COLORISM: Would a Dark-Skinned Beyonce Been as Successful?

Mathew Knowles said in an interview this week that if Beyonce were darker skinned, she probably wouldn’t have had the success she’s had. Mathew spoke on a study on colorism in the music industry he did. He discovered that a majority of the women who topped the charts over a 15-year period (like Rihanna, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Mariah Carey) were light-skinned.

What about a darker-skinned singer like Whitney Houston? “If you look back even at Whitney Houston, if you look at those photos, how they lightened her to make her look lighter-complexioned. Because there’s a perception and a colorism: the lighter that you are, the smarter and more economically [advantaged]… There’s a perception all around the world about color — even with Black folks, there’s a perception. And I use Kelly Rowland as an example. She’s a great example. But you know, the great thing is, Kelly did exceptional outside of America, especially in Australia. Kelly sold over 4 million records. She just got off-script.”