Beyonce's BiographyChief songwriter and producer in the group Destiny's Child
September 4, 1981(Houston, Texas, USA)
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Background:
"Destiny's Child will always be No.1 on my list." Beyonce Knowles Lead singer of
R&B group Destiny's Child, Beyonce Knowles broke into the music scene with her
five Grammy winning debut solo album "Dangerously In Love" (2003). The album
spawned four Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles, "Crazy In Love" (featuring
boyfriend Jay-Z), "Baby Boy" (featuring Sean Paul), "Me Myself & I," and
"Naughty Girl." She initially receiving recognition with her group's smash hits
"Say My Name," "No, No, No" and "Independent Women." Beyonce later appeared on
the big screen portraying sexy secret agent Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in
Goldmember (2002) and sang the movie's soundtrack, "Work It Out." With Destiny's
Child, Beyonce recently launched a fourth album; the No. 2 US hit "Destiny
Fulfilled" (2004), which netted the acclaimed hit single "Lose Your Breath."
"It doesn't annoy me, no, because I respect J-Lo. I like her. I think she's
great. And I know that I'm over a decade younger than her. It's so flattering
that I'm so young and people are comparing me to someone who has accomplished so
much. But I don't think I'm like anyone else and really, I'd rather not be
compared to anyone else." Beyonce Knowles
5' 6" inch tall Beyonce, whose trademark is her big, heavy earrings, is
frequently compared to musician and actress Jennifer Lopez.
Moreover, Beyonce was voted number 1 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties, number 7 in
Stuff magazine's 102 Sexiest Women in the World (2002) and was one of People
Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for most wanted lips (2004). Also named Best
Pop Princess in a poll conducted by Universal Music (2005), Beyonce's private
life has been connected to rapper Jay-Z (a.k.a. Shawn Carter, born on December
4, 1969), whom she has dated since 2000.
"The more successful I get, the more I want a boyfriend." Beyonce Knowles
Recently, the talented R&B musician landed a contract with Tarrant Apparel Group
to market her branded fashion design, House of Dereon collection. The products
consist of cocktail dresses, sweaters, sportswear, denim and tailored jackets.
JuJu, Mothe, Bee
Childhood and Family:
First daughter of parents Matthew Knowles (Destiny's Child's manager) and Tina
Knowles (designs outfits for all Destiny's Child members), Beyonce Giselle
Knowles was born on September 4, 1981. She has one younger sister, Solange
Knowles (musician; born on June 24, 1986), who dances at Destiny's Child
concerts. At age seven, Beyonce began to show her talent in singing and dancing.
She performed in the church choir and later took opera lessons.
Born in Houston, Texas, Beyonce, nicknamed JuJu, Mothe or Bee, sharpened her
musical talent at the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Houston,
Texas. A fan of Middle Eastern music and dance, Beyonce loves to listen to her
favorite song "Lovefool," by the Cardigans, and to her favorite rapper Wyclef
Jean. The owner of a cat named Master P, Beyonce also likes to wear metallic
boots and is allergic to perfume.
Dangerously In Love
Career:
"There's plenty of days when I'm like 'Oh God, why,' but that's just life. It's
every job, not just mine. Every moment is not perfect.
But it's definitely more good times than bad. You can't even compare. And when
I'm on stage it feels incredible. There are certain nights that you know you hit
that crazy note and you know that spin spinned extra fast. And you look out and
people are just into it and you've worked so hard and now it's paying off and
you can see why you dedicated your life to this." Beyonce Knowles
Having sung since age seven, Beyonce Knowles later joined an audition for a
girls' musical group and met LaTavia Robertson. After her father and manager
Matthew Knowles paired them with LeToya Luckett and cousin Kelly Rowland, the
group was officially named Destiny's Child in 1995. They later managed to step
in television competing on Star Search and landed a contract with Columbia
Records. Soon they found themselves performing as an opening act for both
Christina Aguilera and TLC.
With Beyonce writing the group's main songs, Destiny's Child eventually launched
their debut self-titled album in 1997, which was produced by Wyclef Jean and
Jermaine Dupri. Their first official single, "No, No, No" (1997), topped the
Billboard Hot 100 and netted multi-platinum. The album itself gained more
success in Europe.
Destiny's Child released their sophomore album in 1999 titled "The Writing's On
The Wall." The album produced three top-ten hits on the Billboard R&B singles
chart with their "Bills, Bills, Bills," "Say My Name" (won two awards at the
2001 Grammy, one of which was awarded for Beyonce as the songwriter),
"Bug-A-Boo" and "Jumpin' Jumpin." Despite LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Robertson
departure from the group in 2000, Destiny's Child kept promoting their second
album with new member Michelle Williams and appeared as a supporting act for
Christina Aguilera's summer tour.
In the spring of 2001, Beyonce and her group released their third effort,
another runaway success titled "Survivor." It spawned such new hits as the
Billboard Hot 100 top singles "Independent Women" (Part 1), "Bootylicious" (Beyonce
wrote the song), the title track "Survivor" and the top ten hit "Emotions" (a
cover of Bee Gees hit of the same name). "Independent Women" (Part 1) became the
soundtrack of the Charlie's Angels movie in late 2000 and the title track
"Survivor" gave them their second Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or
Group with Vocal. The album peaked on both the American Billboard 200 and R&B
Album charts, the Canadian album chart, and consequently gained worldwide
success. It subsequently received critical acclaim at the prestigious 2002
Grammy awards and received other awards including American Music, MTV, Soul
Train and Image Awards.
"I wrote that because, at the time, I'd gained some weight and the pressure that
people put you under, the pressure to be thin, is unbelievable. I was just 18
and you shouldn't be thinking about that. You should be thinking about building
up your character and having fun and the song was just telling everyone just
forget what people are saying, you're bootylicious. That's all. It's a
celebration of curves and a celebration of women's bodies." Beyonce Knowles, on
writing song "Bootylicious."
Beyonce took home the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop
Music Award for the Songwriter of the Year (2001), which made her the first
African American woman and the second woman of any race to ever win the award.
Following the group's victory, the group's members decided to take a deserved
break and gave solo careers a try. Beyonce also tried her hand in acting
starring as seducing aspiring actress Carmen in the MTV's musical drama Carmen:
A Hip Hopera (2001, opposite Mekhi Phifer). She followed it up with her first
motion picture work in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). In the James Bond
spoof film directed by Jay Roach, Beyonce starred as Mike Myers' old girlfriend,
streetwise but stylish detective Foxxy Cleopatra. She also provided the song
"Work It Out" for the movie soundtrack, which was a top 10 hit in the UK and a
top 40 hit in the Netherlands, Australia, and Ireland. The movie itself was
later listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Highest Box Office
Comedy Film gross and placed Beyonce in the spotlight.
During the fall of 2002, Beyonce featured boyfriend Jay-Z in the smash hit
single "03 Bonnie And Clyde." She also sang a duet with Luther Vandross in the
soulful "The Closer I Get To You" (originally performed by Roberta Flack and
Donny Hathaway) in the spring of 2003, which eventually brought them a Grammy
for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.
"Dangerously In Love," Beyonce's debut solo album, was launched in June 2003 and
featured collaborations with Sean Paul, Missy Elliott, and OutKast's Big Boi.
Many tracks of the album were written or co-written by Beyonce and it produced
the summer biggest hit debut single, "Crazy in Love" (featuring Jay-Z), and
stayed on top of US charts for eight weeks and three weeks on the UK charts. The
album itself topped the album charts in both the UK and Canada, as well as on
both the American pop (Billboard 200) and R&B charts. The widespread airplay of
the album helped sell over 6 million copies worldwide.
"Baby Boy," the album's sophomore single, was released at the end of the summer
of 2003. Featuring reggae star Sean Paul, the single peaked at the US charts for
nine weeks and two weeks on the UK charts, making it one of the biggest hits of
2003. The triumph was followed by the third single "Me Myself And I" which
stayed at No. 4 on the US chart and "Naughty Girl" which poled at No. 3 on the
US charts in the middle of 2004.
2004 was probably Beyonce's glory year. She broke the record after garnering
five awards at the prestigious Grammy Awards. She also beat out Britney Spears
and Christina Aguilera to be crowned the "Princess of Pop," according to a poll
conducted by Universal Music in the same year. Meanwhile, Beyonce rejoined
Destiny's Child in releasing their next album, Destiny Fulfilled (2004), which
hit the US charts at No. 2. It spawned the top 10 Billboard singles "Lose My
Breath," "Soldier" and "Girl."
As for her big screen projects, Beyonce portrayed Cuba Gooding Jr.'s love
destination, beautiful nightclub singer Lilly, in Jonathan Lynn's musical comedy
The Fighting Temptations (2003). She also recorded a song for the movie
soundtrack, "Fighting Temptation," with rappers Missy Elliott, Free, and MC Lyte.
More recent, she teamed with Steve Martin and Kevin Kline in a prequel to the
1964 Peter Sellers original film, the crime comedy The Pink Panther (2005). On
her upcoming film work, Beyonce will portray one member of an early 1960's black
female soul singer's trio, in a drama musical film based on the Broadway
musical, Bill Condon's Dreamgirls.
In addition to her talent and popularity, Beyonce has modeled for Pepsi,
L'Oreal, Tommy Hilfiger's latest perfume and McDonalds' advertisements. She also
recently reportedly inked a contract with Tarrant Apparel Group to market her
clothing line, House of Dereon collection (named after her seamstress
grandmother Agnes Dereon). Her branded fashion items were collaborated with her
mother Tina Knowles and consist of cocktail dresses, sweaters, stylish
sportswear, denim and tailored jackets. Commenting on her new clothing line,
Beyonce said, "[It'll be a] mix of vintage things and contemporary things... fur
with denim, classic with street... I have pretty broad taste. I've been all over
the world--thank God I've had the chance to do that." She added, "I think my
mother and I both have a good idea of what people who are fashionable like. I
love clothes from my grandmother's generation, my mother's generation and
contemporary stuff."
The brand, which targets young women ages 18 to 28, was part of a joint business
venture between the Knowles' Beyond Productions and Kids Headquarters. In the
future, Beyonce is going to launch other fashion products like shoes, scents,
jewelry and accessories.
"Who I am on stage is very, very different to who I am in real life. But I don't
see that having a sexy image when you are on stage means that you don't love
God. No one knows what I'm really like from that." Beyonce Knowles
Awards:
- Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Dangerously In Love 2,
2004
- Grammy Awards: Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, The
Closer I Get To You, shared with Luther Vandross, 2004
- Grammy Awards: Best R&B Song, Crazy In Love, shared with Jay-Z, 2004
- Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary R&B Album, Dangerously In Love, 2004
- Grammy Awards: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Crazy In Love, shared with
Jay-Z, 2004
- NAACP Image: Entertainer of the Year, 2004
- Brit Awards: Best International Female Artist, 2004
- BET Awards: Best Female R&B artist, 2004
- BET Awards: Best Collaboration, Crazy in Love, shared with Jay-Z, 2004
- MTV Video Music: Best Female Video, Naughty Girl, 2004
- Radio Music: Artist of the Year-Top 40 Radio, 2004
- People's Choice: Favorite Female Performer, 2004
- TRL Awards: TRL's First Lady Award, 2004
- Soul Train Music: Best Female R&B/Soul Album, Dangerously in Love, 2004
- Soul Train Music: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Award for "Entertainer of the
Year" - Female, 2004
- Billboard Music: New Female Artist, 2003
- Billboard Music: Hot 100 Female Artist, 2003
- Billboard Music: Hot 100 Award for Most Weeks at No.1, 2003
- Billboard Music: New R&B Artist, 2003
- VH1 Awards: Big Entertainer, 2003
- Vibe Awards: Coolest Collaboration, Crazy in Love, shared with Jay-Z,
2003
- MTV Video Music: Best Female Video, Crazy in Love, 2003
- MTV Video Music: Best R&B Video, Crazy in Love, 2003
- MTV Video Music: Best Choreography, Crazy in Love, 2003
- MTV Europe Music: Best R&B Award, 2003
- MTV Europe Music: Best Song of the Year, Crazy in Love, 2003
- ASCAP Award: Most Performed Songs, 2002
- American Music: Favorite Band, Duo or Group, Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music,
2001
- ASCAP Pop Music: Pop Songwriter of the Year, 2001
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