The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time

The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time

- BEYONCE KNOWLES -

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), commonly known as Beyoncé (pronounced /bion.sei/), is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools, and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of R&B girl group ‘Destiny's Child’, the best-selling girl group of all time.
In June 2003, after a series of commercial successes with the group, Beyoncé released her debut solo album, “Dangerously in Love”. The album became one of the most successful albums of that year, spawning the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy", and earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. The formal disbandment of ‘Destiny's Child’ in 2005 facilitated her continued success as a solo artist. She released her second album, “B'Day” in 2006, which spawned the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", as well as the worldwide hit, "Irreplaceable". Knowles has sold over 20 million albums worlwide.
The success of her solo albums has established her as one of the most marketable artists in the industry. However, she has also added acting and endorsement deals to her repertoire. In 2006, she starred alongside Steve Martin and Kevin Kline in the comedy “The Pink Panther”, and that same year, scored the main role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Knowles launched her family's fashion line ‘House of Deréon’ in 2004, and among her many lucrative commercial deals are Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, and L'Oréal. Knowles has been with long-time boyfriend Jay-Z since 2002, though they have been discreet about their relationship. After much speculation, they married on April 4, 2008.
Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a successful record manager, and Tina Beyincé, a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American and her mother is of Creole (African-American, Native American, and French) descent. Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother and to prevent the name from becoming obsolete, since only a few of the Beyincé males carry the name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, a singer-songwriter and actress.
Knowles was schooled at St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes. Although Knowles was a shy girl, her interest in music and performing began unexpectedly after joining in a school talent show. Once she had a moment on the stage, she overcame her shyness and wanted to become a singer and performer. By age seven, Knowles had entered her first talent show, singing John Lennon's "Imagine". She won the contest and was honored with standing ovation.
In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnate school in Houston, where she would perform on-stage with the school's choir. She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston neighborhood of Alief. Knowles was a soloist in the choir of her church, in St. John's United Methodist Church. She only lasted in the choir for two years, however, because she was preoccupied with her newfound career.
At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for a girl group. They, along with Knowles' friend Kelly Rowland were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing. Originally named ‘Gyrl's Time’, they were eventually cut down to six members. With Knowles and Rowland, ‘Gyrl's Time’ attracted audience nationally. West coast R&B producer, Arne Frager, flew into Houston to see them. He eventually brought them to his studio — The Plant Recording Studios — in Northern California, with Knowles' vocals being featured because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing. As part of efforts to sign Gyrl's Time to a major label record deal, Frager's strategy was to debut them in “Star Search”, the biggest talent show on national TV that time. They participated, but lost the competition because the song they performed was not good, as Knowles herself admitted. Knowles had her first "professional setback" after that defeat, but regained confidence after knowing that then-pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also experienced the same fate.
To manage the group, Mathew Knowles (who was at that time a medical-equipment salesman) resigned in 1995 from his job. He dedicated his time and established a "boot camp" for their training. The move reduced Knowles family's income by half and her parents separated because of the pressure. Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four, with LeToya Luckett joining in 1993. Rehearsing in Tina's salon and their backyards, the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups of the time; Tina contributed to the cause by designing their costumes, which she continued to do throughout ‘Destiny's Child’ era. With the continued support of Mathew, they auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to ‘Elektra’ Records, only to be dropped months later before they could release an album.
Taken from a passage in the Book of Isaiah, the group changed its name to ‘Destiny's Child’ in 1993. Together, they performed in local events and, after four years on the road, the group was signed to ‘Columbia’ Records in late 1997. That same year, ‘Destiny's Child’ recorded their major label debut song, "Killing Time", for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, “Men in Black”.
The following year, the group released its self-titled debut album, scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". That album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, amassing moderate sales and won the group three Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for "Best R&B/Soul Single" for "No, No, No", "Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year" and "Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist". However, the group rose to bona fide stardom after releasing their multi-platinum sophomore album “The Writing's on the Wall” in 1999. The record features some of the group’s most widely-known songs such as "Bills, Bills, Bills", the group's first number-one single, “Jumpin' Jumpin'", and "Say My Name", which became their most-successful song at the time, and would remain one of their signature songs. "Say My Name" won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Best R&B Song at the 2001 Grammy Awards. “The Writing's on the Wall” sold more than seven million copies, essentially becoming their breakthrough album.
Along with their commercial successes, the group became entangled in much-publicized turmoil involving the filing of a lawsuit by Luckett and Roberson for breach of contract. The issue was heightened after Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin appeared on the video of "Say My Name", implying that Luckett and Roberson had already been replaced. Eventually, Luckett and Roberson left the group. Franklin would eventually fade from the group after five months, as evidenced by her absences during promotional appearances and concerts. She attributed her departure to negative vibes in the group resulting from the strife.
After settling on their final lineup, the trio recorded "Independent Women Part I", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, “Charlie's Angels”. It became their best-charting single, topping the official U.S. singles chart for eleven consecutive weeks. The success cemented the new lineup and skyrocketed them to fame. Later that year, Luckett and Roberson withdrew their case against their now-former band mates, while maintaining the suit against Mathew, which ended in both sides agreeing to stop public disparaging. ‘Destiny's Child’'s third album, “Survivor”, channels the turmoil they underwent, spawning its eponymous lead single, which was a response to the experience. The themes of "Survivor", however, caused Luckett and Roberson to refile their lawsuit, believing that the songs were aimed at them. However, the proceedings were eventually settled in June 2002. Meanwhile, the album was released in May 2001, debuting at number one on U.S. Billboard 200 with 663,000 units sold. To date, “Survivor” has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the U.S. alone. The album spawned other number-one hits — "Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album, “8 Days of Christmas”, the group announced their temporary break-up to pursue solo projects.
While Knowles was with ‘Destiny's Child’, she also made appearances as a solo artist. In 2000, Knowles was featured on "I Got That" by rapper Amil, which was released on the latter's debut album, “All Money Is Legal”. In early 2001, while ‘Destiny's Child’ was finishing “Survivor”, Knowles landed a major role in the MTV made-for-television film, “Carmen: A Hip Hopera”, starring alongside American actor Mekhi Phifer. Set in Philadelphia, the film is a modern interpretation of the 19th century opera “Carmen” by French composer Georges Bizet.
In 2002, Knowles co-starred in the comedy film “Austin Powers in Goldmember”, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers. The movie topped the box office, gaining $73.1 million on its first weekend. Knowles recorded her first solo single, "Work It Out", for the film's soundtrack. The following year, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the comedy film “The Fighting Temptations”, and recorded "Fighting Temptation", alongside female rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free for its soundtrack.
That same year, Knowles was the featured vocalist on her boyfriend Jay-Z's hit single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". She also recorded a version of 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and released it in March 2003. Luther Vandross and Knowles remade the duet "The Closer I Get to You", which was originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977. Their version won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals the following year, and Vandross' "Dance with My Father", which also features Knowles, won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
After Williams and Rowland released their solo efforts, Knowles dropped her debut solo album, “Dangerously in Love”, in June 2003. Featuring many musical collaborators, the album contains a combination of uptempo and slow jam songs. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, selling 317,000 copies in its first week. Certified 4x platinum on August 5, 2004 by the Recording Industry Association of America, the album has sold 4.2 million copies to date in the United States.
"Crazy in Love", featuring a guest rap verse from Jay-Z, was released as the album's lead single. It became one of the biggest hits of that summer, staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks and topping many charts worldwide. Knowles also successfully dominated the United Kingdom, simultaneously topping the singles and album charts there. "Crazy in Love" became the fourth best-selling single in the U.S. in 2003. "Crazy in Love" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and considered to be the "proudest moment" of the album.
Toward the end of the summer, "Baby Boy", the second single from “Dangerously in Love” which features dancehall singer Sean Paul, began to climb the charts. It also became one of the biggest hits of 2003, dominating U.S. radio airplay and spending nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 — one week longer than "Crazy in Love". "Baby Boy" was certified as a platinum single by the Recording Industry Association of America. "Me, Myself and I" was released as the third single, and “Dangerously in Love” 's fourth and final single, "Naughty Girl", came out in mid-2004. Both of the final two singles made the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. Unlike "Crazy in Love", the final three singles attained more immediate commercial successes, propelling the album to the top of the charts and going a long way toward it being certified multi-platinum.
Knowles won five awards at the 2004 Grammy Awards for her solo effort, which included the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song for "Crazy in Love", and the Best Contemporary R&B Album. She shares this distinction with four other female artists: Lauryn Hill (1999), Alicia Keys (2002) Norah Jones (2003) and Amy Winehouse (2008). In 2004, she won a BRIT Award for International Female Solo Artist.
In 2004, Knowles planned to release a follow-up album featuring some of the left-over recordings from “Dangerously in Love”. However, her musical aspirations were put on hiatus due to conflicting schedules, including her recording with ‘Destiny's Child’ for their final album. Early in that year, Knowles performed the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston, fulfilling a childhood dream.
After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams for “Destiny Fulfilled”, released in November 2004. The album hit number two on the Billboard 200, and spawned "Lose My Breath", "Soldier", "Girl", and "Cater 2 U" as notable mainstream records. In support of the album, ‘Destiny's Child’ embarked on the 2005 “Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It” world tour, which started in April and ran through September. On the Barcelona, Spain visit, the group announced their disbandment after the end of their final North American leg. In October 2005, the group released a compilation 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". ‘Destiny's Child’ was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2006. They were also recognized as the world's best-selling female group of all time.
Continuing her film career, 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 debuted at number one at the box office, doing $21.7 million in ticket sales in its first week. Knowles recorded "Check on It" for the film, featuring Slim Thug, and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, which was first number-one hit from a soundtrack.
In late 2005, Knowles again put her second album on hold after she landed a role in “Dreamgirls”, the film adaptation of the 1981 hit Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group loosely based on ‘Motown’ all-female group ‘The Supremes’. In the film, she portrays the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones. Knowles told Billboard magazine: "I'm not going to write for the album until I finish doing the movie". Released in December 2006, “Dreamgirls” stars Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. Knowles recorded several songs for the film's soundtrack, including the original song "Listen". On December 14, 2006, Knowles was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film, Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song for "Listen". The film won two 2007 Academy Awards.
Inspired by her role in “Dreamgirls”, Knowles worked on her second album without any specific plan, telling MTV News, "[When filming ended] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas". Knowles worked with previous musical collaborators, including Rich Harrison, Rodney Jerkins and Sean Garrett, at the ‘Sony Music’ Studios in New York City. Completed in three weeks, she co-wrote and co-produced nearly all songs included in the album.
“B'Day” was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 and on September 5, 2006 in the United States to coincide with the celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 541,000 copies in the first week, her highest first-week sales mark as a solo artist. The album also had the third-highest debut-sales total of 2006 and has been certified three-times platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America. Although it was a commercial success, the relatively short time for production of the album was the subject of critical scrutiny. The Rolling Stone magazine's Brian Hiatt said that "while the mostly up-tempo disc never lacks for energy, some of the more beat-driven tracks feel harmonically and melodically undercooked, with hooks that don't live up to “Crazy in Love” or the best ‘Destiny's Child’ hits". Despite such criticisms, the album was complimented by others, with Gail Mitchell of Billboard magazine writing, "...throughout [the album], she romps with creative abandon, thankfully unafraid of stretching the boundaries lyrically and musically".
The album spawned the UK number-one single "Déjà Vu", the album's lead single, featuring Jay-Z. "Ring the Alarm", the second single, became her highest-charting single debut, opening at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside North America, "Irreplaceable" was released in October 2006 as the album's second single. Like "Baby Boy", the single received massive airplay, which helped propel it at number one. "Irreplaceable" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her fourth number-one single. It broke the record "Baby Boy" used to have, but it failed to match ‘Destiny's Child’'s "Independent Women Part I".
Knowles re-released “B'Day” on April 3, 2007 as a deluxe edition, seven months after the release of the original version. The re-release version features new tracks, including "Beautiful Liar", a duet with Latin superstar Shakira. The track made Billboard history when it jumped from number ninety-four to number three on the Hot 100 on April 2007; and "Amor Gitano", a duet with Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández, used as the theme song for the Colombian telenovela, “Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa”. Also included in the re-release of “B'Day” are Spanish-language versions of "Beautiful Liar", "Irreplaceable", and "Listen". Simultaneously, the “B'Day Anthology Video Album” was released featuring ten videos, including the director's cut of "Listen" and the extended remix of "Get Me Bodied”. During the week of April 22nd, the deluxe edition of B'Day and the B'Day Anthology Video Album that includes the song "Still in Love (Kissing You)" were pulled from distribution due to a lawsuit filed by English singer Des'ree. The lawsuit is over Knowles' cover of Des'ree's 1998 record, "I'm Kissing You". After the infringement issue, the present version of the re-issue does not include the track.
In support of the album, Knowles embarked on her lengthy “The Beyoncé Experience” concert tour, visiting over ninety venues worldwide. She started the tour in Japan on April 10, 2007 and concluded it on December 30, 2007 in Las Vegas. The documented footage on September 2, 2007 at Los Angeles' Staples Center was released on November 20, 2007 as “The Beyoncé Experience Live !” DVD.
Since 2002, Knowles has been in a relationship with rapper Jay-Z, with whom she has collaborated several times. Rumors began to circulate about their relationship after Knowles was featured on "'03 Bonnie and Clyde". In spite of persistent rumors about their relationship, they remained discreet about it. In 2005, rumors began to spread about the marriage of the couple. Knowles closed the speculation stating that she and Jay-Z were not even engaged. When asked again about the subject in September 2007, Jay-Z replied, "One day soon — let's leave it at that". Laura Schreffler, senior writer for ‘OK!’’ magazine, said, "They are intensely private people".On April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z were married in New York City. Although official confirmation has yet to come from either individual's camp, it became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008.

by romig007