Beyonce Knowles

Biography of popular R&B and Hip Hop singer - Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas to hair stylist Tina Beyince and record manager Mathew Knowles. Known worldwide simply as “Beyonce”, this voluptuous beauty is not just a pretty face, but also an all-around independent woman who is a successful R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and businesswoman. 

Beyonce grew up in Houston and studied in different performing arts schools. She was exposed to the arts at an early age – attending classes in ballet and jazz, but she was later discovered by her dance instructor to have an amazing voice. However, the young Beyonce was shy, but her passion in music overpowered her timidity, allowing her to join and win her first talent show singing John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” at only seven years old. 

Beyonce in Destiny’s Child 

By the time Beyonce was 8 years old, she became a part of a girl group called Girl’s Tyme alongside Kelly Rowland. With a new take on rapping and dancing, the six-member group attracted a nationwide audience, which led to the discovery of West coast R&B producer Arne Frager who later brought them to California for a recording that featured Beyonce. Under Frager, the girls joined Star Search, but lost the competition due to wrong song choice. 

The group changed its name to Destiny’s Child. In 1995, Beyonce’s dad quit his job as a salesman for medical equipments and decided to manage the group. By this time, the group was cut down to four girls, but Beyonce and the group pursued their career by performing as open acts for other established R&B artists. With the costumes made by Tina Beyince and the undying support of Mathew Knowles, Elektra Records signed the group, but was later dropped before they could release an album. 

Mathew Knowles and Destiny’s Child performed in local events and toured for four years before they eventually grabbed a record deal with Columbia Records in late 1997. Before the year ended, the group recorded their debut song, “Killing Time” for the soundtrack of Will Smith’s 1997 action film, ‘Men in Black’. 

In 1998, Destiny’s Child became a success when they released their self-titled album with “No, No, No” as their first major hit. However, it was only until 1999 when Destiny’s Child released the album “The Writing’s on the Wall” that the group received complete stardom and 7 million album sales with songs like “Bills, Bills, Bills,” “Say My name” and “Jumpin’ Jumpin” rose to number-one in charts. Unfortunately, with fame and success comes controversy and lawsuits by two Destiny’s Child members, Roberson and Luckett, which led to them leaving Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams on the spotlight. 

The group’s loss did not affect their performance and success as the trio recorded “Independent Women Part I”, which appeared on the blockbuster movie “Charlie’s Angels” and topped the U.S. singles chart for 11 weeks. In 2001, the group released its third album, “Survivor” and sold more than 10 million copies to date. However, after they released the holiday album “8 Days of Christmas”, Destiny’s Child announced a ‘temporary’ break-up’ to fulfill solo projects. 

Beyonce as a Solo Artist and Actress 

Before Beyonce became a solo artist in 2001, rapper Amil featured her on his album, “I Got That”. She later grabbed a major role in an MTV made-for-TV movie, Carmen :

A Hip Hopera alongside Mekhi Phifer. In 2002, Beyonce was cast as the love interest of Mike Myers in the comedy flick, Austin Powers Goldmember, wherein her first solo single “Work It Out” was used in the film’s soundtrack. 

In 2002, Knowles starred in the movie, “The Fighting Temptations” with Cuba Gooding Jr. and worked with MC Lyte, Free and Missy Elliott to record “Fighting Temptation” for the movie’s soundtrack. Beyonce also participated in Jay-Z’s single, “03 Bonnie & Clyde”, remade 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” and won a Grammy Award when she remade the song “The Closer I Get to You” with Luther Vandross. 

By 2003, Beyonce’s solo album entitled “Dangerously in Love” was released and garnered her 4x platinum as it sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. alone. Her album’s lead singles are “Crazy in Love” that featured Jay-Z and stayed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 8 weeks; “Baby Boy” that featured Sean Paul; “Me, Myself & I” and “Naughty Girl”. For her first album, Beyonce won five awards at the 2004 Grammys. 

Destiny Fulfilled Reunions, Goodbyes and B’Day 

In 2004, Destiny’s Child reunited and recorded their last album, “Destiny Fulfilled”, which immediately hit number 2 on the Billboard 200. Single hits like the “Girl”, “Soldier”, “Cater 2 U” and “Lose My Breath” were proof that the trio still had the spark to make a successful album. The following year, the group embarked on a 2005 world tour called “Destiny Fulfilled… And Lovin’ It” starting April to September. Destiny’s Child announced their disbandment in Spain, during the last concert on the North American leg. 

In October 2005, Destiny’s Child released a compilation album called “#1’s” with all their hits and 3 new tracks. By early 2006, the group was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was dubbed as the world’s best-selling female group that ever graced the charts. 

As the door closed for the Destiny’s Child, another door opened for Beyonce with the film, “The Pink Panther”, wherein she recorded the single “Check on It” with Slim Thug for the film’s soundtrack. She was cast in another mainstream film, Dreamgirls alongside Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy. 

It was only until 2006 did Beyonce get the time to work on her second album with the help of musical collaborators Rodney Jerkins, Sean Garrett and Rich Harrison. The album “B’Day” was released in September 4 and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. At the 2007 Grammys, Knowles won the Best Contemporary R&B Album out of five categories she was nominated. She then embarked on a ninety-venue concert tour from April to December, which was documented and released on DVD.

Beyonce : the Beauty, the Businesswoman, the Humanitarian and the Wife 

Aside from her blossoming career in music and acting, Beyonce also has a few business tricks on her sleeves – she and her mother founded Beyond Productions in 2004, introduced the ready-to-wear fashion line ‘House of Dereon’ in 2005 and launched ‘Beyonce Fashion Diva’ mobile game in 2008. In 2002, Beyonce became the face of Pepsi, appearing on Internet ads, TV commercials and radio. She has also signed with L’Oreal in 2003 and launched a Tommy Hilfiger scent of her own fragrance called “True Star” in 2004. 

Knowles and Rowland along with music producer David Foster founded the Survivor Foundation to provide housing for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the evacuees in Houston Texas. The Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, which is an extension of the Survivor Foundation, is a multi-purpose outreach facility found in Beyonce’s roots, Houston. 

Beyonce is a very private person when it comes to her personal life. Since 2002, Knowles has been dating rapper Jay-Z, but the couple remained discreet about it. Without announcing it to the world, the two were married in New York City on April 4, 2008, which was only disclosed when their public records showed up in April 22, 2008. 

To date, Beyonce remains one of the most successful women in the industry, even joining the list of the highest earning people in Hollywood, alongside husband Jay-Z. Beyonce Knowles is a role model, a great singer, a sexy icon, a businesswoman, a wife and a true testament that a woman can have beauty, brains and body all at the same time. 

Hot Pictures of popular R&B and Hip Hop singer - Beyonce Knowles

 

    
         

Music Career of popular R&B and Hip Hop singer - Beyonce Knowles

In 2001, Knowles turned to acting, starring alongside actor Mekhi Phifer in the MTV made-for-television film Carmen A Hip Hopera. 

In the summer of 2002, Knowles co-starred in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers and Michael Caine. Knowles also recorded the song "Work It Out" for the film's soundtrack. "Work It Out" was a top ten hit in the UK and a top forty hit in the Netherlands, Australia, and Ireland, despite being Knowles' biggest commercial disappointment to date in the U.S., where radio stations barely played the song and the video received very minor exposure, playing only on digital video channels, MTV Jams, and VH1 Soul. 

In 2003, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film The Fighting Temptations, and recorded a song for it called "Fighting Temptation", alongside female rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free. Unlike Knowles' own singles, the song did not become a hit, although the film was a moderate success at the box office. 

Knowles co-starred in the film The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau. The film was released on February 10, 2006, and was number one at the box office on its opening weekend. "Check on It", which was recorded for the film, became a huge success and gave Knowles her first number-one hit from a soundtrack. With Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Pink Panther, Knowles appeared in two films that opened at number one at the box office; the two films have grossed over $481,364,728 worldwide. 

Knowles' latest film work is Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the 1981 hit Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes, as the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones. The film received a limited release on December 15, 2006 and a wider release on December 25, 2006. On December 14, 2006, Knowles was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film Dreamgirls—"Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" and "Best Original Song" for "Listen". The film opened at number three at the box office with an eight-million-dollar opening weekend. Knowles was quoted to say this was her first real acting film. Dreamgirls was nominated for eight 2007 Academy Awards—including "Best Original Song" for "Listen"—, of which it won two. The film has passed the $100 million dollar gross mark in the United States. 

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