Beyonce Criticized for 'Run the World (Girls)' Performance

Beyonce is catching flack for her performance at the Billboard Music Awards last Sunday.

Before accepting the honorary Millennium Award, Sasha Fierce lively-uped the stage with her first

television performance of 'Run the World (Girls).' As she danced, images projected on a giant white screen behind her. However, some say the production looked too similar to one put on by Italian pop star Lorella Cuccarini last year.

Media artist and film director Kenzo Digital designed the graphics for the performance and admitted Beyonce and co. were inspired by Cuccarini, but charges the concept has been around since the '80s. "[The Cuccarini artists] are awesome and do incredible work as well, but there are a lot of different inspirations for where our piece came from," Kenzo explained to The Amp.

"...It's just a bare white screen. It's a technique in video art since the '80s in terms of frontal projection and interactive things. That's really nothing new. It's not even a new technology. It's just an incredibly simple, awesome storytelling device, and with a performer like Beyonce it becomes incredibly powerful."

Kenzo also commended Beyonce on her work ethic. "There was no visual guide," he points out. "Her eye line was straight into the crowd, engaging the crowd. That's just her amazing abilities as a performer."

'Run the World (Girls)' is the lead single from Beyonce's forthcoming album, '4,' slated for release this summer. Another track from the album, titled 'Till the End of Time,' surfaced online yesterday.

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