria at all. I couldn't believe the costume change on stage and her weak voice. She also looked tired from all her touring. The girl is doing too much, better slow it down.

I agree and viewing the performance I had to explain to my son that this song is to be sung with more reverence and care as it was being sung about the sacred Mother of Jesus. To me it was not even understood by the audience as to how this song was to have been done or the meaning. This was rush and done in bad taste.

I did not watch the BET Awards and I no longer watch the Emmys, Grammys, or Oscars. They all seem to be more about who can show the most body parts and who dressed whom rather than about talent. I think it is excess of the worst kind. I understand why some performers choose not to attend. It's a waste of my precious time to spend 2-3 hours watching these exhibitions. Re: the song Ave Maria, I hardly think a secular awards show is the place to showcase such a moving and spiritual hymn - unless one actually feels it.

I agree I think beyonce did a terrible job at the awards...i believe she should have shown her talent by making a tribute to MJ through 1 of his songs thats just my opinion

She was so rediculous during this performance, it made me sick! How dare this woman show up in a skimpy outfit, what was that thing she wore anyways?, and pretend she's some type of heavenly angel sent to glorify us with her presence? During a past awards performance, she did some type of sexy strip tease, not to mention her skimpy videos showing 'how great and wonderful' her body is, and now she pretends to be the oppossite and wants to sing church songs? Please! She's just as bad as the worst of them and her over dramatized performances and interviews (where she pretends to get emotional and starts to cry) are so overated it's not even tolerable to me anymore. I can't stand this two faced person! She will never be as huge as Michael, where in the world did this idea ever come from!? Bottom line, yes, she was and continues to be extremely disrespectful and should make up her mind as to what type of image she should portray.

The local ABC affiliate did not carry the BET awards show as promised network-wide which was in itself a flagrant abuse of its viewership. Since I don't have the cable package that include BET therefore I didn't get a chance to see Beyonce's performance. I will just point out that the birth of Jesus in a manger by a woman pregnant by God was a very unconventional event for its time, and many rabbis and fellow Jews were condemning her so I don't think we should think the Virgin Mary was deeply offended by whatever interpretation Beyonce carried off. With inner sincerity she may have pleased her more than an overly stiff and decorous version of Schubert's hymn. Schubert himself was not an absolute paragon of holy virtue.

I did not watch the awards but just watched the part that was on the internet piece here. I think the way she dresses just shows who she really is. Some people think that she is pretty, but she is so ugly inside it takes away her beauty. If she was honoring Micheal she did not do it, all it did was call attention to herself which is who she is and all about. Guess what "HELL IS REAL" whether people think it is or not.

Beautiful song. I even enjoyed her vocals on the song. However, Beyonce only cares about herself and how beatiful she thinks she is. Of course, she has a great body, has better control vocally then in the past, pretty face, talented but she needs to reach within her soul and stop letting her false ego take control. She is totally FAKE and shallow. When she sang this song, I was finally able to see that I don't care too much for her and I know why now. FAKE A** PHONY!

DISRESPECTFUL IDIOT!!

I completely agree with you the song gave me chills. The Ave Maria has a special meaning to me and i was not expecting Beyonce to sing that i didnt even know she put it on her cd and when i heard the words come out of her mouth i could not believe how beautiful it was. I think her outfit was a ok choice. She wasnt being distasteful. It was also nice how the awards was a tribute to Michael. The other day i was in the car and You Are Not Alone came on and it gave me the chills. He will be missed.

To remind you ppl that MJ died on FRIDAY! And this show is on Sun. She already had some other preparation done for BET, but had to change in the last minute, so this is her own tour material that she had to use (yeah, she's still doing tour every week).
You're too demanding to ask for a full scale appropriate tribute show for MJ. He deserved it, but this is the best that they can come up with.

when the song first came on i don't really get what she was singing and how it had anything to do with MJ but since i have read this blog it made a lot of sense to me now thanks for the understanding but her attire could have been a bit less revealing she is in deed a beautiful women inside and out and her talent is god given but we need to think about how we look when we giving honor to someone.

The entire awards show was disgraceful. They should not have called it a tribute to Michael Jackson.

How did soldier boy tell 'em get a record deal, he sounded tone def. Beyonce just used the time to put the spotlight on herself. No wonder Michael felt alone.

Rest in Peace Michael.

She could have at least put on some clothes. Her attire was in poor taste for this song.

Ave Maria...tribute to the Virgin Mary..performed half naked??!! where was the tribute? why not "Halo"..why not a formal, nice evening gown? WHY EVEN DO THAT SONG that is so contradicting to what it was meant to be...this is NOT a love song...Beyonce WAS one of my favorate artists...but this was byfar so shameful. Im not an uptight Catholic..but I believe an apology from Ms. Knowles is well deserved. DISGRACE...and so LOW!

No, kidding! I'm mortified by the lack of judgment that went into the execution of this "performance." Like you, I agree that Ave Maria is a sacred hymn that glorifies The Holy and ministers to the ailing soul... What a profane way to "commemorate" (if you want to call it that) the life and the legacy of a profoundly prolific artist who help paved the way for artists like Beyonce to perform. I think she's gorgeous. She has star power... but geez louise! Is it too much to ask for more appropriateness?

Wow....Beyonce took a deeply spiritual song and turned it into a narcissitic rant for attention. She may have a great voice and can sing, but she's definitely a little stuck on herself and lacks heart and soul. She has no concept of humility...just how to shake her ass and boobs for the camera under a blue light to elicit thrills...just like any other Vegas pole dancer!

It's completely insulting that she should expect us to see her as anything more substantial than a self-absorbed, money-driven, narcissistic pop star. No one can tell me that she couldn't have found time to obtain a classy, understated, modest dress (that comes in less than 4 pieces and doesn't require stage-hands, mid-performance, to assemble). Not only that, but what's with the prancing across stage for--not one, not two, but THREE--different camera angles? Was it an homage to Michael Jackson or a freaking pageant?

I hope it kills Beyoncé as much as it thrills me to know that Jennifer Hudson put her to SHAME at the *official* memorial--a tasteful, reverent and truly spiritual tribute to Michael, arranged by actual people close to Michael and knew he'd have preferred the even to be high-class.

I agree: just because Beyoncé can sing doesn't mean she has the right to croon any song on the planet. Some things are sacred and off-limits to even the richest, most powerful superstars. She should be ashamed of herself.

Think of it this way im sure micheal would of been very happy for her to perform the way she did espcially as he wanted his funeral to be one of the biggest shows in the world and im sure it would be same for the many tributes done all over the world. Plus are some angels not naked? and i think that its depends on what background orr ethnicity you come from.i no many african americans who cried over micheal especially when Ave Maria was sung!!

For all of you people calling beyonce you need to stop taking things so seriously, she sang a song big deal thats where it ends.Michael would have loved it and everyone thought it was a amzing she sang it with passion who cares what she was wearing god doesnt judge does he? If all you've got to do with your lives is Criticize other people then you need to get out more. people in this world take things too seriously! R.I.P michael

The BET Awards was advertised as a tribute to Michael Jackson, but it clearly...CLEARLY...wasn't! That up chuck of an "awards show" was planned a year in advance. MJ died a few days before it was supposed to go on. They threw some random crap together, cut out some award giving/receiving speeches, had a couple artists sing MJ songs, and had Janet Jackson appear and called it a tribute. Pfft.

The person who made this blog said that Beyonce sung the hymn. I looked up the lyrics to the hymn (original and translated) and they were not the lyrics that Beyonce sung. Beyonce has a song on her album called "Ave Maria" and it was her new single at the time. That's why she sung that song. If you though she was under dressed, fine. If you're offended by her use of the words "Ave Maria" then okay. Though I don't understand it that's WAY more understandable than being upset over a hymn she didn't even sing!

"confused"- you are right to be confused- first off, this all the illuminati/masonry behind the music business and brainwashing artists to beleive in their religion, that of the ancient pagans- "maria" is not necessary the Christian Mary, but rather the mother-woman goddess from the pagan times being sung to. There is deeper meaning that goes very far..just read into the lines- she is talking how she felt it on earth- and in the darkness-even with her own friends she is alone- if she talking about Holy Mary it would be in the light and in more positive fashion not coming to her the darkness! only the evil comes to you in the darkness. You will be seeing a lot of illusions in the music industry to fallen angels, or angels coming to earth that are good- these are all references to satan, the fallen angel. (ie, chris brown's fallen angel- lyrics are so obvious, jaz-z, rihanna, madonna etc talk about beautiful strangers and fallen angels, heaven on earth) they are talking about a bad thing, an evil thing. they beleive the fallen angel, satan, was improperly thrown out of heaven and they are all part of the religion that beleives he really is good and should be elevated and praised.. but this is another story.. beyonce is brainwashed to beleive evil is good, just as is most of hollywood...no respect and no business using the word Mary, she should have been using Venus or Isis cause those are the gods they pray to