'She doesn't have the range' is the new way to throw shade - here's what it means

Jacob Shamsian

Jun 24, 2016, 20:24 IST

She doesn't have the range shirley bassey little britain

BBC

It started, like most memes, with a random clip of video from a few years ago. In a scene from the comedy show "Little Britain" where a reporter interviews people parodying Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones, the singers talk about the celebrities they know.

They get into a discussion of the James Bond theme songs they've made (Bassey wrote three of them). "What do you think of the more recent efforts?," the reporter asks. "'Goldeneye?'" Shirley asks. "I love Tina [Turner], but she doesn't have the range. I'm sorry, Tina. I love you. You know I adore you. But you don't have the range!"

The interviewer asks about more Bond theme songs. He likes Garbage's "The World is Not Enough." Does Bassey? "She doesn't have the range!" Sheryl Crow? "She doesn't have the range." Gladys Knight? "She doesn't have the range." Paul McCartney? "She doesn't have the range."

Shirley Bassey herself? "She doesn't have the range. I'm sorry, Shirley. I love her to bits. But she doesn't have the range."

"But that's you," the interviewer responds.

"I don't care. I don't have the range."

On June 20, someone tweeted part of the clip, as spotted by Select All:

When someone compares another singer to any of my favs... pic.twitter.com/dJaxqoiJ9H
- Patti LaHelle (@_maleficentt) June 20, 2016

And thus, a meme was born. "She doesn't have the range" is a way to dismiss people who don't live up to your standards. In a music context specifically, it's a backhanded compliment. "Katy Perry is a good singer, but she doesn't have the range."

The meme really took off when @KingBeyonceStan (it means he likes Beyonce) employed the line against a string of singers.

Now before you write me off as bias I'm going to start out with one of my all time favorites. Like, I love her.
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Amy Lee:
-The first white woman I ever loved.
-Hauntingly beautiful timbre
-She doesn't have the range. pic.twitter.com/YO67l8ooRc
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Selena Gomez:
-the savior pop
-not Quintanilla (who in fact had the range)
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/zVJKbI72JP
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Justin Bieber:
-King of fraudulent bulge pics
-hates black people lowkey
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/mDnMnYXpDa
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Fifth Harmony:
-the most awkward girl group in history
-they don't have the range. pic.twitter.com/TKpAdCBJt2
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Britney Spears
-lipsyncing since the first Bush adm.
-she doesn't have the range (vocally and of motion in the knee) pic.twitter.com/dRrYCK2CaW
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Sia
-excellent songwriter
-a god send to the pop girls
-yet she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/uEfynUpiy7
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Zayn:
-A man
-Respek for breaking away from the whites
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/ZZ8hTV1gie
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Madonna:
-faked having the range in Evita
-embarrassed Prince in Heaven
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/wtCvpweTKa
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Janet Jackson:
-Master of whispers (Varys who?)
-a scammer who loves robbery and fraud
-she doesn't have the range. pic.twitter.com/EzKBbPG2Vg
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Lana Del Rey:
-My fave
-Percocet & exploited AARP funds can't make up for the fact that
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/lIankWWJjo
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Rihanna:
-great, uh, gowns beautiful gowns
-bops and blunts
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/U2OdAbIZN8
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Drake:
-senior undersecretary of the lightskins
-has a legion of dull clones
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/i3VtYI5RhL
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Adele:
-a master manipulator
-beautiful timbre
-everyone thinks she has the range.
-she doesn't have the range. pic.twitter.com/fWaMFzPxtp
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

The Weeknd:
-ruined 6 Inch
-is cocaine goals
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/sknnGr5AcF
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Katy Perry:
-fucked riff raff
-hates Royals by Lorde
-bicurious Christian
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/T1wMvdaByB
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Lady Gaga:
-calmed down & became a tolerable white woman
-hated by Robyn gays with a passion
-doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/ZTH45MWrBa
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Nick Jonas:
-a pay-per-view homosexual
-gayest right before album releases
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/Gk84I1dXvj
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Frank Ocean:
-a myth at this point
-she didn't have the range last we heard from him pic.twitter.com/RkSVJBhVIn
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Alicia Keys:
-a talent
-not a soprano
-takes what she wants
-Mashonda ??
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/K9v584zNSi
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

Jennifer Lopez:
-Mi Tía
-Mariah Carey no la conoce
-ella no tiene el rango pic.twitter.com/xITQYoia9R
- vodka lemonade (@KingBeyonceStan) June 21, 2016

And now it's everywhere.

My cat
-literally always screaming
-refuses to get a job
-missing a leg like a chump
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/2H8PHVJ51v
- Adam Ellis (@moby_dickhead) June 24, 2016

John Green:
Beloved author
Writes books about sad white children
Tumblr Prowler
She doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/ZStLto6cvj
- Brandon Taylor (@brandonrambles) June 23, 2016

noam chomsky
- go back to linguistics
- ??
- she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/jRcE6zFq0q
- Max Read (@max_read) June 22, 2016

me: *tries to run more than 2 miles*
my knees: she doesn't have the range
- ? (@tsargaryen) June 22, 2016

Cameron Crowe:
-hey remember rock n roll?
-Elizabethtown
-sensitive sad boys only!
-she doesn't have the range pic.twitter.com/6lCjEzQCqb
- SPACE KNIGHT DEMARCO (@Clarknova1) June 22, 2016

Here's the full 9-minute original clip: