Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
Also known as	Sasha Fierce
Born	(1981-09-04) September 4, 1981 (age 30)[1]
Origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, soul, hip hop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, choreographer, model, fashion designer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Columbia
Associated acts	Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Solange Knowles, Kanye West, Lady Gaga
Website	www.beyonceonline.com www.beyonce.com Beyoncé's autograph

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter^[2][3] (née Beyoncé Giselle Knowles; September 4, 1981), known mononymously as Beyoncé ( /biˈjɒnseɪ/ bee-YON-say), is an American 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 the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.

During the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003, which spawned two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy"—and became one of the most successful albums of that year, earning her a then record-tying five Grammy Awards. Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005, Knowles released her second solo album, B'Day, in 2006, which spawned the top 10 singles "Déjà Vu", "Irreplaceable" and "Beautiful Liar". Her third solo album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), spawned the hit singles "If I Were a Boy", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Halo" and "Sweet Dreams". The album helped Knowles earn six Grammys in 2010, breaking the record for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in one night. Knowles' fourth solo album, 4 (2011), became her fourth consecutive number one album on the Billboard 200 as a solo artist. This made her the third artist in history to have her first four studio albums debut atop the chart.

Apart from her work in music, Knowles has also ventured into acting and designing clothes and perfumes. She made her acting debut in the musical film Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001), prior to appearing in major films, including Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Dreamgirls (2006), which earned her two Golden Globe nominations, Cadillac Records (2008) and Obsessed (2009). In 2005, Knowles and her mother introduced their family's fashion line, House of Deréon, and in 2010, she released her first perfume, Heat. She has endorsed brands including, L'Oréal, Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Nintendo and Vizio. In 2010, Knowles was ranked first on Forbes list of the "100 Most Powerful and Influential Musicians in the World",^[4] and second on its list of the "100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the World".^[5] In 2012, she was named "World's Most Beautiful Woman" by People magazine.

Knowles' work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including 16 Grammy Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, four American Music Awards, a Billboard Millennium Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with Destiny's Child. In 2009, Billboard named her the Top Radio Songs Artist of the 2000s decade,^[6] and ranked her as the 4th overall Artist of the Decade (and as the First Female Artist of that period).^[7] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), also recognized Knowles as the Top Certified Artist of the 2000s.^[8][9] In the US, Knowles has sold over 11.2 million albums as of May 2010,^[10] and more than 30.4 million digital singles as of January 2012.^[11] She has sold 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[12] Knowles appeared on VH1's 2010 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time",^[13] and ranked third on their "100 Greatest Women in Music" list in 2012.^[14] In April 2008, Knowles married American rapper Jay-Z, and gave birth to their first child, Blue Ivy Carter, in January 2012.

Biography[link]

1981–96: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Knowles was born in Houston, Texas

Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a professional record manager, and Tina Knowles (née Beyincé), a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American. Her mother, a Louisiana Creole, has African, French, Native American, and Irish ancestry; she is a descendant of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard.^[15][16] Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother.^[15] She is the elder sister of Solange Knowles, a singer, songwriter and actress.

Knowles was educated at St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent in singing was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes.^[17] Knowles' interest in music and performing began after participating in a school talent show. She sang John Lennon's "Imagine" and won the competition.^[18][19] At age seven, Knowles started gaining attention from the press, having been mentioned in the Houston Chronicle as a nominee for the local performing arts award The Sammy.^[20] In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform on-stage with the school's choir.^[17] She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston^[21] and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston suburban munincipality, Alief.^[15][22] Knowles was a member of the choir at St. John's United Methodist Church for two years, performing as a soloist.^[17][23]

At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for an all-girl entertainment group.^[24] They, along with Knowles' childhood friend Kelly Rowland, were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing.^[25] Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members.^[17] 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.^[17] As part of efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major label record deal, Frager's strategy was to début them in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV at the time.^[17] Girl's Tyme participated in the competition but lost it because the song they performed was not good, Knowles herself admitted.^[26][27] Knowles had her first "professional setback" after that defeat but regained confidence after learning that pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also the same experience.^[17] To manage the group, Knowles' father (who was at that time a medical-equipment salesman) resigned in 1995 from his job.^[28] He dedicated his time and established a "boot camp" for their training.^[29] The move reduced Knowles' family's income by half and her parents were forced to move into separated apartments.^[15] Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four,^[17] with LeToya Luckett joining in 1993.^[24] Rehearsing in Tina's Headliners Salon and their backyards, the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups of the time;^[24] Tina contributed to the cause by designing their costumes, which she continued to do throughout the Destiny's Child era. With the continued support of Mathew, they auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to Elektra Records. They moved to Atlanta to work on their first recording, only to be cut by the record company in 1995. They returned home to start over again.^[15] This eventually put a strain on the family, and Beyoncé's parents separated briefly when she was 14. In 1996, the family reunited, and shortly after, the girls got a contract with Columbia Records.^[18]

1997–2001: Destiny's Child era and depression[link]

Destiny's Child performing "Say My Name"

The group changed its name to Destiny's Child in 1993, based on a passage in the Book of Isaiah.^[24] 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 début song "Killing Time" for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.^[24][27] The following year, the group released their self-titled debut album,^[26] scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". The album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, amassing moderate sales and winning 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.^[24] The group released their multi-platinum second 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 43rd Grammy Awards.^[24] The Writing's on the Wall sold more than eight million copies.^[26] During this time, Knowles recorded a duet with Marc Nelson on the song "After All Is Said and Done" for the soundtrack to the 1999 film, The Best Man.

Luckett and Roberson filed a lawsuit against the group for breach of contract. Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin appeared in the music video of "Say My Name", implying that Luckett and Roberson had already been replaced.^[24] Eventually, Luckett and Roberson left the group. Franklin would eventually fade from the group after five months,^[26] as evidenced by her absences during promotional appearances and concerts. She attributed her departure to negative vibes in the group resulting from the strife.^[24] During this time, Knowles had experienced depression from an accumulation of struggles: the publicized split of Luckett and Roberson, being publicly attacked by the media, critics and blogs for causing the split-up,^[30] and a longstanding boyfriend (that she had dated from age 13 to 19) leaving her.^[31][32] The depression was so severe it lasted for a couple of years, during which she kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything. Knowles stated that she struggled to speak about her depression because Destiny's Child had just won their first Grammy Award and she feared no one would take her seriously.^[33] All of these events had made her question herself and who her friends were, describing the situation she said, "Now that I was famous, I was afraid I'd never find somebody again to love me for me. I was afraid of making new friends."^[31] She acknowledges her mother Tina Knowles for helping her out of her depression, saying: "Why do you think a person wouldn't love you? Don't you know how smart and sweet and beautiful you are?"^[31]

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 US Billboard Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks.^[24] 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.^[24] In early 2001, while Destiny's Child was completing their third album, 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.^[34] Luckett and Roberson refiled their lawsuit after Destiny's Child's third album Survivor was released in May 2001, claiming that the songs were aimed at them.^[24] The album débuted at number one on US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 663,000 copies sold.^[35] To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the US alone.^[36] 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 in October 2001, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo careers.^[24]

[edit] 2002–05: Films, Dangerously in Love and Destiny Fulfilled

In 2002, Knowles co-starred in the comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra, opposite Mike Myers.^[37] Knowles recorded her first solo single "Work It Out", for the film's soundtrack.^[38] The following year, she starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr., in the romantic comedy film, The Fighting Temptations, and recorded numerous songs for the film's soundtrack, including "Fighting Temptation" and a cover version of "Fever".^[39][40] In October 2002, Knowles was featured on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z's single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In the United States, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Rap Songs chart.^[41] In March 2003, Knowles released a remix of 50 Cent's single "In Da Club", which made its way onto several mixtapes.^[42]

Knowles performing "Baby Boy"

After Williams and Rowland released their solo efforts, Knowles released her début solo album Dangerously in Love in June 2003.^[43] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 317,000 copies sold.^[44] It was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[45] Dangerously in Love has sold over 4.6 million copies in the United States,^[46] and 11 million copies worldwide.^[47] It remains as Knowles' best-selling album to date. The album's lead single "Crazy in Love", featuring Jay-Z, spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[48] The album's second single "Baby Boy", featuring dancehall singer Sean Paul, spent nine consecutive weeks at number one.^[49] The album's third single "Me, Myself and I", peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Naughty Girl", the fourth single, peaked at number three, and became Knowles' fourth consecutive top-five release from Dangerously in Love, and her fifth top-five hit as a solo artist.^[50] The album led Knowles to win a then record-tying five awards at the 46th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.^[51] In November 2003, Knowles embarked on her Dangerously in Love Tour in Europe.

In March 2004, Knowles joined Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Tamia for the Verizon Ladies First Tour in North America. Knowles had originally planned to release a follow-up to Dangerously in Love in March 2004, which would feature some of the left-over recordings from the album.^[52] However, Knowles decided to put the album on hold in order to concentrate on the next Destiny's Child album.^[53] After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams to release their fourth and final album Destiny Fulfilled in November 2004.^[24] The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. It was certified three times platinum by the RIAA.^[54] Destiny Fulfilled has sold over 3.1 million copies in the United States.^[55] The album spawned the hit singles "Lose My Breath", "Soldier" and "Cater 2 U".^[56] In April 2005, Destiny's Child embarked on their Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It tour, which ended in September of that year. During the last stop of their European leg of the tour in Barcelona, Spain, Rowland announced that Destiny's Child would disband following the North American leg of the tour.^[57]

A compilation album titled Number 1's, featuring the group's number-one hits and most well-known songs, was released in October 2005. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.^[54][58] Knowles' single "Check on It", featuring rapper Slim Thug, was released from the album in December 2005. The song spent five consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100,^[59] and became Knowles' third Hot 100 number-one as a solo artist and Slim Thug's first Hot 100 single.^[60]

[edit] 2006–07: B'Day and films

Knowles performing "Listen" during The Beyoncé Experience tour in 2007

In February 2006, Knowles starred opposite Steve Martin in the comedy film The Pink Panther, as international pop star Xania.^[61][62] In March 2006, Destiny's Child reunited to accept a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[63] Knowles released her second studio album B'Day in September 2006; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 541,000 copies in its first week.^[64] It gained Knowles her largest first-week sales of her solo career and became her second consecutive number one album. It was certified three times platinum by the RIAA.^[45] The album has sold over 3.2 million copies in the United States.^[65] The album's lead single, "Déjà Vu", featuring Jay-Z, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[66] "Ring the Alarm" was released as the album's second US single, while "Irreplaceable" served as the second international single and later as the third US single. "Irreplaceable" spent ten consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and became Knowles' fourth number-one single as solo artist.^[67]

In December 2006, Knowles starred in Dreamgirls, a film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group, alongside Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Knowles recorded several songs for the film's soundtrack, including the original song "Listen".^[68] Her role in the film earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations in 2007 for Best Actress and Best Original Song.^[69] On April 3, 2007, Knowles re-released B'Day as a deluxe edition,^[70] which featured five new songs, including "Beautiful Liar", a duet with Colombian recording artist Shakira. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.^[66] It performed better in international music markets, where it reached number one in the United Kingdom, and became Knowles' third number-one single in that country and Shakira's second. On April 10, 2007, Knowles embarked on The Beyoncé Experience tour. The tour visited over ninety venues worldwide and was later made into the concert DVD, The Beyoncé Experience Live!.

B'Day received five nominations at the 49th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Ring the Alarm" and Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Déjà Vu". The Freemasons club mix of "Déjà Vu" without the rap was nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical. The album won the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.^[71] The following year, B'Day received two nominations in the categories of Record of the Year for "Irreplaceable" and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Beautiful Liar". Knowles' also received a Grammy nomination for her work in Dreamgirls.^[72]

[edit] 2008–09: Marriage, I Am... Sasha Fierce, and films

Knowles and Jay-Z performing "Crazy in Love" at the I Am... Tour in 2009

In 2002, Knowles began dating Jay-Z, with whom she has collaborated several times.^[73] Rumors began to circulate about their relationship after Knowles was featured on "'03 Bonnie & Clyde".^[19] In spite of persistent rumors, they remained discreet about their relationship.^[73][74] On April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z got married in New York City.^[75] Knowles did not publicly debut her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008, in New York City.^[76] Before they were married, Knowles and Jay-Z were named as a power couple in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential people of 2006.^[77]

In November 2008, Forbes magazine reported that Knowles earned $80 million between June 1, 2007 to June 1, 2008, for her music, tour, films and fashion business.^[78] This made her the world's second best-paid music personality for this span of time.^[79] Knowles released her third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce, on November 14, 2008. The album introduced Knowles' alter-ego Sasha Fierce. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 482,000 copies in its first week.^[80] It became Knowles' third consecutive number-one album in the US as a solo artist.^[80] I Am... Sasha Fierce was certified double platinum by the RIAA.^[45] The album has sold over 2.9 million copies in the United States,^[81] and 7 million copies worldwide.^[82]

"If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were released as the album's first and second lead singles, respectively.^[83] The first lead single peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,^[50] while the second peaked at number one, and became Knowles' fifth number-one single.^[50] "Single Ladies" spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top spot.^[84] Its music video has achieved fame for its intricate choreography, which has been credited as having started the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet".^[85] Knowles revealed that the inspiration for the video was a 1969 Bob Fosse routine entitled "Mexican Breakfast" seen on The Ed Sullivan Show, which featured Fosse's wife, Gwen Verdon, dancing with two other women.^[86][87] This prompted a legion of imitations and parodies from men and women all around the world, including celebrities Justin Timberlake^[88] Joe Jonas,^[89] Tom Hanks^[90] and US President Barack Obama.^[91] The music video received nine nominations at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and ultimately won the award for Video of the Year and an additional two awards, though its loss in the Best Female Video category to Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" led to a controversy during the ceremony.^[92]

Knowles performing "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" at the I Am... Tour in 2009

In December 2008, Knowles starred in the musical biographical film Cadillac Records as blues singer Etta James. She performed James' classic hit "At Last" at The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball of Obama and his wife Michelle's first dance as President and First Lady of the United States on January 20, 2009.^[93] "Diva" was released as the third US single from I Am... Sasha Fierce, while "Halo" served as the third international single, and later as the fourth US single. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and became Knowles' twelfth Hot 100 top-ten single as a solo artist.^[50] With this feat, Knowles achieved more top tens on the Hot 100 than any other female artist of the 2000s decade.^[94] "Ego" was released as the fifth US single from I Am... Sasha Fierce, and subsequently came up with a remix featuring additional vocals from Kanye West. The song peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[50] "Broken-Hearted Girl" and "Sweet Dreams" became the album's sixth and seventh singles, respectively. In January 2009, Forbes magazine ranked Knowles and Jay-Z as Hollywood's top-earning couple, with a combined total of $162 million.^[95] They also made it to the top of the list the following year, with a combined total of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009.^[95] To promote I Am... Sasha Fierce, Knowles embarked on her worldwide I Am... Tour in March 2009. According to Pollstar, the tour earned Knowles $103.2 million for its 97 shows.^[96] In April 2009, Knowles starred opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba in the thriller film, Obsessed. The film grossed $11.1 million on its first day of release,^[97] and ended its opening weekend at number one with a total of $28.5 million.^[98]

In June 2009, Forbes listed Knowles fourth on its list of the "100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the World", third on its list of the "Top-Grossing Musicians", and first on the list of "Top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30" with over $87 million in earnings between 2008 and 2009.^[99] "Video Phone" was released as the eighth and final single from I Am... Sasha Fierce, with a music video and digital download release taking form of an extended remix, featuring Lady Gaga. Its music video received two nominations at the 2010 BET Awards for Video of the Year and Best Collaboration,^[100] winning the former category on June 27, 2010.^[101] It also received five nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, in the categories of Best Choreography, Best Collaboration, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and Best Art Direction.^[102] At the 52nd Grammy Awards, Knowles received ten nominations, including Album of the Year for I Am... Sasha Fierce, Record of the Year for "Halo", and Song of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", among others.^[103] She tied with Lauryn Hill for most Grammy nominations in a single year by a female artist.^[104] Knowles ultimately set the record for the most Grammy awards won on a single night by a female artist, when she won six awards from her ten nominations; Song of the Year, Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Single Ladies", Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Halo", Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "At Last".^[105]

[edit] 2010–present: New management, 4 and motherhood

In January 2010, Knowles was interviewed by USA Today and announced plans to take a break from music in 2010. She stated: "It's definitely time to take a break, to recharge my batteries. ... I'd like to take about six months and not go into the studio. I need to just live life, to be inspired by things again."^[106] During this time, a 60 Minutes segment aired, that revealed Knowles was homeschooled as a child and prays before every live performance.^[107] In February 2010, Knowles was featured on Lady Gaga's single "Telephone". The single reached number one on the US Pop Songs chart, thus becoming the sixth number-one on the chart for both Knowles and Lady Gaga. With this, they both tied with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the Nielsen BDS-based Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992.^[108] "Telephone" received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 53rd Grammy Awards.^[109] In June 2010, Forbes placed Knowles at number three on its list of "Top-Earning Musicians" with $87 million in grosses for her 93-date world tour, deals with Nintendo and L'Oréal and her House of Deréon clothing line.^[110] This made her the world's best paid female artist for this span of time.^[110] In October 2010, Forbes recognized Knowles as the ninth "Most Powerful Woman in the World".^[111] She was also ranked at ninth place on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's 20 Highest Earners of 2010", becoming the only artist to break the top ten.^[112]

Knowles performing during the 4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé revue, August 2011

In January 2011, it was announced that Knowles would appear in a remake of A Star Is Born, to be directed and produced by Clint Eastwood for Warner Bros..^[113] The remake will be the fourth telling of the A Star Is Born tale, the most memorable in recent years being the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.^[113] In February 2011, documents obtained by the WikiLeaks website revealed that Knowles along with Usher, Mariah Carey and Nelly Furtado had received as much as $1 million to perform for family members of Libyan politician Muammar Gaddafi.^[114][115] Rolling Stone magazine reported that the music industry was urging them to return the money they earned for the concerts.^[114] On March 2, 2011, a spokesperson for Knowles told The Huffington Post that she had donated the money to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, established to aid the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[114] On March 28, 2011, it was announced that Knowles' father and longtime manager Mathew Knowles would no longer manage her career.^[116] Knowles' publicist released a statement to The Associated Press revealing that Knowles and her father have split "on a business level."^[116] She now manages herself and has hired her own management team.^[117] In June 2011, Forbes placed Knowles eighth on its list of "Best-Paid Celebrities Under 30" for earning $35 million between the months of May 2010 and 2011. Forbes noted that the low placement for Knowles was due to the fact she spent most of the past year off the road and recording her then upcoming fourth studio album.^[118]

Knowles' fourth studio album 4 was released on June 24, 2011. The album was inspired by several musicians, including Fela Kuti, The Stylistics, Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.^[119] It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 310,000 copies.^[120] This gave Knowles her fourth consecutive number one album in the US, and makes her the second female artist and third artist overall, to have her first four studio albums debut atop the Billboard 200.^[120] However, 4's first-week sales served as Knowles' lowest sales start with a studio album to date.^[120] Its lead single "Run the World (Girls)" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[50] and became Knowles' lowest charting lead single as a solo artist. The album's second single "Best Thing I Never Had" was released on June 1, 2011. It peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[50] Knowles headlined at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, performing a 90-minute set on the last day of the festival on June 26, 2011.^[121] She also performed at the T in the Park Festival in Scotland on July 9, 2011^[122] and the Oxegen Festival in Ireland the next day.^[123] Knowles took the stage at New York's Roseland Ballroom for four nights of special performances. The set on each night of the 4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé concerts was the entire collection of 4. For these four special nights, August 14, 16, 18 and 19, she performed her new songs to a standing room only audience.^[124]

On August 28, 2011 at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Knowles announced that she and Jay-Z were expecting their first child. She made the announcement during her red carpet appearance and again at the end of her performance of "Love on Top" by rubbing her growing stomach.^[125][126] The Huffington Post later confirmed that Knowles was 5 months pregnant and her pregnancy announcement had broken the "most tweets per second recorded for a single event" Twitter record, receiving 8,868 tweets per second.^[127] MTV reported that Knowles' performance of "Love on Top" and the announcement of her pregnancy at the awards ceremony helped the 2011's MTV Video Music Awards become the most-watched broadcast in MTV history, pulling in 12.4 million viewers.^[128] In addition, data from Google Insights showed that the most searched for term from August 29, 2011 to September 4, 2011 was "Beyonce pregnant" which reached 'breakout' levels – a term used by Google to describe a search with an increase of over 5,000 percent.^[129] Knowles' announcement of her pregnancy resulted in an increase in sales of her records, particularly 4, which had sold around 700,000 copies by August 2011,^[130] eventually being certified platinum by the RIAA.^[45] The album has since sold 1,135,700 copies in the United States^[131] and 2,100,000 copies worldwide.^[132]

Knowles with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter in April 2012

On October 8, a pre-taped performance of Knowles performing Michael Jackson's "I Wanna Be Where You Are" was shown at the Michael Forever tribute concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.^[133] In November 2011, Knowles was named the Highest Paid Performer Per Minute in the world by social media website Saucytime.com, earning £1.25 million for a five-song performance at a private New Year's Eve 2010 party on the island of St. Barts, equating to £71,040 for each minute she was on the stage.^[134] On November 30, 2011, Knowles received two nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards; Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Party", and Best Long Form Music Video for I Am... World Tour.^[135] In December 2011, Knowles was placed fourth on Forbes magazine's 2011 list of the "Top-Earning Women In Music" for earning $35 million.^[136]

On January 7, 2012, Knowles gave birth to a daughter, named Blue Ivy Carter, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.^[137] On January 9, 2012, Jay-Z released "Glory", a song dedicated to their child, on his social website LifeandTimes.com.^[138] The song detailed the couple's pregnancy struggles, including a miscarriage Knowles suffered before becoming pregnant with their daughter.^[138] Because Carter's cries were included at the end of the song and she was officially credited on the song as "B.I.C", at 2 days old she became the youngest person ever to appear on a Billboard chart when "Glory" debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 74.^[139]

On February 16, 2012, it was confirmed by Ryan Tedder that Knowles had already begun work on two new albums, saying "The conversations about her next album literally just started and there [are] two projects happening."^[140] She is also working with The-Dream to record new music.^[141] In May 2012, Knowles was ranked at number 14 on Forbes' list of the "World's 20 Most Powerful Moms".^[142] Forbes also announced their 2012 Celebrity 100 list, which showed Knowles had made earnings of $40 million in 2011, but noted again this was particularly low for Knowles, due to her going on break because of her pregnancy as well as not touring.^[143] On May 15, 2012, Knowles won a Writing Award from the New York Association of Black Journalists, for her July 2011 Essence magazine cover story "Eat, Play, Love," which talks about her nine-month break from music in 2010.^[144] Knowles received two nominations at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in the categories of Top R&B Artist and Top R&B Album for 4, winning the latter award on May 20, 2012.^[145][146] Knowles took the stage at Revel Atlantic City's Ovation Hall for four nights of performances (May 25–28, 2012) to celebrate the resort's opening.^[147][148] The Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live concerts were noted as Knowles' first performances since giving birth to her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, in January of the same year.^[147] The performances were met with universal acclaim from critics and fans, including US First Lady Michelle Obama, husband Jay-Z, and the Governor of New Jersey Christopher J. Christie.^[149][150] On May 31, 2012, it was announced that Knowles will be cast as Queen Tara in the upcoming 3D CGI animated film entitled Epic to be released by 20th Century Fox.^[151]

Artistry[link]

Music and voice[link]

	"Trust in Me" noicon While predominately R&B, Knowles' music explores various styles. The Daily Mail calls Knowles' voice "versatile", capable of exploring power ballads, soul, rock belting, operatic florishes, and hip hop.[153] "Emotion" noicon Knowles' prominent use of melisma and other vocal ornamentation earns her both praise and criticism from critics and fans.[154][155]
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Knowles' music is generally contemporary R&B, but she also incorporates pop, funk, hip hop, and soul into her songs. While she almost exclusively releases English songs, Knowles recorded several Spanish songs for Irreemplazable and the re-release of B'Day. Prior to recording these, Knowles was coached phonetically by American record producer Rudy Perez.^[156] Since Destiny's Child, Knowles has artistically been involved in her career.^[24] She received co-writing credits for most of the songs recorded by the group, as well as her solo efforts. Known for writing personally driven and female-empowerment themed compositions, Knowles has stated that having Jay-Z in her life has changed a few of her thoughts about how men and women relate to one another, which helped her transition from writing songs such as "Independent Women" and "Survivor" to man-tending anthems such as "Cater 2 U", in which she sings about bringing him slippers and drawing his bath.^[157] Some of her songs are autobiographical, which she has admitted are taken from personal experiences, as well as her friends'.^[158] Knowles has also received co-producing credits for most of the records in which she has been involved, especially during her solo efforts. However, she does not formulate beats herself, but typically comes up with melodies and ideas during production, sharing them with producers.^[159] Knowles was recognized as a songwriter during the run of Destiny's Child in the 1990s and early to mid-2000s. She won the Pop Songwriter of the Year award at the 2001 American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards, becoming the first African-American female and second female songwriter of all time to accomplish the feat.^[15][158] Knowles received songwriting credits in a single year for co-writing "Irreplaceable", "Grillz" and "Check on It", all of which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the only woman to have written three songs which went to number-one in the same year since Carole King did it in 1971 and Mariah Carey in 1991. In terms of credits, she is tied with Diane Warren at third with nine number-one singles.^[160]