Beyoncé has come in for some criticism after it was discovered that her showstopping number at the Billboard Awards borrowed heavily from another artist’s multimedia performance, but in a new interview with AOL Music, Beyoncé freely acknowledged the impact of the original. “My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much,” she said. “I then met with the talented people who worked on it. The technology and concept were so genius. Thank God for YouTube or I would have never been exposed to something so inspiring.” Still, that little bit of inspiration only went so far, said Beyoncé: “I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards.” Bey, let Matthew Morrison’s frightened face stand as proof that it was all worth it. [AOL Music]
