IS BLUE IVY SET FOR STARDOM?

NEW YORK. — While most 13-year-olds were spending their evening stressing over homework, awkward school crushes and what to post on TikTok, Blue Ivy Carter was performing in front of a crowd of 70,000 people alongside her mother Beyoncé on the opening night of her Cowboy Carter tour.

Her numerous cameos throughout the show — particularly her solo dance during Déjà Vu— were highly praised.

“She must be one of the most self-disciplined 13-year-olds in America,” Variety’s Chris Willman wrote.

On social media, fans said the child prodigy was the “greatest nepo baby of all time” as they marvelled at her flawless dance routines.

Being a nepo baby —shorthand for the children of celebrities who often find themselves fast-tracked into industries such as film, fashion, and music— may have been scorned at in the past, but Blue Ivy’s performance may have complicated the narrative.

The teen had access to a stage that most could only dream of, but she also delivered a performance that fans and critics agreed was very impressive, which raises the question: Is this just another example of a celebrity child given an unearned spotlight, or could Blue Ivy be a genuine star in her own right?

This is also not the first time Blue Ivy has performed in public – she joined her mother on stage two years ago on the Renaissance tour and last year voiced the character of Kiara in The Lion King prequel Mufasa: The Lion King.

But music journalist Caroline Sullivan says Blue Ivy’s trajectory to stardom “has very little to do with her and everything to do with the parent”.

“It’s about how much we like or dislike the parent —Beyoncé is well liked so fans will praise Blue Ivy,” she explains. “Of course, it helps that she’s good at what she does but even if she wasn’t, she’d be given an easier ride.”

Sullivan also says that the authenticity of Blue Ivy wanting to perform instead of being forced to do it by her mother adds to how we perceive her.

Speaking to the BBC last month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, said Blue Ivy and her siblings were being nurtured to do “anything that they want for themselves… but definitely not pushed into show business”.

She added that her granddaughter had had to “work for” her role in The Lion King prequel and she “worries about the fame” impacting her grandchildren.

Blue Ivy is hardly the first child to have performed on stage with a famous parent. Madonna’s 17-year-old daughter played the piano on her mother’s Celebration tour in 2023, Dave Grohl’s 19-year-old daughter has often sung with him on stage and Phil Collins’ son was the drummer on his 2019 tour.

“It’s not because he’s the boss’s son that he’s playing the drums, it’s because he’s good enough,” the former Genesis drummer said in 2019 as he defended his decision to take his 17-year-old son on his world tour. —BBC