She may be Queen Bey now, but 20 years ago, Beyonce and her Houston, Texas-based hip hop group Girl’s Tyme weren’t considered winners by the Star Search judges. In the “Flawless” music video on her new record-breaking visual album, Beyonce shares footage of the girl group losing to the rockers Skeleton Crew back in 1993.
Girl’s Tyme was managed by Beyonce’s father Mathew Knowles before later becoming hit groupDestiny’s Child. In the clip, the Star Search announcer Ed McMahon introduces them as “Beyonce, LaTavia, Nina, Nikki, Kelly and Ashley, the hip-hop rappin’ Girl’s Tyme!”
LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland later joined Beyonce in Destiny’s Child along with original member LeToya Luckett when the group formed in 1996.
Beyonce and her former group members aren’t alone in losing Star Search before going on to greatness. Pop stars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Usher, and LeAnn Rimes are just a few of the notable celebs who lost the show back in the early ’90s.
Beyonce talked about her decision to include the footage in a YouTube clip explaining her fifth studio album.
“When I was in the studio, I was threading the songs together, and I thought of this performance, which was a really defining moment in my life as a child,” she said of her Star Search attempt. “In my mind we would perform on Star Search, we would win, we would get a record deal, and that was my dream at the time. There’s no way in the world I would have ever imagined losing as a possibility. I was only 9 years old. At that time you don’t realize that you could work super hard and give everything you have and lose. It was the best message for me.”
“Flawless” also features a voice over from Nigerian feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who talks about the double standard for men and women today.
“Everything she said is exactly how I feel,” Beyonce said of the author’s work. “My message behind this album was finding the beauty in imperfection.”
