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Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981) is a ten-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, Golden Globe Award-nominated actress, dancer, and fashion designer and model for House of Deréon. Knowles rose to fame as the creative force and lead singer of R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the best-selling female group of all time,with over fifty million records sold.
After a series of commercially successful releases with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love in 2003. The album became one of the biggest commercial successes of the year, topping the album charts in the U.S. and the UK. It also spawned the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and earned Beyoncé a record-tying five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. Knowles's sophomore album, B’Day, which was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 (her twenty-fifth birthday), continued her success. The album spawned the UK number-one single "Deja Vu", "Ring the Alarm", and the worldwide number-one hit "Irreplaceable", and earned Knowles her seventh solo Grammy Award. As a solo artist, Knowles sold more than seventeen million albums worldwide.
Knowles has contributed to the soundtracks of films in which she has starred, including Dreamgirls (2006), for which she received two Golden Globe Award nominations, one for acting and another for the soul hit "Listen".
Early life
Knowles is the oldest of two daughters to Mathew Knowles and Tina Beyince. Her father is African-American and her mother is an African-American of Louisiana Creole descent. Her parents decided on her first name as a tribute to her mother's maiden name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Beyince and Agnéz Deréon (a seamstress), were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, and Raynell King(18) cousin to Angela Beyincé (her personal assistant and song co-writer), and aunt to Solange's son Daniel Juelz Smith.
By age seven, she was attending dance school and was a soloist in her church's choir. Her dance instructor took an interest in Knowles and took her star student to various competitions. Knowles went on to win over thirty local singing and dancing competitions.
Knowles and her best friend Kelly Rowland met LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. They formed a quartet that would perform in their backyards and in Tina Knowles' hair salon. After singing at local events, they got their break when they entered Star Search.The group, then named "Girl's Tyme", were disappointed after losing the competition. Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's father and Rowland's legal guardian, decided to help the girls reach their dreams of becoming singers. He quit his six-figure salary job as a multi-million dollar equipment salesman at Xerox to manage the group. This decision by Mathew eventually affected the whole family. Their income had been cut in half, causing the family to move into two different apartments. When the group was signed to Columbia Records in 1996, it gave the entire family a second chance at making things work.
As a teenager, Knowles attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, where she showed her musical talents. She later went to Alief Hastings High School, in the Alief neighborhood of Houston.
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child rose to fame in 1998 with the Billboard top ten hit and R&B number-one single "No, No, No Part 2". Even after much-publicized turmoil involving the departure of LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, Destiny's Child (eventually a trio) became the most successful R&B/pop acts of the early 2000s, charting four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, several top ten hits, and two number-one albums.
Their 1998 Platinum-selling debut album Destiny's Child was produced by Wyclef Jean and Jermaine Dupri and featured the double Platinum number-one single "No, No, No Part 2". The group's second album, The Writing's on the Wall, released in 1999, featured two number-one hits: "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name". "Bug a Boo" and "Jumpin' Jumpin'" were also popular singles from the album. It went on to sell thirteen million copies worldwide and eight million in the U.S. Furthermore, "Say My Name" won two awards at the 2001 Grammy Awards: "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" and "Best R&B Song".
Their following album, Survivor, proved to be another big success, going to number one on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, as well as the Canadian and the UK albums charts. Two singles from the album went to the top of the Hot 100: "Independent Women Part I" and "Bootylicious", while "Survivor", the album's title track, reached number two. In the United Kingdom, the first two tracks released reached number one consecutively. "Independent Women Part I" had been the theme song for the film Charlie's Angels (2000), before the album's release. The title track, "Survivor", won the group their third Grammy Award, "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal".
In 2001, Knowles won the "Songwriter of the Year" award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards. She is the first African-American female and second overall female songwriter of all time to accomplish this.
After the three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams for Destiny's Child's fourth (and so far final) studio album, Destiny Fulfilled, released in November 2004. The album hit number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hits "Lose My Breath", "Soldier", "Girl", and "Cater 2 U". It has sold eight million copies worldwide.
In 2005, Destiny's Child embarked on a world tour sponsored by McDonald's titled Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It, visiting over seventy cities throughout Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America from April to September. On June 13, 2005 it was announced that the group would disband after their world tour ended in September 2005. In October 2005, the group released their final album, entitled #1's, including all of Destiny's Child's number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. The greatest hits collection also includes three new tracks, including "Stand Up for Love". The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and number seven on the UK Singles Chart. #1's has gone on to sell three million copies worldwide; it was also the best-selling number ones album by a female group ever.
Solo career
During the autumn of 2002, Beyoncé was the featured vocalist on rapper Jay-Z's hit single, "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In the spring of 2003, Beyoncé remade a duet with Luther Vandross, "The Closer I Get to You", originally made famous by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. In this version, the vocal parts are switched, with Vandross taking Flack's part and Knowles taking Hathaway's. The song was included on both her solo debut album and on Vandross's Dance with My Father album, and the two shared the Grammy for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" that same year. She recently collaborated with her beau, Jay-Z, on his latest album, Kingdom Come, providing the vocals and the hook for the track entitled "Hollywood".
Dangerously in Love (2003)
In 2003, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number one selling 317,000 copies in its first week. It was certified Platinum just three weeks later on June 22, 2003. Its first single, the funky "Crazy in Love", was a track constructed around a propulsive riff sampled from The Chi-Lites' 1970 "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)" and featured a guest rap from Jay-Z. It rapidly became one of the biggest hits of that summer, staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. Dangerously in Love went to the top of the album charts in the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, and the Philippines, and peaked on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and R&B charts. The album has sold over four million copies in the U.S. and over eight million copies worldwide. When her single and album simultaneously topped the main charts in both the U.S. and the UK, she became the first act to achieve this feat since Men at Work in 1983 and The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and Rod Stewart in the 1960s and 1970s; she is the first and so far the only female artist to do this. Beyoncé was consequently one of the biggest-selling artists of 2003.
Towards the end of the summer, "Baby Boy", Dangerously in Love's second single, which featured dancehall artist Sean Paul, began to climb the charts. It went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2003, dominating radio airplay in the autumn of 2003, and spending nine weeks at number one – one week longer than "Crazy in Love". Afterwards Knowles released her third solo single, "Me, Myself and I"; Dangerously in Love's fourth single, "Naughty Girl", came out in mid-2004.
At the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony, Knowles won a record-tying five Grammy Awards for her solo effort, which included "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" for "Dangerously in Love 2," Best R&B Song for "Crazy In Love," and Best Contemporary R&B Album". Three other female artists hold this record: Lauryn Hill (1999), Alicia Keys (2002), and Norah Jones (2003). She also won a Brit Award in 2004 for "International Female Solo Artist" in the United Kingdom.
In December 2005, Knowles released "Check on It", featuring rappers Slim Thug and (on the official remix) Bun B. The song was from the Destiny's Child's greatest hits compilation, #1's and the soundtrack to the 2006 film The Pink Panther and it was Knowles' sixth top five hit and third number one in the U.S.
At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Knowles won a Grammy in the category of "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for the song "So Amazing", a duet with Stevie Wonder from the Luther Vandross tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.
B’Day (2006)
Knowles' second studio album B’Day was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 and on September 5, 2006 in the U.S. to coincide with the celebration of Knowles's twenty-fifth birthday. In its first week, the album sold more than 541,000 copies in the U.S., immediately coming in at number one, making it her highest first-week sales as a solo artist. This is also the highest first-week sales of any solo female artist in 2006, a record which used to be held by pop singer Christina Aguilera whose platinum album Back to Basics sold 346,000 copies in its first week. In the UK, it debuted at number three with sales of 35,000 copies, and has sold in excess of 370,000 copies, making the album Platinum. "Deja Vu", the album's first single, features Jay-Z. Also with the co-production by Rodney Jerkins. Other co-producers on B’Day included Rich Harrison, The Neptunes, and Swizz Beatz. Currently, the album is certified 3x Platinum for over 2.7 million copies in the U.S. and over 4.7 million copies worldwide.
The album's lead single "Deja Vu" became a top five hit in the United States and a number-one hit on the U.S. R&B chart and the UK chart, making it Knowles's second UK number-one single, when it climbed twenty spots to take the top spot over Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean's "Hips Don't Lie" in the week of August 27, 2006.
The second single, "Ring the Alarm", was leaked to the Internet on August 8, 2006. The video for "Ring the Alarm" was released on August 16, 2006 on Yahoo.com and peaked at number one on the site's video chart. "Ring the Alarm" became Beyoncé's highest-charting single debut, when it debuted at number twelve on the singles chart. Outside North America, "Irreplaceable" was released as the album's second international single in October 2006. The single debuted at number eighty-seven on the Hot 100 and number forty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. It has also been taking over on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at number one in its second week. "Irreplaceable" is her fourth number one as solo artist on Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is Knowles's eighth top ten hit in the U.S. as a solo artist and fourth number-one hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In December 2006, a Spanish-language version of "Irreplaceable", called "Imprescindible", was released. "Irreplaceable" spent ten consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Beyoncé will also re-release B'Day as a Deluxe Edition and Video Anthology on April 3,2007. It will be a 3 discs set, Disc 1 the original B'Day will including 5 new songs, Disc 2 will include 6 Spanish-language songs; "Impresindible" (Irreplaceable), "Oye" (Listen), and 2 Spanish remixes of "Beautiful Liar" featuring Shakira. Disc 3 will be a Video Anthology composed of the original tracks on B'Day and "Beautiful Liar".
On December 6, the nominations for the 2007 Grammy Awards were announced, and Beyoncé received five:
* "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" for "Ring the Alarm"
* "Best R&B Song" for "Deja Vu"
* "Best Contemporary R&B Album" for B’Day
* "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" for "Deja Vu"
* "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical" for "Déjà Vu" (Freemasons Club Mix - No Rap) (remixed by Russell Small and James Wiltshire)
She won "Best Contemporary R&B Album". On February 28, "Beautiful Liar" and "Upgrade U", Knowles' fourth collaboration with Jay-Z, were released as the latest singles from the deluxe edition of B’Day. To promote the new releases, Knowles premiered music videos for both singles on MTV's Total Request Live and BET's 106 & Park on February 28, 2007, respectively.
In 2007, Knowles will embark on her lengthy B'Day World Tour which has sold out various shows worldwide. She will tour from the beginning of the spring of 2007 to the end of the summer of 2007.
Personal life
Since 2002, Knowles has privately and as of lately publicly dated rapper Jay-Z. The couple have never publicly discussed their relationship, but have been steadily coming out of their shell as a couple. Beyoncé has stated that she believes that not publicly discussing their relationship has helped them. Jay-Z has said in People magazine article that "we don't play with our relationship".
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