Pop diva, feminist icon, overexposed celebrity or working mother ― no matter what you think of Beyonce Knowles, one thing is for certain: we are now living in the age of Beyonce.

　　流行乐天后，女性，偶像，频频曝光的明星，职业母亲――不管你眼中的碧昂丝•诺斯是哪一种，有一点可以肯定的是：我们正处在一个碧昂斯的黄金时代。

　　Last month, she sang the US national anthem at Obama’s inauguration ceremony, performed at the Super Bowl, had a self-directed bio documentary aired on HBO, and announced a world tour, The Mrs Carter Show, starting in April.

　　上个月，她异常忙碌：在奥巴马的就职典礼上演唱美国国歌;在超级碗献上精彩表演;个人执导的自传纪录片在HBO电视台播出;宣布“卡特夫人秀世界巡回演唱会”于四月份正式启动。

　　And these events weren’t even her official comeback since her last album 4 launched in 2011 and the birth of her daughter in January 2012. Her fifth album, set to be released in April, is the real deal ― at least for fans like me who are into Beyonce for her musical genius rather than her superstar divaness and overwhelming media exposure.

　　而这些都不算是她的正式复出――自2011年发布上一张专辑《4》并于2012年1月诞下女儿后，碧昂斯一直处于半隐退状态。而预计于今年四月推出的第五张专辑才是真正宣告天后的回归――至少对于像我这样着迷于碧昂斯音乐才华、而不是其天后气势或超高曝光率的粉丝来说是这样。

　　Besides owning all her solo albums, I have been a fan of Beyonce since she was in Destiny’s Child. When I first listened to The Writing’s on the Wall, the R&B group’s breakthrough 1999 album, like the rest of the world, I was conquered.

　　我拥有碧昂斯所有的个人专辑，此外，从真命天女组合时期开始，我就一直是她的歌迷。当年我第一次听到这支R&B组合1999年的突破之作《有迹可循》时，就被征服了。

　　I soon noticed that most of the songs had Beyonce’s name in the writing credits. But for the past decade, during which Beyonce’s career has soared, there have been less of these idiosyncratic girl-power hits.

　　很快我便注意到，碧昂斯参与了大部分歌曲的创作。但在过去的十年间，也就是在碧昂斯的事业腾飞期，这类具有独特的少女气势的力作却减产了。

　　Does that mean Beyonce’s musical talent is waning? If you listen to Countdown or the other songs on her last album ― in which she was again involved in both writing and production ― it is clear that Beyonce can still put together a masterpiece if she wants to.

　　这意味着碧昂斯的音乐才华正在衰竭吗?如果你听过上张专辑中的《倒数》或者她参与创作的其他歌曲，你就会清楚发现，碧昂斯仍能随心所欲地交出一份佳作。

　　Everyone knows she can make good music, but it’s the style, the showmanship and the attitude that make her the Queen B of today. It would be a lot easier for her to be considered a musical genius if she played a guitar rather than dancing in heels. Or if she was a man, it would be easier for people to see Beyonce as both a musician and a god, like Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson.

　　众所周知，出产好音乐对她来说轻而易举，但正是她的风格、表现力以及音乐态度，才成就了今天的天后碧昂斯。对她而言，想要被冠以音乐天才的称号，弹吉他要比踩高跟鞋跳舞容易得多。如果她是男歌手，可能会轻而易举地成为像贾斯汀•汀布莱克或迈克尔•杰克逊那样的音乐家以及流行神话。

　　So I guess the biggest reason that Beyonce isn’t thought of as a musical artist is because she doesn’t want to be thought of in that way, or doesn’t really care.

　　所以我猜想，碧昂斯并未成为公认的音乐大师的最大原因在于她并不希望人们这样看她，或者，她根本就不在乎人们的看法。

　　Singers like Prince or Michael Jackson were clearly invested in their musical reputation and made epic, historic music. But in Beyonce’s case much of her recent music has not been so unforgettable.

　　对于像Prince和迈克尔•杰克逊这样的歌手，显然人们寄望于他们的音乐名望，以及具有划时代影响力的宏伟巨制。但是对于碧昂斯而言，她新近的大部分音乐可能并没有达到名垂青史的程度。

　　I personally wish Beyonce had spent more time being a genius. But for now her focus seems to be elsewhere. Perhaps she’s looking forward, not backward. Maybe making classic albums isn’t the part of her career she’s paying attention to. Or maybe she’s realized that while there are plenty of music geniuses, there’s only one Beyonce.

　　我个人希望碧昂斯能在天才之路上多花点时间，但是现在她似乎是在关注别的东西。也许她在展望未来，而非回首追溯。或许她意识到音乐天才层出不穷，而碧昂斯却只有一个。