So I didn’t watch American Idol this year partly because I don’t have a lot of time for TV, and partly because American Idol makes my wife’s palms sweat… but anyway, we accidentally tuned in for the Idol finale a couple weeks ago. Here I am thinking that we’re tuning in to watch a nearly irrelevant contest show breathing it’s dying breath, and bam… we’re hit in the face with act after act of popular music’s top talent blowing it up on the stage.

I must say I was impressed, encouraged, and even inspired. For me, the highlight of a seriously killer lineup of music was Beyonce’s introduction of her new single, 1+1 (One Plus One), from the new album, 4: proof that just because an artist is mainstream doesn’t mean that they aren’t the genuine article.

As my Beyonce moment happened to coincide with the launching of hgmusicmedia.com’s “Live From Higher Ground,” I decided to pull out a little Beyonce for you all. I hope you enjoy!